RUSH Drummer's Version Of 'The Hockey Theme' Available Via iTunes

January 20, 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 — is now available for purchase via iTunes. A portion of the proceeds will go to the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer cause.

Peart's version of "The Hockey Theme" debuted on January 14 during TSN's broadcast of the Toronto-Philadelphia game. You can 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.

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."

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