“Neil Peart, the virtuoso drummer and lyricist for Rush, died Tuesday, January 7th, in Santa Monica, California, at age 67, according to Elliot Mintz, a family spokesperson. The cause was brain cancer, which Peart had been quietly battling for three-and-a-half years. A representative for the band confirmed the news to Rolling Stone.” (Source: Rolling Stone, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-peart-rush-obituary-936221/ )

I have been a huge RUSH fan since 1976, when 2112, one of the all-time BEST rock albums, was produced.

Although, this is a few days late, I decided I would make this sad news a Mental Note — There is a life lesson in this, from Peart, at the end of this post.

It is (indeed) sad news and a big loss for fans, and for the music world that Drummer virtuoso, Neil Peart, has died. However, Neil will live on through his music and the impression he made on multitudes of people.

Peart was an insane Master of the drums.

What also impressed me about Peart was his drum kit — Imagine Neil Peart surrounded 360-degrees by all sorts of drums, cymbals, cow bells, wind chimes, and a huge gong, and that was his kit!

For me, in my younger days, RUSH was #1 in my Top 5 Bands, which included: RUSH, BOSTON, VAN HALEN, JETRHO TULL, and KANSAS.

I will end this with a quote from Neil Peart, which is applicable for ALL artists:

“What is a master but a master student?” Peart told Rolling Stone in 2012. “There’s a responsibility on you to keep getting better.”