Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968 in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee; guitarist and backing vocalist Alex Lifeson; and drummer, percussionist, and lyricist Neil Peart. The band and its membership went through several reconfigurations between 1968 and 1974, achieving its current lineup when Peart replaced original drummer John Rutsey in July 1974, two weeks before the group's first United States tour.
Rush is known for its musicianship, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy, and philosophy. The band's musical style has changed several times over the years, from a blues-inspired hard rock beginning, later moving into progressive rock, and including a period marked by heavy use of synthesizers. In the early 1990s, Rush returned to a guitar-driven hard rock sound, which has continued to the present. The band's latest studio album, Clockwork Angels (2012) won the Album Of The Year Award from Progressive Music Awards. The supporting tour ran from September 2012 to August 2013.
According to the RIAA Rush ranks 80th with sales of 25 million units in the U.S. Although total worldwide album sales are not calculated by any single entity, several industry sources estimated Rush's total worldwide album sales at over 40 million units as of 2004. The group has been awarded 24 gold, 14 platinum, and 3 multi-platinum albums.
Rush has received seven Grammy award nominations, but has not won the award. The band has won several Juno Awards, was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Over their careers, the members of Rush have been acknowledged as some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each band member winning numerous awards in magazine readers' polls. Rush announced plans to stop large-scale touring at the end of 2015. However, they have not ruled out the possibility of future studio albums and smaller-scale tours.
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