Way back in 1968, 3 high school friends got together to form a band. Drummer John Rutsey, guitarist Alex Zivojinovich, and bassist Jeff Jones named their fledgling act "Rush" and began one of rock's most enduring acts. Zivojinovich anglicized his last name, becoming Alex Lifeson, and within a month of Rush's founding, Jeff Jones was replaced on bass and vocals with Gary Lee Weinrib - now known world-wide as Geddy (because of the way his grandmother said his name through her thick Israeli accent) Lee. Rush went through a few other names before eventually coming back to "Rush" and had a few different lineups, but in the early years, Rutsey. Lifeson and Lee remained it's core.

After spending several years playing coffee houses, high school auditoriums and other such venues, the band decided it was time to make a record. None of the labels they sent demos to opted to sign them, so in 1974 the band - all three around 19 years old - formed their own label, Moon Records, and recorded their first, self-titled LP.

Not long after "Rush" was released, Rutsey decided to leave the band, as he felt he would not be able to manage his diabetes the way he needed to while touring. Neil Peart was hired as a replacement and the Lee, Lifeson & Peart lineup has remained the same for the last 34 years.

After leaving the band, John Rutsey became a bodybuilder and competed at the amateur level off and on for several years.

While Neil Peart will always be viewed as Rush's drummer (and rightly so,) Rutsey was an important part of the band's early years, and it was his drumming on the classic tracks of their first album - "Working Man," "Finding My Way," "In the Mood" and the rest - that helped get the band noticed and their long (and still ongoing) career underway.

May 11, 2008, John passed away, apparently in his sleep, due to a heart attack related to his diabetes. He was 55 years old.