{{About|the song|their compilation album|The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987}} {{Use Canadian English|date=July 2016}} {{Infobox song | name = The Spirit of Radio | cover = The_Spirit_of_Radio.jpg | caption = UK 7" single | type = single | artist = [[Rush (band)|Rush]] | album = [[Permanent Waves]] | B-side = {{ubl|"[[Circumstances (song)|Circumstances]]" (US)|"[[The Trees (Rush song)|The Trees]]" (UK)}} | released = December 1979 (promo)<br />February 1980 (single) | recorded = 1979 | studio = [[Le Studio]] ([[Morin-Heights]], [[Quebec]]) | genre = *[[New wave music|New wave]]<ref name="VH1 New Wave">{{cite magazine|first= Mike|last= McPadden|date= January 13, 2015|title=11 Classic Rockers Who Went New Wave For One Album|url=https://www.vh1.com/news/xhuo8w/11-classic-rockers-who-went-new-wave|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625132827/https://www.vh1.com/news/xhuo8w/11-classic-rockers-who-went-new-wave|url-status=live|archive-date=June 25, 2022|access-date=September 30, 2023|magazine=[[VH1]]}}</ref> *[[progressive rock]]<ref name="Goldmine 2024">{{cite web|first= Martin|last= Popoff|title= The Top 20 unlikely Progressive Rock hits, ranked|website= [[Goldmine (magazine)|Goldmine]]| date= January 5, 2024|url= https://www.goldminemag.com/music-history/top-20-unlikely-progressive-rock-hits-ranked|accessdate= January 7, 2024}}</ref> *[[art rock]]<ref name="Goldmine 2024"/> *[[power pop]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Lewis|first=John|date=June 25, 2020|url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/rush-permanent-waves-127124/|title=Rush – Permanent Waves|work=[[Uncut (UK magazine)|Uncut]]|access-date=January 17, 2025}}</ref> | length = * {{Duration|m=4|s=56}} (album version) * {{Duration|m=3|s=40}} (US/Canada single edit) * {{Duration|m=3|s=00}} (UK single edit) | label = [[Mercury Records|Mercury]] | writer = * [[Neil Peart]] * [[Geddy Lee]] * [[Alex Lifeson]] | producer = * Rush * [[Terry Brown (record producer)|Terry Brown]] | prev_title = [[Circumstances (song)|Circumstances]] | prev_year = 1979 | next_title = [[Entre Nous (Rush song)|Entre Nous]] | next_year = 1980 | misc = {{Extra chronology | artist = | type = single | prev_title = Resist | prev_year = 1997 | title = "The Spirit of Radio" (Live) | year = 1998 | next_title = [[One Little Victory]] | next_year = 2002 }}{{External music video | {{YouTube|g_QtO0Rhp0w|"The Spirit of Radio"}} }} }}
"'''The Spirit of Radio'''" is a song by Canadian rock band [[Rush (band)|Rush]], released from their 1980 album ''[[Permanent Waves]]''. The song's name was inspired by [[Brampton, Ontario]] based radio station [[CFNY-FM]]'s slogan.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=CFNY-FM |url=http://www.spiritofradio.ca/index.asp |title=Catchphrase |access-date=October 30, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Kinos-Goodin|first1=Jesse|title=Neil Peart on the 10 best Rush songs ever|url=https://www.cbcmusic.ca/posts/12151/neil-peart-on-the-10-best-rush-songs-ever|publisher=CBC|access-date=26 May 2018|date=13 November 2014}}</ref> It was significant in the growing popularity of the band, becoming their first top 30 single in Canada and reaching number 51 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]].
==Background== The introduction of the song was composed in a [[mixolydian mode]] scale built on E; most of the rest, barring repetitions of the introductory guitar riff, is in conventional E major.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0016606|title = The Spirit of Radio|website = Musicnotes|date = 13 September 1999}}</ref>
Guitarist [[Alex Lifeson]] explained the song's opening riff as "I just wanted to give it something that gave it a sense of static – radio waves bouncing around, very electric. We had that sequence going underneath, and it was just really to try and get something that was sitting on top of it, that gave it that movement."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-the-song-the-spirit-of-radio-by-rush |title=The Story Behind The Song: The Spirit Of Radio by Rush |last=Prato |first=Greg |work=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |date=2006-05-03 |access-date=2022-01-05}}</ref>
"The Spirit of Radio" features the band experimenting with a [[reggae]] style in its closing section. Reggae would be explored further on the band's next three records, ''[[Moving Pictures (Rush album)|Moving Pictures]]'', ''[[Signals (Rush album)|Signals]]'', and ''[[Grace Under Pressure (Rush album)|Grace Under Pressure]]''. The group had experimented with reggae-influenced riffs in the studio and had come up with a reggae introduction to "[[Working Man]]" on their tours, so they decided to incorporate a passage into "The Spirit of Radio", and as Lifeson said, "to make us smile and have a little fun".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19800200musicexpress.htm|title="F.M. Radio Earns Plaudits from Rush" - Music Express, February 1980|website=2112.net|access-date=3 March 2022}}</ref>
Lyrically, the song is a lament on the change of FM radio from free-form to commercial formats during the late 1970s. The Brampton, Ontario based station [[CFNY-FM]]—which had ''not'' abandoned free-form programming—is cited as an inspiration for the song. The reggae finale also has lyrics inspired by the song "[[The Sound of Silence]]" by [[Simon & Garfunkel]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-the-song-the-spirit-of-radio-by-rush |title=The Story Behind The Song: The Spirit Of Radio by Rush |last=Prato |first=Greg |work=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |date=2006-05-03 |access-date=2019-01-05}}</ref>
==Single release== Rush had grazed the UK Top 40 two years earlier with "[[Closer to the Heart]]". However, when "The Spirit of Radio" was issued as a single in February 1980, it reached number 13 on the [[UK Singles Chart]] in March.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polyhex.com/music/chartruns/chartruns.php |title=UK Singles Chart runs |publisher=Polyhex.com |date=April 8, 2011 |access-date=August 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310020924/http://www.polyhex.com/music/chartruns/chartruns.php |archive-date=March 10, 2010 }}</ref> It remains their biggest UK hit to date (the 7" single was a 3:00 edited version which has not appeared on CD, as of 2011).<ref>{{cite web|title=Rush – Spirit Of Radio|date=February 1980 |url=http://www.discogs.com/Rush-Spirit-Of-Radio/release/1144431|publisher=[[Discogs.com]]|access-date=5 August 2011}}</ref> In the [[United States|US]], the single peaked at number 51 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]] in 1980 and number 22 in Canada, and in 1998 a live version of the song reached number 27 on the Mainstream Rock Chart.
Promotional 12-inch copies were released in the United States in late 1979 with the B-sides of "[[Working Man]]" and "[[The Trees (Rush song)|The Trees]]", and the song being incorrectly titled "The Spirit of the Radio".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rush-vlaanderen.com/rushcollection/1234.jpg|format=JPG|title=Photographic image|website=Rush-vlaanderen.com|access-date=3 March 2022}}</ref>
==Reception== ''[[Cash Box]]'' said that "Geddy Lee's high vocals and the band's electrically charged instrumental should click on [[Album-oriented rock|AOR]] lists."<ref name=cb>{{cite news|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|date=February 9, 1980|page=17|newspaper=Cash Box|access-date=2022-01-01|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1980/CB-1980-02-09.pdf}}</ref>
"The Spirit of Radio" was named one of [[The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll]] and was among five Rush songs inducted into the [[Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame]] on March 28, 2010.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/753007--new-home-a-place-to-sing-praises-of-our-songwriters |newspaper=[[The Toronto Star]] |first=Ashante |last=Infantry |title=New home a place to sing praises of our songwriters |access-date=June 16, 2010 |date=January 20, 2010}}</ref> ''[[Record World]]'' called it a "crafty rocker that's an out-of-the-box AOR-pop smash."<ref name=rw>{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=February 9, 1980|accessdate=2023-02-16|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/80s/80/Record-World-1980-02-09.pdf}}</ref>
''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]'' readers voted "The Spirit of Radio" the fourth best Rush song.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-50-greatest-rush-songs-ever|title = The 50 greatest Rush songs ever|website=Loudersound.com|date = 11 June 2015}}</ref>
The song was covered by the British alternative rock band [[Catherine Wheel (band)|Catherine Wheel]] in 1996, with their version appearing both on their B-sides and rarities album ''[[Like Cats and Dogs]]'' and on the CFNY-branded compilation album ''Spirit of the Edge, Vol. 2''.<ref>Greg Quill, "Rush: writing new history Canadian rock institution gets 'humbling' honour for indelible songs like 'Spirit of Radio'". ''[[Toronto Star]]'', March 28, 2010.</ref>
== Music video == In celebration of the 40th anniversary of ''Permanent Waves'', on June 12, 2020, Rush produced an animated music video by Fantoons Animation Studio. The video features the band as they appeared around 1980. It also features nods to [[Guglielmo Marconi]] (an Italian inventor instrumental in the development of radio) as well as radio [[dj|DJ]]s from the time that were influential in Rush's development. The video also pays homage to Rush's drummer, the late [[Neil Peart]], "whose music and lyrics continue to capture the hearts and imaginations of the fans".<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Spirit of Radio Video |website=Rush.com|url=https://www.rush.com/the-spirit-of-radio-video/|access-date=2022-02-08|language=en-CA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Universal Music Rush The Spirit of Radio |website=fantoons.tv |url=https://fantoons.tv/animation/universal-music-rush-spirit-of-radio-music-video/ |access-date=2023-08-17}}</ref>
==Weekly charts== {| class="wikitable sortable" |+Weekly chart performance for "The Spirit of Radio" !align="left"|Chart (1980) ! style="text-align:center;"|Peak <br>position |- |align="left"|Canada Top Singles ([[RPM (magazine)|''RPM'']]) | style="text-align:center;"|22 |- |Luxembourg ([[Radio Luxembourg]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hitnoteringen.nl/hitlijsten/radio-luxembourg-top-203040/1980-13|title=Radio Luxembourg Top 20/30/40|date=25 March 1980|language=nl|publisher=Hitnoteringen|access-date=24 January 2026}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|16 |- {{single chart|UKsinglesbyname|13|artist=Rush|access-date=February 3, 2019}} |- {{single chart|Billboardhot100|51|artist=Rush||access-date=February 3, 2019}} |}
== See also == *[[List of Rush songs]]
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *{{official website|http://www.rush.com|Official Rush website}} *[http://www.spiritofradio.ca/ Dedicated to the old CFNY] *[http://www.edge.ca Current CFNY]
{{Rush}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spirit of Radio, The}} [[Category:1979 songs]] [[Category:1980 singles]] [[Category:1998 singles]] [[Category:Mercury Records singles]] [[Category:Rush (band) songs]] [[Category:Animated music videos]] [[Category:Songs about music]] [[Category:Songs written by Alex Lifeson]] [[Category:Songs written by Geddy Lee]] [[Category:Songs written by Neil Peart]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Terry Brown (record producer)]] [[Category:Songs about radio]]