Time for Me to Fly (song)

Last updated
"Time for Me to Fly"
Time for Me to Fly - REO Speedwagon.jpg
Single by REO Speedwagon
from the album You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish
B-side "Runnin' Blind"
ReleasedJuly 1978 (US) [1]
RecordedOctober 1977
Genre Rock
Length3:43
Label Epic/CBS
Songwriter(s) Kevin Cronin
Producer(s) Kevin Cronin, Gary Richrath, Paul Grupp
REO Speedwagon singles chronology
"Roll with the Changes"
(1978)		"Time for Me to Fly"
(1978)		"Lucky for You"
(1978)
Music video
"Time for Me to Fly" on YouTube

"Time for Me to Fly" is a song by American rock band REO Speedwagon, released in 1978 as the second single from the album You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish . It was written by lead singer Kevin Cronin and took 10 years to write. [2] The song originally reached number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100, [3] but later reached number 34 on the Digital Songs chart after being used in Netflix's Ozark. [4] It also reached number 90 on the Canadian charts. [5] The song has a BPM of 81 BPM and plays in 4/4 time signature. Cash Box praised the "melodic singing and acoustic guitar work...enveloping chorus and...catchy lyric." [6] Record World said that it is "characteristic of the group's imaginative use of rock's common raw materials." [7]

Contents

Cronin said:

I had a demo version of this song on the same tape as the demo for "Keep Pushin'". I wrote it in Boulder, Colorado, inspired by the Rocky Mountains. However, John Stronach, who produced [the band's previous album] R.E.O. , didn’t like the song. And the rest of the band agreed with him. It blew my mind that they judged it so harshly because it only had three chords. Their attitude was that didn’t sound like an REO song! For me, that was crazy. I was the singer and the writer, so that should have been enough to make it a song we could record. But it was still turned down. But for the next album, this song came up again, and I convinced Gary [Richrath], who co-produced it with me, that if it was arranged differently, then it would be very powerful and a proper REO track. And it's become the fulcrum of our live set. You can feel people's hair standing up whenever we start to play this. It send shivers down my spine, because it means so much to all of us. [8]

Cronin also said:

I had a song, "Time for Me to Fly" on the You Can Tune a Piano but You Can't Tune a Fish album. One of our producers turned that down for 1976 R.E.O. album. It ended up a couple of years later on Tuna a.. He told me it was a crummy song; it only had three chords; it was too slow. It wasn't an REO Speedwagon song. I started thinking "I like this song. If somebody writes it who is in REO Speedwagon, how can it not be an REO Speedwagon song." The sound of a band has to come from the band itself. That's when we decided to fire our producer and start producing ourselves. There's a million ways you can play any song. One way seems to use the way the song wants to be. [9]

In 2021, REO Speedwagon's home state of Illinois used the song as "Time for Me to Drive" for a tourism campaign. [10]

Charts

Chart (1978)Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles [5] 90
US Billboard Hot 100 [11] 56
Chart (2020)Peak
position
US Digital Song Sales ( Billboard ) [12] 34

Other versions

Dolly Parton recorded a bluegrass version for her 1989 album White Limozeen . [13] It was released as the fourth single from the album in January 1990 and peaked at No. 39 on the U.S. Billboard Country chart.

Related Research Articles

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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.

<i>Hi Infidelity</i> 1980 studio album by REO Speedwagon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keep On Loving You (song)</span> 1980 single by REO Speedwagon

"Keep On Loving You" is a rock 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. "Keep On Loving You" has been a mainstay on 1980s soft rock compilations and has appeared on dozens of 'various artists' compilation albums, as well as several REO Speedwagon greatest hits albums.

<i>You Can Tune a Piano, but You Cant Tuna Fish</i> Album by REO Speedwagon

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Take It on the Run</span> 1981 single by REO Speedwagon

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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.

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<i>R.E.O.</i> (album) 1976 studio album by REO Speedwagon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">REO Speedwagon discography</span>

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<i>The Hits</i> (REO Speedwagon album) 1988 greatest hits album by REO Speedwagon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keep the Fire Burnin' (REO Speedwagon song)</span> 1982 single by REO Speedwagon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Let Him Go</span> 1981 single by REO Speedwagon

"Don't Let Him Go" is a song written by Kevin Cronin. It was originally released as the opening song for REO Speedwagon's #1 album Hi Infidelity. It was also released as a single, reaching #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Don't Let Him Go" has appeared on several REO Speedwagon greatest hits albums.

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"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Lonely Night (song)</span> 1985 single by REO Speedwagon

"One Lonely Night" is a song performed by the American band REO Speedwagon. The song is the third single from the band's 1984 album Wheels Are Turnin'. It peaked at No. 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it the second best performing single from the album in the United States, although very far from the success of "Can't Fight This Feeling".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Do' Wanna Know</span> 1984 single by REO Speedwagon

"I Do' Wanna Know" is a song written by Kevin Cronin that was the lead single from REO Speedwagon's 1984 album Wheels Are Turnin'. It was more of a rocker reminiscent of the songs REO Speedwagon had released in the 1970s than the ballads the band had been successful with in the early 1980s. It had limited success on popular music charts, which was blamed for delaying sales of the album until the release of the follow-up single, the ballad "Can't Fight This Feeling." The video to the song was nominated for several awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Live Every Moment</span> 1985 single by REO Speedwagon

"Live Every Moment" is a song written by Kevin Cronin that was first released on the band's 1984 album Wheels Are Turnin'. It was released as the fourth single from the album and reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

References

  1. ↑ "REO speedwagon singles".
  2. ↑ Kielty, Martin (April 20, 2020). "Why REO Speedwagon's 'Time for Me to Fly' Took 10 Years to Write". ultimateclassicrock.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  3. ↑ "REO Speedwagon – Chart History – Hot 100 Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  4. ↑ Cantor, Brian (7 April 2020). "REO Speedwagon's "Time For Me To Fly" Debuts at Number 34 on Billboard Digital Song Sales Chart Following "Ozark" Season 3 Feature". headlineplanet.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  5. 1 2 "RPM Magazine – September 9, 1978 – RPM Top Singles (51–100)". bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  6. ↑ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 22, 1978. p. 20. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  7. ↑ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. April 12, 1980. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  8. ↑ Cronin, Kevin (May 11, 2016). "The 10 Best REO Speedwagon Songs, by Kevin Cronin". Classic Rock. Louder Sound. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  9. ↑ Campbell, Mary (March 2, 1985). "REO Speedwagon back on top". Post-Star. p. 24. Retrieved 2022-07-27– via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Illinois Launches 'Time For Me To Drive' Tourism Campaign As State Prepares To Fully Reopen Next Month". CBS Chicago. 12 May 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  11. ↑ "REO Speedwagon Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  12. ↑ "REO Speedwagon Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  13. ↑ "BPM for 'Time For Me To Fly' (REO Speedwagon)". getsongbpm.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
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