Written by: Matt Sloan
Neal Peart has died.
The retired Rush drummer had been battling brain cancer for some time and he died at his home in Santa Monica on January 7.
He was 67.
The Ontario-born Peart joined Rush in 1974, replacing original drummer John Rutsey. Peart played on every Rush record, aside from their self-titled first effort.
A year after joining the Canadian band Peart took over songwriting duties and over the course of the band’s career he was not only considered to be one of the greatest drummers on the planet, he was a highly regarded lyricist.
Peart lost his daughter in 1997 in a car accident and his wife Jacqueline died a year later of cancer. To heal, Peart took to the road on his own, traversing North America on a motorcycle while processing his grief.
The musician retired from Rush in 2015 and lived a quiet life with his wife, the photographer Carrie Nuttall, and their daughter Olivia.
Peart’s bandmates Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson posted the following statement:
Neil Peart September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020 pic.twitter.com/NivX2RhiB8
— Rush (@rushtheband) January 10, 2020
