Neil Peart behind his drumkit. (Creative Commons photo)
Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, 67, has died of brain cancer. The Rolling Stone obituary notes that Peart “was one of rock’s greatest drummers.”
Peart’s death comes as one of the band’s songs, “The Trees,” from the Hemispheres album, currently is listed as one of the five finalists this year for the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award.
Peart’s lyrics were influenced by Ayn Rand and the band was loved by many libertarians; see for example this posting by Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution.
Rush was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. It was obviously a well-deserved honor, as the band has been a staple of rock music and classic rock radio stations for many years.
Sad to hear. R.I.P. Neil Peart.