Throughout Rush’s career are a number of landmark songs: Working Man was their first track to get key radio airplay outside of their native Canada, and led to a worldwide deal with Mercury Records; 2112 secured the band’s future when that Mercury contract hung in the balance; The Spirit Of Radio gave them the unlikely distinction of a UK Top 20 hit. But of all the songs in the Rush catalogue, the most famous is Tom Sawyer, the opening track from 1981’s Moving Pictures, the band’s biggest-selling album (and to many their greatest).
“Tom Sawyer is a real trademark song for us,” says Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson. “Musically it’s very powerful, and lyrically it has a spirit that resonates with a lot of people. It’s kind of an anthem.”
