The world learned of the tragic passing of Rush drummer Neil Peart last Friday, January 10. Peart quietly battled brain cancer for the last three-and-a-half years, and will be sorely missed by anyone and everyone who appreciates great drumming and great writing.
Unsurprisingly, Peart's death had a massive impact on Rush's catalog on streaming services and in sales. According to Billboard, Rush's music was streamed 776% more than usual in the last week. This means their catalog was streamed about 24.54 million times, up from their usual 2.8 million. The most streamed track was "Tom Sawyer" with 2.82 million streams.
Album sales for Rush also grew to 6,000 sold in the last week " up from a negligible figure," representing a 1,820% increase. Rush put out their final album Clockwork Angels in 2012 and final live album R40 Live 2015. So 6,000 sales within a week is pretty nuts. Billboard also reports it is expected Rush's The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974 – 1987 will re-enter the Billboard 200.
And of course, R.I.P. Neil Peart. Now everyone go listen to Rush's entire catalog and remind yourselves why all three members of that band are and were absolute legends and masters of their craft.
