Mystic Rhythms: Rush’s Neil Peart On The First Rock Drummer
JANUARY 06, 2015 2:03 AM ET
Neil Peart performs at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2013. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
At 62, Peart has lived through and listened to a substantial slice of the history of modern drumming. He says he first wanted to become a drummer when he saw The Gene Krupa Story.
“He was the first rock drummer, in very many ways,” Peart says. “Without Gene Krupa, there wouldn’t have been a Keith Moon. He was the first drummer to command the spotlight and the first drummer to be celebrated for his solos, because they were very flamboyant. He did fundamentally easy things, but always made them look spectacular.”
