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Rush Return to American TV with "Colbert" Appearance

July 17, 2008 10:05 AM ET

Rush made their first American television performance in 33 years last night as they sat down for a Q&A and performed their hit "Tom Sawyer" on The Colbert Report. Why they chose to come back to U.S. TV on the Canadian-bashing Colbert show is beyond us, but it made for entertaining television. "You've been touring for 30 years, do you ever get tired of being so awesome and kicking so much ass?" Colbert asked the band, followed by "Will my show end up on your tour T-shirt?" After asking the band whose music influenced them, Colbert deadpanned the question "You're known for your long songs, have you ever written a song so epic that by the end of the song, you were actually influenced by yourself at the beginning of the song?" For the rest of the interview as well as the band's performance of "Tom Sawyer," check out the video above.

Related Stories:
Rush Never Sleeps
Rush: The Complete Album-by-Album Guide
Rush vs. Rolling Stone: An Analysis

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Song Stories

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."

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