1980Released
4:56

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about The Spirit Of Radio. By Songfacts®.

Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart explained this song in an interview with Billboard magazine: "'The Spirit Of Radio' was actually written as a tribute to all that was good about radio, celebrating my appreciation of magical moments I'd had since childhood, of hearing 'the right song at the right time.' However, [the song's] celebration of the ideals of radio necessarily seemed like an attack on the reality - on the formulaic, mercenary programming of most radio stations, with music the last of anyone's concerns. And yes, it was really ironic that such a song became popular on radio, though it was a kind of litmus test. Some radio guys who 'got it' could hear the song and think, 'That's the way it ought to be,' while others - the shallow, swaggering salesmen-of-the-air - could be oblivious to the song's meaning and proudly applaud themselves, 'That's about me!'"

A key line in this song comes when Geddy Lee sings about concert halls that echo with "the sound of salesmen." Neil Peart came up with the line after hearing stage patter from bands Rush would tour with; these bands would give the same spiel night after night, often telling the audience that their particular city was the greatest in the world or had the best fans. Peart found this disingenuous and manipulative. Rush was never a band that pandered to their fans, and they were very careful when it came to marketing, as their ethos of free thought doesn't jibe with most promotional efforts that tell folks what to think. Peart cites Kiss as a "salesmen" group that markets the band as a lifestyle (you can even get buried in a Kiss Kasket when you die). Rush opened for Kiss on a series of shows in 1974. The bands got along very well, but it was clear they had very different ideas on how to present their product.

The unusual guitar heard at the beginning of this track sounds like Alex Lifeson was using a hammer-on technique, but he was really picking the strings very quickly.

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of The Spirit Of Radio.
EKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
136BPM

Album

The album The Spirit Of Radio is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released The Spirit Of Radio.
Island Mercury
© 1980 The Island Def Jam Music Group Inc.
℗ 1980 The Island Def Jam Music Group Inc.

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