REO Speedwagon - Definition and Overview

REO Speedwagon is a rock band which grew in popularity in the Midwestern United States during the 1970s. The band reached international stardom in the early 1980s. They continue to record and perform. The band had number one hits with Keep On Lovin’ You and Can’t Fight This Feeling. Both songs are power ballads, the former being prototypical of the genre and appearing on the group’s most commercially successful album, Hi Infidelity. Earlier REO songs Ridin’ The Storm Out, Roll With The Changes, and Time For Me To Fly enjoy continuous rotation on classic rock radio stations.

REO Speedwagon took its name from a truck manufactured by the REO automobile company. ("REO" are initials the company’s founder, Ransom Eli Olds, who also lent his name to the Oldsmobile division of General Motors.) The name was suggested to fellow bandmates by keyboard player Neal Doughty, who was enrolled as an engineering student at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, and who learned about the truck in a history of transportation class.

REO Speedwagon was formed in 1968 by Doughty and dormmate drummer, Alan Gratzer to play cover tunes in campus bars. Numerous early personnel changes eventually resulted in Gary Richrath joining the band. Richrath was a Peoria-based guitar player and prolific songwriter who brought original material to the band. With Richrath on board, the regional popularity of the band grew tremendously. The midwestern United States remains an REO fan stronghold and has its roots in this period of the band's history.

Paul Leka, an east coast-based record producer, brought the band to a recording studio where they recorded original material for their first album. It was self-titled and was released on Epic Records in 1971. 157 Riverside Avenue is a track from this record. The title refers to the Westport address where the band stayed while making the recording. The song remains an in-concert favorite with fans. The line-up on the first album was Doughty on keyboards, Gratzer on drums, Richrath on guitar, Gregg Philbin on bass, and singer Terry Luttrell.

Musical differences led to Luttrell’s replacement with singer/songwriter/guitarist Kevin Cronin. Cronin recorded one album with the band, 1972’s REO/TWO, before leaving due to persistent creative dissagreements with Richrath. Ridin’ The Storm Out was the band’s third release with as many singers; this time Mike Murphy.

Murphy stayed on for two more albums before Cronin returned to the fold in 1976.

REO Speedwagon’s first live album, You Get What You Play For, proved to be the first real commercial success. The band was always dissatisfied with the producers on their studio albums because they continually failed to capture on tape the same quality as the band’s energetic and ever-popular live show. The live album, which was self-produced, changed that. Indeed, all subsequent albums would have band members participating as producers.

Philbin was replaced with Bruce Hall in 1978 in time to record You Can Tune A Piano But You Can’t Tuna Fish. The album contained the first of many of the band’s Top-40 hits, Roll With The Changes.

The lineup was now set for the band’s most popular period. In 1981, REO Speedwagon released Hi Infidelity, which represented a change in the music from hard rock to more pop-oriented material. Hi Infidelity remained atop the charts for many weeks and spawned several hit singles.

Good Trouble and Wheels Are Turnin' were followup albums which also did well commercially.

However, by the end of the 1980s, the band’s popularity waned and the group began to disintegrate. The future was uncertain as Gratzer retired and Richrath was asked to leave. A 1991 release with Brian Hitt on drums and Dave Amato on guitar was a commercial disappointment. These line-up changes were a stinging blow to many fans, especially those of the band’s harder-edged material from the 1970s, which was dominated by Richrath’s unique style on the guitar.

As in the 1970s, the band and its newer members gained fan acceptance by touring constantly and playing everywhere. In the late 1990s and into the 21st century, the band sometimes tours with other venerable rock bands such as Foreigner, Styx, Journey, and Fleetwood Mac.

REO Speedwagon's Official Website (http://www.speedwagon.com)