• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

RUSH Drummer's Version Of 'The Hockey Theme' Available Online

January 14, 2010

RUSH drummer Neil Peart's new rock version of "The Hockey Theme" — the iconic song that used to open "Hockey Night in Canada" telecasts — debuted earlier tonight (Thursday, January 14) during TSN's broadcast of the Toronto-Philadelphia game. You can now hear it in the YouTube clip below.

Peart's unique rock version of "The Hockey Theme" will be used during select NHL on TSN broadcasts throughout the remainder of the NHL season. It will also be available for digital download on iTunes on Tuesday, January 19.

The new version of "The Hockey Theme" showcases Peart on a custom drum kit by DW Drums featuring the logos of all 30 NHL teams. Peart and DW Drums are donating the custom kit to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, where it will be on display for hockey and music fans alike to enjoy.

The St. Catharines-born percussionist worked with Grammy Award-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz to create his interpretation of the iconic theme.

"Growing up in Southern Ontario in the '50s and '60s as 'a kid who couldn't skate right' was a serious handicap," said Peart. "Hockey totally dominated our lives for half the year — Sunday nights with my dad at the St. Catharines Arena cheering on the Junior A Blackhawks, anxiously watching NHL games on television, arguing in the schoolyard over favorite teams and players, trading hockey cards, putting them on our bicycle spokes, and playing on backyard rinks and frozen ponds, on the street, and on those old tabletop games. Hockey ruled. So, all these years later, being invited to create a new version of 'Canada's second national anthem' for TSN's NHL broadcasts was a huge honor to me, and an exciting musical challenge. The day of recording and filming it — in the presence of the Stanley Cup — was truly one of the great experiences of my life."

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).