Farewell to a King
Back in 2015, when I posted here about the passing of Yes bassist Chris Squire, I wrote, "There are only a handful of other musicians whose passing would affect me as much as Squire's - Neil Peart of Rush, perhaps, who informed my own drumming style more than any other drummer's ... or Paul McCartney, since I've been listening to the Beatles since I was 6 years old ... or Elton John, the first artist whose albums I started going out and buying with my own hard-earned paper route money ... or maybe a few others. But not many. Not many."
Yesterday I learned that Neil Peart had lost his 3-year battle with brain cancer, and I am devastated anew.
And yet, not as devastated as I thought I'd be. And not just because Rush played their last tour in 2015 and then pretty much retired, playing no further concerts and recording no new music. As with Squire, Peart and his Rush bandmates left us such a deep and rich body of work, and in that way they will all live on long after they've left this world.
Ironically, I've been revisiting much Rush this past week, before I'd even heard this tragic news. My old high school buddy Todd linked to a listener-reaction YouTube video on Facebook featuring the 1980 Rush epic "Natural Science," and I'd forgotten what a great song that was, immediately bumping it up to a higher spot on my own list of Rush faves. That video inspired me to seek out other Rush vids, so I've been wallowing in them ever since. Talk about coincidence.
Neil suffered a lot of hardships in his own life, including the loss of both a daughter and his first wife in close succession, twin tragedies that made him give up music for a number of years before he returned, strong as ever. He was a perfectionist, always striving to push himself to the limits of his talents, which is probably why he's regarded by many as the best rock drummer ever. That drive paid off, and we are all richer for it.
RIP, Mr. Peart. We'll all be listening to your music for many many years to come.