Neil Ellwood Peart
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Neil Peart joined Rush in 1974, replacing original drummer John Rutsey, and served as the band’s drummer and primary lyricist until his retirement in 2015. He endured the death of his daughter Selena in a car accident and his wife Jacqueline to cancer in 1997-1998, then returned with the album Vapor Trails in 2002. He died of brain cancer in 2020 at age 67.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Neil Peart — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Neil Peart by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Neil Peart — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Born on September 12, 1952, in Hamilton, Ontario, Neil Peart grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario. He attended Beamsville District Secondary School but later dropped out. His childhood summers at Port Dalhousie inspired the Rush song Lakeside Park. He took piano lessons as a child but often skipped them, spending the money on candy bars.
Peart joined Rush in 1974, and the band released 21 studio albums with him on drums. After the deaths of his daughter and wife, he took a hiatus, then returned for 2002’s Vapor Trails, hailed as a comeback. The subsequent 2002 tour included Rush’s first shows in Brazil, playing to 125,000 fans over three nights. In 2003, he performed for 450,000 at Toronto’s SARS benefit alongside AC/DC and The Rolling Stones. Rush was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. His final tour was the R40 tour in 2015.
Peart married Jacqueline Flockhart Taylor in 1975; they had a daughter, Selena, born in 1978. Selena died in a car accident in August 1997, and Jacqueline died of breast cancer ten months later. He married photographer Carrie Nuttall in September 2000, and they had a daughter, Olivia, in 2009. He rode motorcycles between tour venues and became close friends with Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame.
Peart’s technical proficiency and lyrical depth contributed to his status as one of rock’s great drummers. Rush became the most successful Canadian music group, holding the record for consecutive gold and platinum albums after The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. He and his bandmates were appointed Officers of the Order of Canada in 1997, the first rock musicians to receive that honor. Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame came in 2013. He is remembered for his intricate drum solos and poetic lyrics.
The complete filmography of Neil Peart — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Neil Peart — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Neil Peart's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Neil Peart — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I Don’t Like Lyrics That Are Just Thrown Together, That Were Obviously Written as You Went Along, or the Song Was Already Written and the Guy Made up the Lyrics in Five Minutes.
Anytime I Have an Idea, I’ll Make Sure That I Put It Down so That When We Do Sit Down to Write an Album, I Don’t Have to Dream It All Out of Thin Air. I Don’t Have to Be Creative on the Spur of the Moment, or Spontaneously Artistic. I Just Take Advantage of Whenever Creativity Strikes.
Luck Is When Preparation Meets Opportunity.
I Honestly Don’t See Anything Wrong with Playing Drums Leading with the Left Hand.
I Still Don’t Like Seeing Myself on the Screen! I Don’t Like to Hear Myself Talk, I Don’t Want to Look at Myself, and I’ll Probably Never Watch This Video!
Little-known facts about Neil Peart — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Until the mid-1990s, Peart played drums with the butt ends of sticks because his stick tips broke off as a youth and he couldn’t afford replacements; he later took lessons from Freddie Gruber.
Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, and Alex Lifeson were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in February 2013.
Peart grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario; his song Lakeside Park is about his summers at the beach in Port Dalhousie, Ontario.
He rides a motorcycle between concert venues, along with the band’s security manager; in the 1980s he used a bicycle.
Peart battled brain cancer for over three years, keeping it secret until his death on January 7, 2020.
He performed with Rush for 450,000 people at the Toronto SARStock relief benefit, alongside AC/DC and The Rolling Stones.
Peart lost his wife and daughter within ten months: daughter Selena died in a car accident, and wife Jacqueline died of breast cancer.
On February 26, 1997, Peart, Lee, and Lifeson became the first rock musicians inducted as Officers of the Order of Canada, the highest civilian honor in Canada.
Peart became friends with Trey Parker and Matt Stone South Park during the time chronicled in his book Ghost Rider; they created an intro for Rush’s Tom Sawyer featuring the South Park characters, played on the 2007 Snakes & Arrows tour.
In addition to drumming for Rush, Peart is the band’s primary lyricist.
Peart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Rush in Los Angeles, California.
With Rush, Peart released the EP Feedback in 2004, consisting of cover songs; it was the first Rush release to feature songs not written by the band.
In September 2010, Peart suffered a motorcycle accident in NE Pennsylvania when he hit fresh asphalt; he was not badly hurt and performed the next night in Pittsburgh, but did not mention the accident until after retirement for insurance reasons.
Since the deaths of his daughter and wife in 1997-1998, Peart declined interviews and meet-and-greets with the band.
Peart had two children: Selena Taylor 1978-1997 and Olivia Louise Peart born 2009.
When Peart started traveling by motorcycle between shows, his riding partner was his best friend Brutus; after Brutus was banned from the US for a drug charge, Michael Mosbach became his North American riding partner.
Peart dropped out of high school.
He took piano lessons as a child but often called in sick and spent the lesson money on candy bars.
Peart was close friends with actor Nicolas Cage.
He played on every post-1974 Rush recording except the debut album.
Peart was an avid fan of BMW motorcycles.
Though Canadian, he moved his primary residence to Los Angeles, California, after marrying Carrie Nuttall, and returns to Canada for writing and recording.
After the SARS benefit in 2003, Rush announced a 30th-anniversary tour, including their first European shows since 1992.
Peart wrote three books: The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa 1996, Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road 2002, and Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times 2004.
Peart is the drummer for the band Rush.
He toured with Rush in support of the album Vapor Trails.
The authorized biography Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away by Martin Popoff was released.
Peart toured in support of Rush’s album Snakes & Arrows.
In 2006, Peart, Lee, and Lifeson were in the studio working on a new album to be released early 2007.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Neil Peart.
Celebrities similar to Neil Peart — same craft, ranked by reach.
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