[With a Little Help From My Friends]
Donna Halper is a highly respected radio consultant, media historian, author and - most importantly to readers of this site - the woman who is credited with discovering Rush while working as a program director at WMMS in Cleveland back in 1974. Donna recently attended the show in Boston and was inspired to write an article at OpEdNews.com titled With a Little Help From My Friends. The article focuses on the topic of friendship and how it relates to politics. She uses her long-running friendship with Rush to illustrate her point. Here's an excerpt:
... Last night, I went to see Rush (the rock group, not the right-wing talk show host), and as I was driving home from the concert, some thoughts about the value of friendship kept running through my mind. Back in 1974, when I was a disc jockey and music director at WMMS-FM in Cleveland, I was fortunate to receive a copy of a self-published album by a Canadian band I'd never heard of; from the moment I played the track "Working Man," I knew that Rush had immense potential. So I helped them to get a U.S. recording contract (the story how it all came about is posted to a number of fan websites, so I won't repeat it here) and we became friends. Since those early days when I first met Alex, Geddy and Neil, we've kept in touch sporadically; they've become as successful as I knew they'd be, and I've gotten a few accomplishments of my own. But the bottom line is we're all pretty busy. And yet, 34 years later, we still keep in touch. ...
... As I'd said, when I first discovered the band, I had no expectations of getting anything in return. So, when they dedicated their first two albums to me, and when I was given the opportunity to be the MC at one of their live shows in Cleveland, that was more recognition than I had usually received; as a music director for more than 13 years, I had helped a number of bands, and had seldom gotten so much as a thank you. I didn't take it personally. I understood that's how things often went in the music industry, and when Rush and their management acknowledged my efforts on their behalf, it was a pleasant surprise. But I certainly never expected that more than three decades later, the band would continue to remember what I did for them during those first few years. When I tell people that the members of Rush are the same kind, down-to-earth guys I met in 1974, some folks are skeptical, given what they've heard about rock stars. But the fact remains: success hasn't spoiled them. When I see them backstage, when we hug and chat about whatever, it's amazing to me that here we are, each of us with a lot more achievements than we had in 1974, but there's no ego, and no pretence. They're courteous (there's that word again) and while they have definite opinions about politics, the way they express them doesn't demean anyone. And even though our lives and our circumstances may have changed, we still care about each other. ...
Well said. These are the kinds of sentiments I hear and read time and time again about Rush, and one of the many reasons they have been my favorite band for over 25 years. Thanks to Hans for the heads up.
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