When their 1980 single Keep On Loving You became REO Speedwagon’s first hit, the band had already spent close to ten years trying unsuccessfully to record a hit and performing in half-empty concert halls.
Named by keyboard player Neal Doughty after a high-speed truck he learned about in a History of Transportation class, they formed in 1968 as a hard rock band at the University of Illinois and had been making faceless minor chart LPs since 1974.
After the success of Keep On Loving You – a million-selling US #1 – and their 11th album Hi Infidelity (1980) the band softened their sound, applied an AOR radio gloss and played their part in ushering in an era of power ballads.
They repeated the success in 1985 with the ballad Can’t Fight This Feeling – which was #1 in America for three weeks – but the hits dried up soon after.
Drummer Alan Gratzer left the group in 1988 and guitarist Gary Richrath a year later. The line-up has remained unchanged ever since, with vocalist Kevin Cronin, Doughty and bassist Bruce Hall – present since 1977 – alongside guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Bryan Hitt.
Gary Richrath died on 13 September 2015.
Kevin Cronin
Vocals, guitar, piano Gary Richrath
Guitar Neal Doughty
Keyboards Bruce Hall
Bass, vocals Alan Gratzer
Drums Gregg Philbin Bass, vocals Dave Amato
Guitar Bryan Hitt
Drums
Video
You May Also Like
Graham Bond Organisation, The Graham Bond initially made an impact on the British jazz scene in 1961 while playing alto…
Atlantic Records Atlantic Records has introduced the world to some of the most influential musicians this planet has…
Dentists, The The Dentists formed in the Medway (Kent) town of Chatham in 1983. Their first single, Strawberries…
Chesterfield Kings, The Hailing from Rochester, New York, The Chesterfield Kings (named after a brand of unfiltered cigarette) began…
Terence Trent D'Arby Terence Trent D'Arby was born in Manhattan in 1962, the son of a Pentecostal evangelist, the…
Darts Darts were formed in August 1976, although the various members were no strangers to the music…
Newtown Neurotics The Newtown Neurotics hailed from Harlow in Essex; a stereotypically inhospitable and lifeless post-war "new town"…
Pastels, The When The Pastels formed in Glasgow in the early 1980s, Postcard Records boss Alan Horne assumed…
