The buzz was all about an extremely rare tv appearance by the Rush legend during Drum Solo Week on The Late Show with David Letterman.
Peart delivered an edited version of his solo on the band’s current Time Machine tour; Neil’s jaw-dropping performance capped off a week featuring Anton Fig, Sheila E. and jazz legend Roy Haynes.
The buzz carried over to the #2 spot, as hennemusic outlined the Letterman lineup and presented mini-biographies of each of the featured players. Letterman’s own drummer, Anton Fig, kicked the themed week off, attracting enough attention to land in the #9 position.
The HH10 is a list of the most-viewed rock news stories in the past week by hennemusic readers.
hennemusic Hot 10
week ending June 12, 2011
01 – VIDEO: Rush’s Neil Peart rocks Drum Solo Week on Letterman
02 – Rush: Neil Peart caps off Drum Solo Week on Late Show with David Letterman
03 – VIDEO: Judas Priest vs. Lady Gaga mashup
04 – VIDEO: Judas Priest launch Epitaph tour
05 – Motley Crue/Poison 2011 Tour dates
06 – NHL Stanley Cup: Paul Rodgers to play Vancouver Canucks game on Friday
07 – ZZ Top debuts new song in space
08 – VIDEO: Anton Fig kicks off Drum Solo Week on Letterman
09 – Def Leppard: Mirrorball available for streaming
10 – VIDEO: Motley Crue/Poison tour opens, Tommy Lee plays 360 drum roller coaster
Coming in at #3 and #4, Judas Priest was the other hot act of the week, as the metal gods launched their farewell Epitaph tour in Holland. With new guitarist Richie Faulkner in place of the retired K.K. Downing, Priest didn’t skip a metal beat and delivered a solid opening night performance. A crazy mashup by the Wax Audio team of a Priest track with the new Lady Gaga single, “Judas,” also turned some heads.
In a week of tour launches, Motley Crue began their summer US tour with Poison in Dallas, with opening night video coming in at #10, which propelled an older story featuring the tour’s dates back on the HH10 at #5.
Other hot stories this week included a Paul Rodgers appearance at game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals in Vancouver, although neither the Canadian or US tv network showed the legendary voice performing his Free classic, “All Right Now,” prior to the Vancouver Canucks-Boston Bruins battle; a new ZZ Top song is being heard in space before any of us get to check it out on this planet; and, Def Leppard’s new live album gets released – in some countries – but can be streamed online for fans who want to sample it before they decide to buy it.
Rush: Neil Peart – drum solo
Drum Solo Week
Late Show with David Letterman – June 9, 2011
See also:
Jun 5: Eddie Vedder tops the hennemusic Hot 10
May 29: Slash tops the hennemusic Hot 10
May 22: James Durbin tops the hennemusic Hot 10
May 15: Def Leppard tops the hennemusic Hot 10
May 08: Mick Jagger’s daughter, Elizabeth, tops the hennemusic Hot 10
May 01: James Durbin tops the hennemusic Hot 10 for 2nd week
Apr 24: James Durbin tops the hennemusic Hot 10
Apr 17: Paul McCartney tribute album tops the hennemusic Hot 10
Apr 10: Steven Tyler tops the hennemusic Hot 10
Apr 03: Motley Crue, Poison tour tops the hennemusic Hot 10
Mar 28: Sammy Hagar, Charlie Sheen & Eddie Van Halen top the hennemusic Hot 10
