One of the Greatest Drum Solos of All Time Belongs to 1981 Hit - And It Still Rocks
One of Rush's most celebrated songs was birthed from the band's busy travel schedule.
Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson revealed the song came from the group flying out of a small airport, "And on the way back, they tuned in the identifier for Toronto airport, which is YYZ."
Legendary drummer Neil Peart recalled, "The rhythm stuck in my head and I said, ‘Guys!' So then, thematically we said, ‘We'll let's use that airport – so much a part of our lives in those days and after – let's use that as a metaphor in a sense."
"In our lives, airports were rich with symbolism. Departures and comings and goings; departures and arrivals. Separations and meetings. That was kind of woven into the song. The exotic nature of travel, too, and Alex's guitar solo for sure too. He wove in that kind of eastern mode."
'YYZ' Named Among Greatest Drum Solos of All Time
Grunge listed the five best drum solos of all time and put Peart's work on the iconic song atop the list.
"We all knew that a Neil Peart solo had to be on this list, right? The Rush drummer comes up again and again in every list of greatest drummers ever, and rightfully so," Grunge said.
"Endlessly inventive, driven by his innate rhythmic ear as much as technical learnedness, characterized by insane limb independence (the rest of us can stick with patting our heads while rubbing our bellies), Peart didn't just blow audiences away with his percussive performances before he died in 2020; he was also Rush's lyricist. Nowhere better do we hear his profound talent at play than on one of Rush fans' favorite tracks, YYZ."
Peart's solo might be 45 years old, but it's still one of the best in music history.
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This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jul 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published July 19, 2026 at 1:01 AM.