REO Speedwagon is an American hard rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the group originally included drummer and backing vocalist Alan Gratzer, guitarist and lead vocalist Joe Matt, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Blair, and keyboardist Neal Doughty. [1] Matt left early the next year after graduating from school, with Terry Luttrell taking his place on lead vocals. [2] Bob Crownover took over as the band's guitarist, but was replaced after a brief tenure by Bill Fiorio and later Steve Scorfina. [3] Blair left a few months after Matt, with Gregg Philbin taking his place. [4] The band also briefly added saxophonist Joe McCabe and trumpeter Marty Shepard to its lineup in 1968. [3]
By late 1970, REO Speedwagon had finalised its first recording lineup with the addition of guitarist Gary Richrath in place of Scorfina. [5] In early 1972, shortly after the release of the band's self-titled debut album, Luttrell left REO Speedwagon following a disagreement with Richrath. [6] The vocalist was replaced by Kevin Cronin, who performed on the group's second album R.E.O./T.W.O. before leaving during sessions for the 1973 follow-up. [7] Mike Murphy took over and recorded Ridin' the Storm Out , Lost in a Dream and This Time We Mean It , but was replaced by a returning Cronin in 1976. [8] [9] Philbin left the following year, with Bruce Hall taking his place. [10]
The band's lineup remained stable thereafter for more than ten years until Gratzer decided to retire in 1988, with Graham Lear brought in as his replacement. [11] Richrath also left early the next year, with Miles Joseph filling in for a show before Dave Amato took over in May. [12] [13] Also in 1989, Bryan Hitt replaced Lear on drums, [14] while Jesse Harms joined as a second keyboardist, performing on the band's 1990 album The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken . [15] Since the end of Harms's brief tenure with the group, REO Speedwagon has retained a consistent lineup of Neal Doughty, Kevin Cronin, Dave Amato, Bruce Hall, and Bryan Hitt [16] until 2023 when Doughty announced he was retiring from touring. His touring replacement was announced as former Iron Butterfly and Whitesnake member Derek Hilland. [17]
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Neal Doughty [17] | 1967–present (not touring since 2023) |
| all REO Speedwagon releases from R.E.O. Speedwagon (1971) to Not So Silent Night ... Christmas with REO Speedwagon (2009) | |
Kevin Cronin |
|
|
| |
Bruce Hall | 1977–present [19] [20] |
| all REO Speedwagon releases from You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish (1978) onwards | |
Dave Amato [21] | 1989–present |
| all REO Speedwagon releases from The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken (1990) onwards | |
Bryan Hitt [22] |
| |||
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alan Gratzer | 1967–1988 (founding member) [23] |
| all REO Speedwagon releases from R.E.O. Speedwagon (1971) to The Hits (1988) | |
Mike Blair [24] | 1967–1968 |
| none | |
Joe Matt [25] |
| |||
Terry Luttrell | 1968–1972[ citation needed ] | lead vocals | R.E.O. Speedwagon (1971) | |
Bob Crownover | 1968–1969 [26] | guitar | none | |
Gregg Philbin | 1968–1977 [27] (died 2022) |
| all REO Speedwagon releases from R.E.O. Speedwagon (1971) to Live: You Get What You Play For (1977) | |
Joe McCabe | 1968 [28] | saxophone | none | |
Marty Shepard | trumpet | |||
Duke Tumatoe (Bill Fiorio) | 1969 [29] | guitar | ||
Steve Scorfina | 1969–1970 [3] | |||
Gary Richrath | 1970–1989 [30] (died 2015) |
| all REO Speedwagon releases from R.E.O. Speedwagon (1971) to The Hits (1988) | |
Mike Murphy | 1973–1975 [31] |
|
| |
Graham Lear | 1988–1989 [32] | drums | The Second Decade of Rock and Roll: 1981 to 1991 (1991) | |
Miles Joseph | 1989 [33] (died 2012) [34] | lead guitar | none | |
Carla Day | 1989 [35] [36] | backing vocals | ||
Melanie Jackson | ||||
Jesse Harms | 1989–1991 [15] |
| The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken (1990) |
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
John Aldridge | 2005–present |
| John Aldridge, Bryan Hitt's drum tech since July 2005, performed additional percussion parts live from around July 2005 until the present day. [37] He also performed drums at soundchecks when Bryan was running late. | |
Joe Vannelli | 2007 (substitute) |
| Doughty was absent from the REO Speedwagon Unplugged Live in Washington XM Radio show in early April 2007, with producer Joe Vannelli filling-in on keyboards. [38] Vannelli also performed piano, Hammond organ, and synthesizer on the 2007 album Find Your Own Way Home . [39] | |
Derek Hilland | 2023–present (substitute) | With Doughty's retirement from touring being announced in January 2023, Derek Hilland has been filling-in for Doughty live since January 2023. [40] | ||
Matt Bissonette |
| With Hall's hiatus to have back surgery in November 2023, Matt Bissonette has been filling in for Hall. [41] He will continue to do so until the band ceases touring in 2025. [42] |
Period | Members | Releases |
---|---|---|
Fall 1967 – early 1968 |
| none |
Early – summer 1968 |
| |
Summer – late 1968 |
| |
Late 1968 – summer 1969 |
| |
Summer – late 1969 |
| |
Late 1969 – late 1970 |
| |
Late 1970 – early 1972 |
|
|
Early 1972 – mid-1973 |
|
|
Mid-1973 – January 1976 |
|
|
January 1976 – early 1977 |
|
|
Early 1977 – September 1988 |
|
|
September 1988 – early 1989 |
| none |
Early – spring 1989 |
| |
Summer 1989 – early 1991 |
| |
Early 1991 – present |
Notes: Derek Hilland is currently the touring replacement for Neal Doughty. Matt Bissonette is currently the touring replacement from Bruce Hall, who plans to return in 2024. |
|
REO Speedwagon, or simply REO, is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. Their best-selling album, Hi Infidelity (1980), contained four US Top 40 hits and sold more than 10 million copies.
Hi Infidelity is the ninth studio album by American rock band REO Speedwagon, released on November 21, 1980, by Epic Records. The album became a big hit in the United States, peaking at number one on the Billboard 200, spending 15 weeks at number one. It went on to become the biggest-selling album of 1981, eventually being certified 10 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The Ballads is a 1999 compilation album by REO Speedwagon. It features some of the band's previously recorded hit ballads as well as two new songs, Just For You and Til The Rivers Run Dry.
Arch Allies is a live album recorded by REO Speedwagon and Styx at Riverport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It was released on September 26, 2000, by Sanctuary Records, and a single DVD was also released on November 7, 2000.
The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken is the thirteenth studio album by REO Speedwagon, and was released in 1990.
"Keep On Loving You" is a ballad written by Kevin Cronin and performed by American rock band REO Speedwagon. It features the lead guitar work of Gary Richrath. The song first appeared on REO Speedwagon's 1980 album Hi Infidelity. It was the first REO Speedwagon single to break the top 50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, reaching the number-one spot for one week in March 1981. The single was certified platinum for U.S. sales of over one million copies. It peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart.
R.E.O./T.W.O. is the second studio album released by the Illinois-based rock band REO Speedwagon, released in 1972. Under the leadership of guitarist Gary Richrath, this album continued the musical direction set on 1971's REO Speedwagon with Richrath's own compositions carrying the record.
You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish is the seventh studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1978. It was their first album to be co-produced by lead singer Kevin Cronin and lead guitarist Gary Richrath. The album was REO's first to make the Top 40, peaking at No. 29. The album sold over 2 million copies in the US, which led it to being certified 2× Platinum.
"Take It on the Run" is a song by American rock band REO Speedwagon off the band's ninth studio album Hi Infidelity (1980). The song was written by lead guitarist Gary Richrath. "Take It on the Run" was the follow-up single behind the group's number-one hit, "Keep On Loving You". The single went gold on April 17, 1989. "Take It on the Run" has appeared on dozens of "various artists" compilation albums, as well as several REO Speedwagon greatest-hits albums. The 2017 song "Messin' Around" by Pitbull featuring Enrique Iglesias interpolates "Take It on the Run".
Live: You Get What You Play For is a live album by rock band REO Speedwagon, released as a double-LP in 1977. It was recorded at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building in Kansas City, Kansas, the Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, Kiel Auditorium in Saint Louis, Missouri and Alex Cooley's Electric Ballroom in Atlanta, Georgia. It peaked at number #72 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1977. The song "Ridin' the Storm Out" reached #94 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, but has since become a classic rock radio staple. The album went platinum on December 14, 1978.
Good Trouble is the tenth studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1982 as a follow-up to Hi Infidelity. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard charts. The single "Keep the Fire Burnin'" gave the band a #7 hit on Billboard's Pop Singles Chart and a #2 hit on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, their highest-charting hit on this chart.
R.E.O. Speedwagon is the debut studio album by American rock band REO Speedwagon. Released in 1971, it was the only album recorded with singer Terry Luttrell, who would go on to join Starcastle. Kevin Cronin joined the band for R.E.O./T.W.O. This album concluded with a progressive rock song unlike the later arena rock songs that made them famous.
R.E.O. is the sixth studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1976. It peaked at number 159 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1976. It marked the return of Kevin Cronin to the band after a four-year absence. Five of the songs were featured on the band's subsequent live album, Live: You Get What You Play For. Many fans refer to the album as C.O.W. due to the background of the cover art.
Ridin' the Storm Out is the third studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1973. It peaked at number 171 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1981, and reached platinum status in 1989. It was the first album to feature Mike Murphy on vocals. The sessions started out with Kevin Cronin, but he left the band before the album was finished, due to creative differences. The title track would later become a hit for the band on their live album, after Cronin had returned to the band. The song refers to the band being stuck in a harsh winter blizzard after a show in Boulder, Colorado, at a bar named Tulagi.
"157 Riverside Avenue" is a song by REO Speedwagon from their first album, REO Speedwagon, released in 1971. It was written by all five band members at the time, Terry Luttrell, Gary Richrath, Gregg Philbin, Neal Doughty, and Alan Gratzer. The title refers to the Westport, Connecticut address where the band stayed while recording that album. On March 29, 2012 the house the band stayed in was torn down to make way for a new house.
Life as We Know It is the twelfth studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1987.
The Hits is a compilation album from REO Speedwagon. It contains hits such as "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Keep on Loving You", as well as new tracks "Here with Me" and "I Don't Want to Lose You". "Here with Me" cracked the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. and the top ten on the Adult Contemporary chart; however, it would be the last single to feature drummer Alan Gratzer and guitarist Gary Richrath, as they each left the band within the year following this album's release. The album has sold over 4 million copies in the U.S. which led it to go 4× Platinum.
"Keep the Fire Burnin'" is a song by REO Speedwagon from their 1982 album Good Trouble. This single was the only track from the Good Trouble album to make the top ten on the pop charts, cresting at number seven.
The Essential REO Speedwagon is a greatest hits album by the band REO Speedwagon released through Epic Records and Legacy Recordings. The collection spans the band's history from 1971 through 1999 and the package includes two compact discs. The album consists of tracks from nearly every studio album up to 1999 except "This Time We Mean It" from 1975.
"In Your Letter" is a song written by Gary Richrath that was first released on REO Speedwagon's 1980 album Hi Infidelity. It was released as the fourth single from the album and just made the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #20. It also reached #26 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. It also had some chart success in Canada, reaching #34.
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