Cornelius Ellwood Peart OC (1952 - 2020)

Born 12 Sep 1952 in Hagersville, Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada

Ancestors

Died 7 Jan 2020 at age 67 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California, USA

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Neil Peart OC was featured in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2013.

Neil Peart OC is Notable.

Biography

He was born on 12 Sep 1952 as the oldest of 4 siblings born to parents Betty and Glen Peart. ^[1]

His first 2 years were spent on his family's farm in Hagersville, on the outskirts of Hamilton, Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada.

About 1954 his parents moved the family to St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada and in 1956 the family moved to the Port Dalhousie area of the town.

He attended Gracefield School and later Lakeport Secondary School.

By early adolescence he became interested in music and acquired a transistor radio, which he would use to tune into pop music stations. He first took piano lessons, but seeing his penchant for drumming on various objects, his parents bought him a drum kit for his 14th birthday. He took lessons from Don George at the Peninsula Conservatory of Music. He debuted at the school’s Christmas pageant at St.Johns Anglican Church Hall in Port Dalhousie.

He appeared with his first group, "The Eternal Triangle", at Lakeport High School where he performed his first solo. During adolescence, he floated between regional bands in pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer.

Early in his career, his performance style was deeply rooted in hard rock. He drew most of his inspiration from drummers such as Keith Moon and John Bonham, who were at the forefront of the British hard rock scene.

At 18, he travelled to London, England to concentrate on his music. There he played in several bands and occasionally received session work but ultimately got discouraged by his lack of progress in the music business.

After 18 months of dead-end musical gigs, he returned home to Canada disillusioned and went to work for his father at "Dalziel Farm Equipment" in St.Catharines, Ontario. Canada. ^[2]

His audition as drummer for the Toronto-based band "Rush" was overseen by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson who accepted Neil's style of drumming. He officially joined the band on 29 July 1974.

On his first outing with the band on 14 Aug 1974, he opened for "Uriah Heep" and "Manfred Mann" in front of over 11,000 people at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

"Rush" began to tour extensively and he became the band’s main lyricist. Literature heavily influenced his writings. As a drummer he was distinguished for playing "butt-end out", reversing stick orientation for greater impact and increased rimshot capacity. His drumming was renowned for its technical proficiency, and his live performances for their exacting nature and stamina.

About 1975 he began a relationship with Jacqueline "Jackie" Flockhart Taylor and they had a daughter, Selena Taylor, born on 22 Apr 1978.

He became a famed rock musician and about 1994 he revamped his playing style to incorporate jazz and swing components. He released two solo efforts; "Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the music of Buddy Rich" Volumes I and II in 1994 and 1997.

On 9 May 1996, he and his 2 band mates were made Officers of the Order of Canada. The trio were the first rock musicians to be bestowed the highest civilian honor by the Canadian government. The 3 were also inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (1994), the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame (2003) and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010). They also received a star on both Canada’s Walk of Fame (1999) and Hollywood Walk of Fame (2010).

On 10 August 1997 his only child, Selena Taylor, ^[3] was killed in a single-car accident at 19 years old. Ten months later, his common-law wife of 23 years, Jackie Taylor, succumbed to cancer on 20 June 1998. ^[4]

Neil Peart married on 9 September 2000 to photographer Carrie Nuttall and they had a daughter Olivia Louise Peart born in late 2009 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California, USA.

By 2005 he had written 3 books ...

- "The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa" (1996)

- "Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road" (2002)

- "Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times". (2004)

He wrote a total of seven nonfiction books focused on his travels and personal stories. His final book, a coffee table book called "Silver Surfers", based on his collection of cars is set to be released posthumously in 2023.

He also co-authored three novels with Kevin J. Anderson on the "Clockwork Angels" series, based on their album "Clockwork Angels". Clockwork Angels (2012), Clockwork Lives (2015), and Clockwork Destiny (released posthumously on 14 June 2022). They also wrote the dark fantasy novella "Drumbeats" inspired by Neil's travels in Africa. ^[5]

At the end of 2009, Neil Peart recorded a new version of "The Hockey Theme" for TSN networks for which Drum Workshop created him a Hockey Themed drum kit which as of July 2016, is now in Studio Bell the National Music Centre in Calgary, CA.

On 5 May 2012 "Rush" was awarded the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, Lifetime Artistic Achievement (Popular Music). ^[6]

On 18 April 2013 "Rush" was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ^[7]

In the mid-2010s, Peart acquired U.S. citizenship. ^[8]

On 7 Dec 2015 he announced his retirement from music. in an interview with "Drumhead Magazine". ^[9] In January 2018 bandmate Alex Lifeson confirmed that "Rush" was retiring due to Peart's health issues. ^[10]

Some of his nicknames included Pratt, Milton Banana and "The Professor".

"Rush" played their final show of the R40 tour on August 1, 2015 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. They ended the show with a final encore of "Working Man".

He spent his retirement doing what he loved, writing, volunteering at Olivia's school, driving his "Silver Surfer" collection of cars, and spending time with family and friends.

Five years later "The Professor" succumbed to glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer that he had been diagnosed with three and a half years earlier in August 2016 and was given 12-18 months to live, but it was kept a secret, only known to his close inner circle until he passed.

He died on 7 Jan 2020 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California, USA. ^{[11] [12] [13]}

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia: Neil Peart
2. ↑ "Glen Peart Tells Farm Equipment About Son Neil, the Parts-Manager Turned Rock Star" by Mike Lessiter posted in "Dealer Succession" on 15 Oct 2019
3. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #232749655 for daughter, Selena Peart Taylor
4. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #192954068 for partner, Jacqueline Flockhart Taylor
5. ↑ Neil Peart. Accessed August 7, 2022. https://neilpeart.net/books/.
6. ↑ “Rush: 3 Days in Ottawa - Governor General's Peforming Arts Awards - Zoomer Magazine - October 2012.” Cygnus-X1.Net - A Tribute to the Canadian Rock Band Rush, April 18, 2013. https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/rush/zoomer-10.2012.php.
7. ↑ “Rush | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.” Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 2013. https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/rush.
8. ↑ "From Rush with Love" by Brian Hiatt & published in "Rolling Stone" magazine on 16 June 2015 https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rush-neil-peart-geddy-lee-alex-lifeson-59586/
9. ↑ "Rush's Neil Peart says he's retired from music", Consequence of Sound; published in "Drumhead Magazine" on 07 Dec 2015 https://exclaim.ca/music/article/rush_drummer_neil_peart_says_hes_retired_from_music
10. ↑ "Rush Officially Breaks Up, Two Years After They Quit Touring" by Derrick Rossignol & published by Uproxx in January 2018 https://uproxx.com/music/rush-break-up-touring-alex-lifeson-geddy-lee-neil-peart/
11. ↑ Los Angeles County, CA Death Certificate image on ancestry.com
12. ↑ "Neil Peart, Rush Drummer Who Set a New Standard for Rock Virtuosity, Dead at 67" published on RollingStone.com on 10 Jan 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5RSbrerxbE
13. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #206124899 for Neil Peart, b: 12 Sep 1952 Hagersville, Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada; d: 07 Jan 2020 Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California, USA; with personal photo

See also:

• "A Port boy's story", part#1 & part#2" by Neil Peart with editor Brian Collins published in the St.Catharines Standard newspaper on 24 & 25 June 1994

• "Neil Peart Biography" by TheFamousPeople.com

• Wikidata: Item Q313668, en:Wikipedia for Neil Peart