Friday Song: “Working Man”
A DJ needing a bathroom break plays a song and changes history
In 1974, a young Toronto-based band named Rush released a debut, self-titled, self-produced album, sending a few copies down to US radio stations in markets they might reach on the limited follow-up tour, when a station wagon was their main mode of transportation.
A DJ at Cleveland’s main rock station, WMMS, received one of the promotional copies. One night, Donna Halpern played the final track of Rush entitled “Working Man” for the following three reasons:
- Cleveland was a working town, and the lyrics were very relatable to their audience.
- WMMS was an album-oriented rock station, so they looked for songs that other stations weren’t playing.
- Running 7:07, the song gave plenty of time for the DJ to take a bathroom or smoke break.
Once the song played, the station was inundated with calls asking when the new Led Zeppelin album was coming out. Listeners were surprised to learn that the vocalist was not Robert Plant, but Geddy Lee. The album picked up steam in Cleveland and caught the attention of Mercury Records, which signed the band and re-released the album with their promotional might behind it.
- Halpern became lifelong friends with the band.
- I saw her and shook her hand when I saw the band play in Boston on their Clockwork Angels Tour. She was nestled up against the soundboard, enjoying chewing the fat with fans and the sound engineers.
With the backing of a major label, Rush soon became one of the most popular rock bands in the US and Canada.
- This was one of the few popular Rush songs not co-written by Neil Peart, who hadn’t joined the group yet.
- Peart died of glioblastoma on January 7, 2020, at the age of 67.
The song has had surprising legs, with many younger people discovering it via Rock Band. Two versions of the song are available as downloadable tracks for the music video game — one is a cover based on the original recording, while the other is a previously unreleased master track with an alternate guitar solo. The alternate version proved so popular that the band released it under the title “Working Man (Vault Edition).”
The song has been featured in episodes of various television series — Fargo, My Name is Earl, That ’70s Show, Supernatural, and American Dad! — as well as the 2011 film Goon, and a 2014 Walmart television advertisement. Pete Alonso of the New York Mets uses the song as his walk-up song.
It has become a favorite “reaction video” choice on YouTube since Peart’s passing and the effective retirement of Rush. The performance below freaks out newbies.
In 2012, as part of their Time Machine Tour, the band closed out what would be their final appearance in Cleveland with this now-legendary version of “Working Man,” starting the song with a reggae-infused approach and quickly winding it up into a showcase for three of the greatest rock musicians ever — with a special shout out to the band’s eternally underrated guitarist, Alex Lifeson.
During their final tour (R40), where they played songs in reverse-chronological order — with appropriate staging — to rewind their career in a concert, it was the last song Rush played live when the tour ended at The Forum in Los Angeles on August 1, 2015. The staging by that point had reverted to that of a high school gymnasium suitable for the sock hops the band once thrived playing as teens.
Enjoy!