Rush drummer Neil Peart dead at 67 after battle with brain cancer

Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for Canadian rock band Rush, died Tuesday at age 67, according to a representative for Geddy Lee.

A family statement says Peart died in Santa Monica, Calif., after battling brain cancer for more than three years.

Born in Hamilton, Ont., Peart joined Rush in 1974, after the band’s first album, replacing original drummer John Rutsey.

Rush has enjoyed considerable success in both the U.S. and Canada. Several of their albums “2112,” “Moving Pictures,” “All the World’s a Stage” and “Exit … Stage Left” have sold more than one million copies each in the U.S. alone.

In 1997, Peart along with bandmates Lee and Alex Lifeson became the first rock musicians to be inducted into the Order of Canada.

They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

(The Canadian Press)