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Reo Speedwagon
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, and continues to record and perform. The band had number one hits with Keep On Loving 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, Golden Country, Roll With The Changes, and Time For Me To Fly enjoy continuous rotation on classic rock radio stations.
REO Speedwagon took its name from the Reo Speed-Wagon, 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 the fall of 1967 by Doughty and dorm mate 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, Illinois-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.
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Artist Biography - Reo Speedwagon
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 Paul Leka, an east coast-based record producer, brought the band to a recording studio where they recorded original material for their first album. 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. The band's debut album was self-titled and released on Epic Records in 1971. One of the most popular tracks on this record was 157 Riverside Avenue. The title refers to the Westport, Connecticut address where the band stayed while in the studio, and remains an in-concert favorite with fans to this day.
Although the rest of the band's line-up remained stable, REO switched lead vocalists three times for their first three albums. Luttrell left the band shortly after recording its debut album, and was replaced with singer/songwriter/guitarist Kevin Cronin. Cronin recorded one album with the band, 1972's REO/TWO, but left the band soon after over creative disagreements. 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 and was certified platinum. 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 1980, REO Speedwagon released Hi Infidelity, which represented a change in the music from hard rock to more pop-oriented material. Hi Infidelity spawned several hit singles, and remained atop the charts for 65 weeks, 32 of which were spent in the top ten.
Good Trouble (1982) and Wheels Are Turnin' (1984) were follow-up albums which also did well commercially. In addition, the band performed at 1985's Live AID. By the end of the 1980s, Gratzer retired and Richrath left to start his own band. The 1990 release The Earth, A Small Man, His Dog And A Chicken with Bryan Hitt on drums and Dave Amato on guitar is recognized as one of the band's finest albums. Unhappy with the lack of promotion, REO Speedwagon left Epic and ultimately landed with Castle records to release Building the Bridge (1996). The title song was used as President Clinton's re-election campaign theme, and REO Speedwagon played at the Midwest Inaugural Ball on January 20, 1997.
The band has released several compilation albums featuring their greatest hits, including 1999's "Ballads." The following year, the band recorded a concert with Styx called "Arch Allies - Live at Riverport," and re-released it as a solo album with additional songs called "Live: Plus." The band was then picked by Epic, along with such artists as Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen, to record a two-disc "Essentials" compilation.
In 2005, REO Speedwagon continues their rigorous touring, selling out venues all over the United States. They are also recording a new album, which will be released in the spring of 2006.
REO Speedwagon is rocking the stage again in 2009 with a 2009 spring and summer tour that will take them from Albuquerque, New Mexico on May 13th to St. Louis on July 11th. The group will be headlining tickets with Styx and supporting group 38 Special.
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For more information , enjoy the official homepage of Reo Speedwagon
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