Rush to finally gain entry into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame !

[Tracy 2112]

'nuf said


Toronto's Rush to finally gain entry into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

TORONTO - 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. "So we continue to do the kind of work we want to do and we will continue regardless of our induction or not," he added. "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 L.A., 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 snorting derision 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.
For fans, their exclusion had been as galling as it was perplexing.
"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 Grammy nominated 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 fanbase 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. "Like Dunn, he does figure it had something to do with the style of music they've played. "The progressive movement is not something the founders of the Hall of Fame are too keen on," said Lifeson, noting that well-regarded prog peers Yes and King Crimson have also been thus far excluded from the Hall. "But it seems to be changing. If you look at this year's nominees, it's really quite an eclectic
group.... I kind of like the idea that it is becoming broader and more areas of popular music are being included. And so therefore at some point in the near future, progressive music will start
being included." Even if Lifeson managed to remain somewhat reserved about the honour, he acknowledged the excitement of the people around him. "I think my sons were like: 'Finally, Dad,'" he said with a laugh. He also got a glimpse of the Hall's meaning when he went to a dinner over the weekend with friends he hadn't seen in a while. He had to keep quiet about Rush's imminent inclusion — a secret at the time — but even the
mere fact of the band's nomination for Hall consideration was enough to send a charge through his dinner-mates. "Every single one of them was so excited about the nomination," he recalled. "It really meant a lot to them. And I thought, this is so weird. I never would have thought these people would have even cared or known. But there's something about it that's really important to a lot of people. "And certainly for Canadians, any type of success that a Canadian artist or athlete ... gets, really means a lot to people in this country. So I'm starting to realize how big of a deal this actually is." And it means even more to the band's diehard fans. Dunn says Rush's followers are as passionate as they are because the band strikes a particularly personal connection with its
listeners. And he acknowledges, as does Lifeson, that his documentary has played a role in the increasing interest in the band the past few years. "I think the film helped remind everyone that Rush has been an important band in their lives,"
Dunn said. "I think also, the film showed it's not just the nerdy, pimply, 'Dungeons and Dragons'-playing male audiences that we long assumed was the entirety of the Rush fanbase "Young people, old people and increasingly women are coming to Rush shows and I think realizing there's more to Rush than just 13-minute prog epics. There's some really good lyrics in there, there's some great melodies and there's some really catchy material as well."
That the honour comes during another strong year for Rush — which saw the trio top the Canadian charts with the enthusiastically reviewed "Clockwork Angels" and pull off yet another successful arena tour — just makes the timing a little sweeter. Of course, Lifeson isn't exactly sure what the impetus was for the Hall's finally seeing fit to recognize Rush now.
And he doesn't sound inclined to spend too much time trying to figure it out. "I guess maybe it was just time," he said. "It's hard to argue that Rush hasn't been influential in some way. We've been around for 44 years, we're still touring, we put out a new album that's arguably one of our best." "There's been such a controversy and so many strong feelings by fans who support our being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So I guess it was time."

[zanjam]

As they should!!!

Bummed about The Meters not making it, though...

[Mr. White]

RUSH is one of my top 5 bands of all time! I first got into them just after Permanent Waves came out. A good friend had All The World's A Stage, my cousin had Permanent Waves, and I used to borrow both of them all the time. My first store bought album of theirs was Moving Pictures, and since then, I have gotten all of their albums. My first real rock and roll concert was RUSH when they were on their Signals tour. I later saw them on the Grace Under Pressure tour, the Presto tour, and the Test For Echoes tour. (I haven't been able to see them in a while, but I have gotten every single concert release of theirs on either DVD or Bluray disc.) I LOVE RUSH AND AM SO GLAD THEY HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN SOME RESPECT - but if they hadn't gotten into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so what...THEY WILL ALWAYS BE ONE OF THE WORLD'S BEST BANDS AND KICK THE ASSES OF SO MANY OTHER BANDS THAT ARE ALREADY IN THE HALL OF FAME! 

[Mr. White]

Hey Tracy 2112, I love RUSH so much that I also use that album title in all of my Internet accounts. (I don't make 2112 part of my usernames, but it is a part of every single password I have...Shhh!...Don't tell anyone!)

[EverythingChanges]

I used to care about the rock and roll hall of fame, but all it really does is insult musicians like Rush.  Just now inducting them into the hall is an insult to who Rush is as a band, especially if you looked to see what artists got in before Rush.  Blondie is one of the groups off the top of my head that is definitely not as important as Rush is to music.  There has been rap artists inducted recently as well, which seems silly because...oh I don't know...its called the ROCK AND ROLL Hall of Fame.  Personally, if I was Rush, I would decline the award since the Hall has ignored them for so long.  Rush deserves better.  Hell, not inducting Zeppelin the first year they were eligible is a crime to humanity.  That place is ran by a bunch of clowns. 

[YimYodd]

Glad to see they finally got in.
Equally happy to see Albert King honored.
I've seen them in concert 4 times: Hemispheres , Grace Under Pressure, Roll The Bones & Counterparts(though not a huge fan of this album or thereafter releases).
I'd love to go see them again!

[Tired Eyes]

I was glad they finally got in...about time.

Hopefully Deep Purple and the Meters will get in next year.