Editing John Rutsey (section)

===Career===
The band formed with Rutsey on drums, Lifeson on guitars, and [[Jeff Jones (bassist)|Jeff Jones]] on vocals and bass, but after their first concert Jones left and was succeeded by Lee. During these early years, Rutsey played on the [[Not Fade Away (song)#Rush|"Not Fade Away"/"You Can't Fight It" single]] as well as the debut album ''[[Rush (Rush album)|Rush]]''.

Lee and Lifeson have each acknowledged that during the writing and recording sessions for the band's debut album, Rutsey was given the role of chief lyricist. When the time came to start recording, however, he did not deliver any lyrics. In interviews, Lee and Lifeson have both said that Rutsey was dissatisfied with what he had written and had torn up the lyric sheets. Lee hastily wrote the lyrics to all the songs before recording the vocal tracks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musictimes.com/articles/5651/20140422/six-lead-vocalists-who-dont-write-their-own-lyrics-ozzy-osbourne-roger-daltrey-and-more.htm |title=Six Lead Vocalists Who Don't Write Their Own Lyrics: Ozzy Osbourne, Roger Daltrey, and more |last=DeGroot |first=Joey |work=Music Times |date=2014-04-22 |access-date=2015-11-04}}</ref>  When Rush performed live, Rutsey was the one who would introduce the band members to the audience, and tell them the name of the song before they would perform it.

Soon after Rush released its debut album, Rutsey left the band, due to musical differences, health concerns related to diabetes, and his general distaste for touring. Rutsey's final performance with the group was on July 25, 1974, at Centennial Hall in London, Ontario.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Daly |first1=Skip |last2=Hansen |first2=Eric |title=Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth – The Official Touring History 1968 – 2015 |date=2019 |publisher=Insight Editions |location=San Rafael |isbn=978-1-68383-450-2 |page=48}}</ref> He was replaced by [[Neil Peart]].