Hall of fame finally admits Rush
Over the years, the members of the Toronto rock trio Rush have remained steadfastly ambivalent about their inability to crack the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — they maintained it was something they wanted for their loyal fans, not themselves.
And now that the band will finally be inducted into the Cleveland rock shrine, that hasn’t changed.
While it was easy to detect a note of triumph in guitarist Alex Lifeson’s voice as he called to discuss the honour — announced Tuesday — the power-prog threesome still isn’t about to alter its tune.
“I never really cared if it happened or not, to be honest with you,” a cheerful Lifeson said down the line this week. “It doesn’t change anybody’s life at the end of the day. Are we going to become more popular? Are we going to sell more records? Are more people going to come to the shows? I don’t know. We’re quite happy where we are and with what we’ve accomplished.
“I think at the end of the day, really, what this is about is making our fans feel like their support has been worthy.”
Indeed, this moment has been a long time coming for the band’s many ardent fans.
Rush will officially gain entry into the rock hall on April 18 after a ceremony in Los Angeles where they’ll be honoured alongside fellow inductees including fiery New York rap pioneers Public Enemy, disco innovator Donna Summer, influential blues guitarist Albert King, gifted songwriter Randy Newman and American-Canadian rock outfit Heart.
Rush had been one of the most egregious omissions for the rock hall, which opened in 1983 and annually saw its announcement of new members greeted by snorts of derision and disbelief from jilted Rush fans. It makes sense. The trio is renowned for its virtuosic instrumentation, they’ve released 18 platinum-plus albums in Canada (while clearing the same sales hurdle more than a dozen times Stateside) and, with roughly 40 years behind them in their current incarnation, have fostered a live reputation that’s nothing short of sterling.
“If there’s one band in the history of rock music that’s deserved the acknowledgment of getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it’s Rush,” said Sam Dunn, co-director of the 2010 Grammynominated documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage.
“Here’s a band that has been making creative and unique music for over 40 years now, has a massive fan base around the world ... (and) they continue to be one of the best live bands on the planet.
“I think there’s a bunch of good reasons why they deserve this achievement.”
In fact, Lifeson struggled to pinpoint exactly why the band hadn’t been deemed worthy before, acknowledging that the honour was “a long time coming.”
“The progressive movement is not something the founders of the Hall of Fame are too keen on,” said Lifeson.
He noted that well-regarded prog peers Yes and King Crimson have also been thus far excluded from the Hall.