Singled Out: Cathy Rankin's Now You've Gone' (Tribute To Neil Peart)

10-30-2024

Cathy Rankin just released her debut single "Now You've Gone," featuring David Ellefson (ex Megadeth) and Ken Mary (ex Alice Cooper) and to celebrate we asked her to tell us about the track. Here is the story:

In 2020, when I heard the news that Neil Peart, one of the greatest musicians and storytellers in music, was gone, I vividly remember feeling there was suddenly an overwhelming void in the world that would never be filled. Through tears, I wondered how someone I didn't personally know could affect my life so much. I wanted to write something to express all those emotions that I, and so many others around the world, were feeling. I tucked the idea away and knew it would eventually come to me.

Months later, I was sitting on my couch in the middle of the pandemic, watching the news. It was such a weird time and it hit me that there is just such a heavy feeling in the world these days, and so much loss around us at all times. Countless people were dealing with grief and I needed to write about it. I'd always looked to Neil's lyrics and writing at times like this, but now I needed to speak from my own heart. The words just started popping into my head and I wrote "Now You've Gone" in about 5 minutes. It was actually originally written as a poem about my admiration for Neil and the inspiration he gave so many people, along with the feelings we all go through when we have to deal with losing a loved one. Occasionally, I'd revisit the idea to tweak certain words or lines, and as I did, I realized I was actually expressing something much deeper and closer to home than just my respect for Neil.

In 2012, my family had suffered the loss of my 18-year old nephew, Christian - my brother's son. My entire family was impacted forever, but the hardest part was watching my brother go through grieving his child. Over the years, I'd never known how to talk about it with him because no words seem adequate. As a way to try to understand and relate to what my he was going through, I gave him a copy of Neil Peart's book "Ghost Rider" which Neil wrote about losing his daughter at around the same age, in a similar circumstance. It was a way to communicate and survive in the most traumatic situation. Ironically, it was my brother who originally introduced me to the music of RUSH and the genius of Neil. So, the more I thought about my poem and tweaked it, the more it became clear that there were many unique connections within the meaning and story of this song - it became a tribute and love letter not only to my musical hero, but to my nephew.

I had no intention of anyone else ever seeing what I'd written, but in 2023 I interviewed musician and producer, Ken Mary, for the release of his new Fifth Angel album. We discovered we were both influenced heavily by RUSH in our lives, so I took a chance and shared my poem and story with Ken. He immediately connected to the concept and lyrics. He asked if I'd like him to help develop and produce it. It was a dream come true, and we worked for a full year to come up with a musical arrangement that would not only honor Neil's music and speak to RUSH fans, but also capture the emotional feeling of the story behind the song for anyone who is dealing with difficult times.

Ken created the basic musical arrangement and composition first, and then I added all my vocals. From the beginning we wanted it to feel very dramatic and orchestral, but personal. I loved Ken's idea of including the final ending instrumental part as a nod to the music of RUSH. It all evolved very naturally because we shared the same vision and passion. My bandmate, John Bronson, who also knows Ken, recorded all the guitar parts. We then reached out to David Ellefson whom we also know, and he immediately agreed to join the project and recorded the bass in one night. He, too, considered RUSH a big influence in his work.

Ultimately, we wanted the music and lyrics of "Now You've Gone" to be an emotional journey for listeners, and a tribute to those we lost, but we also wanted to make sure it was hopeful at the end to convey the message that our loved ones are never fully gone. Rather, they leave many reminders and gifts which we can continue to cherish and carry on in how we live our own lives, until we see them again, in another way.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here