"Working Man" is a song by rock band

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

from their self-titled debut album. In an interview on the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' YouTube channel, bassist and lead vocalist Geddy Lee said that "Working Man" is his favorite song to play live. "Working Man" became a favourite among Rush fans; the guitar solo appeared on ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

'' magazine's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos list.''The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos''

(accessed December 11, 2007).

Release and reception

Donna Halper Donna Lee Halper (born February 14, 1947 in Dorchester, Massachusetts) is a Boston-based historian and radio consultant. Beginning in 1968, Halper worked as a radio disc jockey and music director, and is credited with discovering the progressiv ...

, then a disc jockey and music director at

WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock st ...

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, is credited with getting Rush noticed in the United States by playing "Working Man" on the air. The song proved particularly popular in the working-class city. The response resulted in a record deal for the band, which gave her special thanks for her part in their early history and dedicated their first two albums to her. Two versions of the song are available as downloadable tracks for the

music video game A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs. Music video games may take a ...

series ''

Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

''. One is a cover based on the original recording, while the other is a previously unreleased master track with an alternate guitar solo.''DLC Week of July 8th''
Rock Band Forum (accessed July 7, 2008). The alternate version proved so popular that the band released it on the

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, under the title "Working Man (Vault Edition)".

Performances

Like all of the songs on the band's first album, the song features original drummer

John Rutsey John Howard Rutsey (July 23, 1952 – May 11, 2008) was a Canadian musician best known as a founding member and original drummer of Rush (band), Rush. He performed on the band's 1974 Rush (Rush album), debut album, but left shortly after its rel ...

, who was replaced by

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

in 1974. On the 1976 live album ''

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'', the song segues into " Finding My Way" and a drum solo by Peart. After not being performed live for most of the 1980s and 1990s, it returned to Rush's setlists during the 2002

Vapor Trails Tour Rush was a Canadian rock band formed in 1968 in Toronto, that was comprised primarily of Geddy Lee (bass, vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitar), and Neil Peart (drums, percussion, lyricist). The band formed in Toronto in 1968 by Lifeson, drummer John ...

. With the exception of the 2007-08

Snakes & Arrows Tour The Snakes & Arrows Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush to promote the studio album ''Snakes & Arrows''. The first leg of the tour began on June 13, 2007, in Atlanta and concluded on October 29, 2007, at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki ...

, the song appeared on every live setlist through the

R40 Live Tour The R40 Live Tour was the final tour by Canadian rock band Rush that commemorated the 40th anniversary of drummer Neil Peart joining the band in July 1974. The title hearkens back to Rush's 2004 R30: 30th Anniversary Tour that celebrated the 3 ...

of 2015, the band's last. It was included on the live albums and videos of the tours in which it was used, except for ''

Clockwork Angels Tour The Clockwork Angels Tour was a concert tour in support of the 2012 album, ''Clockwork Angels'', by the Canadian rock band Rush. The tour included shows in Canada, the United States and throughout Europe. A nine-piece string ensemble accompanie ...

''; for R40 Live, it was played as part of a medley with "What You're Doing" and ended with a snippet of "Garden Road," a song from the band's early catalog.

Cultural references

The song is featured in episodes of the television series ''

My Name is Earl ''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia that aired on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and starred Jaso ...

'', ''

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'' and ''

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'', the 2011 film ''

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'', and a 2014

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television advertisement. Major League Baseball player

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of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

uses the song as his walk up song.

Personnel

Geddy Lee Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib; July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the re ...

– bass, lead vocals *

Alex Lifeson Aleksandar Živojinović, (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that wo ...

– guitar *

– drums

Notable covers

* Danielle Armstrong covered "Working Man" for the opening credits of '' Transporter: The Series''. This version was arranged by Jamie Forsyth.''Thierry Attard's Double Feature''
/ref> * Thirteenth season ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' contestant

Caleb Johnson Caleb Perry Johnson (born April 23, 1991) is an American singer who won the 13th season of ''American Idol''. Prior to appearing on the series, he was the front man for the band Elijah Hooker. After ''American Idol'', Johnson released his debu ...

performed this song during the Top 12 round, and was met with moderate reviews from the judges. *

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Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

R&B icon

Cyril Neville Cyril Garrett Neville (born October 10, 1948) is an American percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother Art Neville's funky New Orleans-based band, The Meters. He joined Art in the Neville Brothers band u ...

covered "Working Man" on his 2013 album ''Magic Honey''.

References

External links

RUSH LYRICS - Working Man
{{Authority control Rush (band) songs 1974 songs Songs about labor Songs written by Geddy Lee Songs written by Alex Lifeson