"YYZ" is an

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instr ...

composition by the band Rush from their 1981 album '' Moving Pictures''. It is one of the band's most popular pieces and was a staple of the band's live performances. The live album '' Exit... Stage Left'' (1981) and the concert video recording ''

A Show of Hands ''A Show of Hands'' is a live album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1989. The band released a video of the same name, originally on VHS and LaserDisc, the same year. A DVD version was released as part of a box set in 2006, an ...

'' (1989) both include versions in which

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 ...

incorporates a drum soloas an interlude on the former, and as a segue out of the piece on the latter.

Title and composition

YYZ is the IATA airport identification code of

Toronto Pearson International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surr ...

, near Rush's hometown. The band was introduced to the rhythm as

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 ...

flew them into the airport. A

VHF omnidirectional range Very high frequency omnirange station (VOR) is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a receiving unit to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network ...

system at the airport broadcasts the YYZ identifier code in Morse code. Peart said in interviews later that the rhythm stuck with them. Peart and

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 ...

have both said "It's always a happy day when ''YYZ'' appears on our luggage tags." The piece's introduction, played in a

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

of , repeatedly renders "Y-Y-Z" in Morse Code using various musical arrangements.

Music video

An official music video was released on YouTube on March 11, 2022.

Awards and nominations

"YYZ" was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rock Instrumental category in 1982. It lost to " Behind My Camel" by

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

, from their album ''

Zenyatta Mondatta ''Zenyatta Mondatta'' (stylised as ''Zenyattà Mondatta'' on the album cover artwork) is the third studio album by English rock band the Police, released on 3 October 1980 by A&M Records. It was co-produced by the band and Nigel Gray. ''Zenyatt ...

''.

Covers

"YYZ" has been covered in whole or in part by: *

Godsmack Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill, lead guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its form ...

(sampled in "Batalla De Los Tambores" on the ''

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...

'' live DVD) * Primus, beginning the performance of "

John the Fisherman "John the Fisherman" is the debut single by American rock band Primus. It was first released on December 30, 1989 on the live album ''Suck on This'', then re-released a year later on May 17, 1990, this time on their debut studio album '' Frizzle ...

" heard on the 1989 live album '' Suck on This'' and in full during other concerts. The first ten seconds of the 1989 live recording are played at the beginning of "To Defy the Laws of Tradition" on the 1990 studio album ''

Frizzle Fry ''Frizzle Fry'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Primus. It was released on February 7, 1990, by Caroline Records. Produced by the band and Matt Winegar, the album was recorded at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco in Decembe ...

''. *

Umphrey's McGee Umphrey's McGee is an American jam band originally from South Bend, Indiana. The band experiments with many musical styles, including rock, metal, funk, jazz, blues, reggae, electronic, bluegrass, country, and folk. They have toured regularl ...

*Martin Motnik with

Gregg Bissonette Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959) is an American jazz and rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. He has played on albums by dozens of recording artists, including David ...

on the album ''Bass Invader'', featuring guitarist Mattias "IA" Eklundh * Dream Theater (as

Majesty Majesty (abbreviated HM for His Majesty or Her Majesty, oral address Your Majesty; from the Latin ''maiestas'', meaning "greatness") is used as a manner of address by many monarchs, usually kings or queens. Where used, the style outranks the st ...

) *

Armia Armia ( en, Army) is Polish punk rock band founded in 1985 by Tomasz Budzyński, Sławomir Gołaszewski and Robert Brylewski. Armia is famous for its use of horn, which was unusual of punk rock bands in late 1980s and 1990s. With poetic (o ...

(on ''Soul Side Story'' live album, under the title "Yyzz") *

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

(during live performances in Canadian cities) *Cygnus and the Sea Monsters, an all-star Rush

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style of an artist, such as ...

featuring

Mike Portnoy Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician who is primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departure ...

on drums, Paul Gilbert on guitar and

Sean Malone Sean Malone (April 12, 1970 – December 7, 2020) was an American musician who played primarily fretless bass guitar and Chapman Stick. He was most famous for his work with progressive metal band Cynic, in which he developed a strong partn ...

on bass. * PUP's cover of the Buzzcocks's "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" includes the intro to "YYZ" at the very end Lee and Lifeson performed "YYZ" with Foo Fighters drummer

Taylor Hawkins Oliver Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 – March 25, 2022) was an American musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters, with whom he recorded eight studio albums between 1999 and 2021. Before joining the band in 1997, he ...

during a Foo Fighters concert at Toronto's

Air Canada Centre Scotiabank Arena ( French: ''Aréna Scotiabank)'', formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in the South Core district of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Ra ...

on March 22, 2008, switching songs midway through " Stacked Actors". In October 2008, Peart performed it with the

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

Big Band alongside bassist

Jeff Berlin Jeffrey Arthur Berlin (born January 17, 1953) is an American jazz fusion bassist. He first came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the band Bruford led by drummer Bill Bruford. Musical career Berlin was born on January 17, 1953, in Quee ...

as part of the ongoing Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert series.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yyz 1981 songs Rush (band) songs Rock instrumentals Songs written by Geddy Lee Songs written by Neil Peart Song recordings produced by Terry Brown (record producer) Toronto Pearson International Airport Songs about Canada

Title and composition

Music video

Awards and nominations

Covers

See also

References