Songoftheday 8/22/12 - He's a rebel and a runner, he's a signal turning green...

Rush - "New World Man"

from the album Signals (1982)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21 (three weeks)

Weeks in the top-40: 6

Today's Song of the Day is by the Canadian progressive-rock group Rush, which was formed in 1971, but didn't come into its classic lineup until drummer/lyricist/songwriter Neil Peart came aboard in 1974. The band's first album was released that year (right before Peart joined), but it wasn't until their live album All The World's A Stage in 1977 that they broke through on American radio with the medley of "Fly By Night/In The Mood" which was their first minor hit single. In 1980, they started the decade with their first US top-10 album, Permanent Waves, from which the single "The Spirit Of Radio" was their first top-40 hit in their home country, and also a top-20 hit in England.

Their followup to that set was Moving Pictures, which had two top-10 rock radio hits, including the classic "Tom Sawyer", which just missed the top-40 on the pop chart in 1981, while the album sold over 4 million records. For their next studio album, 1982's Signals, they teamed up again with producer Terry Brown, and released "New World Man", written by Peart, as its lead single. It's complete with reggae-tinged breaks, ideological lyrics, and Geddy Lee's instantly identifiable voice.

The single turned out to be the band's only top-40 pop hit, while also becoming their first charttopping single on rock radio, as well as a #1 pop hit in Canada. The album also was their fourth consecutive top-10 LP in America. However, the band continued to be an acquired taste to the masses, with a rabid fanbase enamored of their mythological soundscapes and Ayn Rand-inspired symbolism, while an equally rabid chunk of the music world despised them just as heatedly. In fact, they should thank Nickelback for taking over the "most hated band from Canada" crown (as Mike Reno looks sadly on).

After Signals, Rush continued on as a successful album-rock act, in fact tying their best albums chart peak with this year's Clockwork Angels.

Up tomorrow: A prank call to a former secretary exposes a cheater.