REO Speedwagon (originally stylized asR.E.O. Speedwagon), or simplyREO, was an Americanrock band fromChampaign, 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.^[1]

REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon performing live at theRed Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado, in 2010
Background information
Origin	Champaign, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Arena rock pop rock hard rock AOR blues rock (early)
Years active	1967 (1967)–2024, 2025 (one-off)
Labels	Epic Speedwagon Sony/Legacy
Past members	Neal Doughty Alan Gratzer Mike Blair Joe Matt Bob Cranover Terry Luttrell Joe McCabe Gregg Philbin Marty Shepard Bill Fiorio Steve Scorfina Gary Richrath Kevin Cronin Mike Murphy Bruce Hall Graham Lear Carla Day Melanie Jackson Miles Joseph Dave Amato Jesse Harms Bryan Hitt
Website	reospeedwagon.com

REO Speedwagon has sold more than 40 million records and charted 13 Top 40 hits, including the number ones "Keep On Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling".

In the fall of 1966,Neal Doughty was just beginning an electrical engineering program at theUniversity of Illinois inChampaign,Illinois, as a junior. On his first night of classes, he met fellow student Alan Gratzer. Doughty had learned someBeatles songs on his parents' piano, and Gratzer had been a drummer in local bands since high school. The two held an impromptu jam session in the basement of theirIllinois Street Residence Hall dormitory.^[2][3]

Gratzer continued to perform with his band (which had a keyboard-playing lead singer), and Doughty began turning up at gigs. Doughty eventually began sitting in on a few songs. On the last day of the university's spring semester, guitarist Joe Matt called the band's leader and told him that he and the other members (Gratzer and bassist Mike Blair) had decided to start a new band with Doughty where everyone but Doughty would sing.

The new band made a list of songs to learn over the summer break. Doughty landed a summer job and bought his first organ. On hisFarfisa organ, he learnedThe Doors' "Light My Fire". The members returned to school in the fall of 1967 and had their first rehearsal before classes started. They named the band REO Speedwagon, from theREO Speed Wagon, a 1915 truck designed byRansom Eli Olds.^[4] Doughty had seen the name written on the blackboard when he walked into his History of Transportation class on the first day they had decided to look for a name. Rather than pronouncing REO as a single word as the motor company did("REE-oh"), they chose to spell the word out, pronouncing each letter individually ("R-E-O"). An advertisement in the school newspaper produced their first job, a fraternity party that turned into a food fight. They continued to performcover songs in campus bars, fraternity parties and university events.

In early 1968,Terry Luttrell became lead singer and Bob Crownover joined as the guitarist, replacing Matt after he graduated. When Mike Blair left the band in mid-1968, Gregg Philbin replaced Blair and Joe McCabe played sax until he moved on toSouthern Illinois University. Marty Shepard then came aboard on trumpet, soon joined by a second trumpeter named Steve (last name unknown). Doughty joined them as a third horn player on some tunes. But Shepard left during the following year and horns were dropped from the group altogether by the summer of 1969.^[5]

Bob Crownover played guitar for the group until mid-1969, whenBill Fiorio replaced him. Fiorio then departed in late 1969, eventually assuming the nameDuke Tumatoe, and went on to form the All Star Frogs. Steve Scorfina (who went on to found the bandPavlov's Dog) came aboard for over a year, composing with the band and performing live, before being replaced byGary Richrath in late 1970.

Richrath had driven 100 miles (160 km) to see the band and become a part of it, saying, "I'm going to be a part of that band whether they like it or not." He was aPeoria, Illinois-based guitarist and prolific songwriter who brought original compositions. With him on board, the band's regional popularity grew tremendously. TheSt. Louis-based radio stationKSHE, one of America's most influential rock stations, began supporting it, elevating the band's profile outside its Midwestern stronghold.

Epic Records signed the band to a recording contract in 1971 afterPaul Leka, anEast Coast record producer, saw them play before an enthusiastic outdoor crowd in Peoria during a rainstorm and brought the band to hisrecording studio inBridgeport,Connecticut, where it recorded original material for its first album.^[6] The lineup on the first album consisted of Richrath, Gratzer, Doughty, Philbin and Luttrell.^[4]

In the early days, REO was managed by its University of Illinois classmateIrving Azoff, who later managed theEagles and many others, becoming one of the most powerful people in the recording industry.

With its equipment hauled to gigs in a friend's station wagon, REO played bars and clubs all over the Midwest. Its debut album,R.E.O. Speedwagon, was released onEpic Records in October 1971.^[4] The most popular track on this record was "157 Riverside Avenue"; it remains an in-concert favorite. The title is the address inWestport, Connecticut, where the band stayed while recording in Leka's studio in Bridgeport.

Although the rest of the band's lineup remained stable, REO Speedwagon switched lead vocalists three times for their first three albums. Luttrell left the band in early 1972, eventually becoming the vocalist forStarcastle. He was replaced byKevin Cronin.^[4] Cronin recorded one album with the band, 1972'sR.E.O./T.W.O. but left during the recording sessions for 1973'sRidin' the Storm Out because of internal conflicts.^[7]Ridin' the Storm Out was completed with Michael Bryan Murphy on lead vocal, and featured Doughty's "wailing storm siren" synthesizer intro on the title track. Murphy stayed for two more albums,Lost in a Dream (1974) andThis Time We Mean It (1975), before Cronin returned in January 1976 and recordedR.E.O., released in July of that year.^[4]

Cronin's return came afterGreg X. Volz turned down the position for lead vocalist after becoming a Christian.^[8]

In 1977, REO convinced Epic Records that its strength was live performances. Epic agreed to let them produce the band's first live album,Live: You Get What You Play For (January 1977), which was eventuallycertified platinum.^[4] That same year, the band moved to Los Angeles.

Also in 1977, Philbin left the band,^[4] either because he was disenchanted with the new corporate-structure REO where Cronin and Richrath got bigger slices of the pie instead of the equal credit they once shared as a "garage band", or because he was asked to leave as his lifestyle issues affected the music quality.^[9] He was replaced by anotherCentennial High School alumnus, Bruce Hall,^[3] to recordYou Can Tune a Piano but You Can't Tuna Fish.^[4] The album was released in March 1978 and has received muchFM radio airplay over the years, thanks to songs like "Roll with the Changes" and "Time for Me to Fly". It was REO's first to make the Top 40, peaking at No. 29. It sold over two million copies in the US, ultimately achievingdouble platinum status.

In July 1979 the band turned back to hard rock with the release ofNine Lives.^[4]

On November 21, 1980, Epic releasedHi Infidelity,^[4] which represented a change in sound, going fromhard rock to morepop-oriented material.^[10]Hi Infidelity spawned four hit singles by Richrath and Cronin, including the chart-topping "Keep On Loving You" (Cronin),^[4] "Take It on the Run" (#5) (Richrath), "In Your Letter" (#20) (Richrath), and "Don't Let Him Go" (#24) (Cronin). It remained on the charts for 65 weeks, 32 of which were spent in the top ten, including 15 weeks atop theBillboard 200.Hi Infidelity sold over ten million copies.

The band's follow-up album,Good Trouble, was released in June 1982.^[4] Though not as successful as its predecessor, it performed moderately well commercially and featured the hit singles "Keep the Fire Burnin'" (U.S. #7), "Sweet Time" (U.S. #26), and theAlbum Rock chart hit "The Key".

In November 1984, the band releasedWheels Are Turnin', an album that included the No. 1 hit single "Can't Fight This Feeling" and three more hits: "I Do' Wanna Know" (U.S. #29), "One Lonely Night" (U.S. #19), and "Live Every Moment" (U.S. #34).^[4]

REO Speedwagon toured the US in 1985, including a sold-out concert in Madison, Wisconsin, in May.^[11] On July 13, on the way to a show in Milwaukee, the band stopped in Philadelphia to play at the US leg ofLive Aid, which broke a record for number of viewers. They performed "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Roll with the Changes" with members ofthe Beach Boys, the band members' families, andPaul Shaffer on stage for backing vocals.

1987'sLife as We Know It saw a decline in sales,^[4] but still managed to provide the band with the top-20 hits "That Ain't Love" (U.S. #16) and "In My Dreams" (U.S. #19).^[12]

The Hits was a 1988 compilation album^[4] which contained the new tracks "I Don't Want to Lose You" and "Here with Me". These were the last songs recorded with Richrath and Gratzer. "Here with Me" cracked the Top 20 of theBillboard Hot 100 and the top ten on the Adult Contemporary chart and was the group's final Top 40 hit.

By the late 1980s, the band's popularity was starting to decline.^[10] Gratzer left in September 1988 after he decided to retire from music to open a restaurant. In early 1989, Richrath left the band after tensions between him and Cronin boiled over.^[13] Cronin had been playing in The Strolling Dudes, a jazz ensemble that included jazz trumpet playerRick Braun (who had co-written "Here with Me" with Cronin), Miles Joseph on lead guitar, andGraham Lear on drums. Lear had already been invited to join REO in September 1988 as Gratzer's successor and Joseph was brought in as a temporary stand-in for Richrath. Backup singers Carla Day and Melanie Jackson were also added. This lineup did only one show, on January 7, 1989, inViña del Mar,Chile, where it won the award for best group at the city's annual International Song Festival. After that, Joseph and the backup singers were dropped in favor of formerTed Nugent guitaristDave Amato (brought aboard in May 1989) and keyboardist/songwriter/producerJesse Harms.

The 1990 releaseThe Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken, withBryan Hitt (formerly ofWang Chung) on drums, was a commercial disappointment.^[4] The album produced only oneBillboard Hot 100 single, to date the band's last, "Love Is a Rock", which peaked at No. 65. Disenchanted by the album's failure, Harms left the group in early 1991.

Shortly after his departure, Richrath assembled former members of the Midwestern band Vancouver to form a namesake band, Richrath. After touring for several years, Richrath (the band) releasedOnly the Strong Survive in 1992 on theGNP Crescendo label. Richrath continued to perform for several years before disbanding in the late 1990s. In September 1998, Gary Richrath briefly joined REO onstage at the County Fair in Los Angeles to play on the band's encore song, "157 Riverside Avenue". He rejoined REO in Los Angeles in May 2000 for the same encore, but no serious plans for a reunion ever materialized.

Having lost its recording contract with Epic, REO Speedwagon releasedBuilding the Bridge (July 1996) on the Priority/Rhythm Safari label. When that label went bankrupt, the album was released onCastle Records, which also experienced financial troubles. REO ultimately self-financed this effort, which failed to chart, though the title track made R&R's AC Top 30 chart.

The commercial failure of the band's newer material with its revised lineup demanded a change in marketing strategy. As a consequence, Epic began rereleasing recordings from older albums with updated artwork and design. Since 1995, Epic has released over a dozen compilation albums featuring greatest hits, including 1999'sThe Ballads, which features two new songs: "Just for You" (Cronin and Jim Peterik) and "Till The River's Run Dry" (Cronin).

In 2000, REO teamed up withStyx for a joint tour, which included a June 9 appearance atRiverport Amphitheater inSt. Louis, which was released as the live concert videoArch Allies: Live at Riverport (September 2000). REO's portion of the show was released again under three separate titles:Live - Plus (2001),Live Plus 3 (2001) andExtended Versions (2001), which wascertified gold by the RIAA on April 26, 2006. REO once again teamed with Styx in 2003 for the Classic Rock's Main Event tour, which included another band from their common rock era,Journey.

The band released a self-financed album entitledFind Your Own Way Home in April 2007. Though it did not chart as an album, it produced two singles, "I Needed to Fall" and "Find Your Own Way Home", that appeared onBillboard'sAdult Contemporary radio chart.

REO Speedwagon continued to tour regularly, mostly performing their classic hits.^[14] It teamed up withStyx to record a new single, "Can't Stop Rockin'", released in March 2009, as well as for a full tour that included special guest.38 Special.^[15]

In November 2009 REO Speedwagon released a Christmas album,Not So Silent Night...Christmas with REO Speedwagon.^[16] On December 2, the band released an onlinevideo game,Find Your Own Way Home, produced by digital design agency Curious Sense. The game was the first "downloadablecasual game" produced with a rock band and was cited by numerous publications as an innovative marketing product for a music act.^[17] In mid-2010, the band—then touring withPat Benatar—announced that it would release a 30th anniversary deluxe edition reissue ofHi Infidelity.^[18]

REO Speedwagon headlined the M&I Classic Rock Stage at Summerfest in Milwaukee Wisconsin on June 30, 2011. On March 11, 2012, Cronin appeared on theCanadian reality TV seriesStar Académie. He sang a sampling of REO's hits with the show's singing finalists.

On November 22, 2013, REO announced a benefit concert with Styx, "Rock to the Rescue", to raise money for families affected by thetornadoes in central Illinois. The concert was held on December 4, 2013, inBloomington, Illinois.Richard Marx joined REO on stage for a joint performance of two of his hit songs. Gary Richrath reunited with REO one final time for a performance of "Ridin' the Storm Out" to end REO's set at the sold-out concert. He stayed on stage to help with the encore of "With a Little Help From My Friends", along with Styx, Marx, and others. Richrath was originally from East Peoria, which was damaged during the storm. Families affected by the storm and first responders sat near the stage for this concert.

In early 2014, it was announced that REO Speedwagon andChicago would team up for 15 dates throughout 2014.^[19] Gary Richrath died on September 13, 2015, of complications from surgery.^[20] In 2016, REO toured withDef Leppard andTesla.^[21]

The band andPitbull performed the song "Messin' Around" live on the ABC TV showGreatest Hits in 2016; that version of the song was released as a single on iTunes.^[22] The band toured the UK arena circuit withStatus Quo in December 2016.^[23] The band toured the US withStyx andDon Felder on the "United We Rock" tour, debuting June 20, 2017, at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater.^[24] In 2017, theHi Infidelity album received the Diamond Award for official U.S. sales of over ten million copies.^[25] REO and Chicago teamed up again in 2018 for a 30-city tour.^[26]

The band appeared in an episode in the third season of the American TV seriesOzark, which was released onNetflix on March 27, 2020. After the appearance, four of REO's songs reentered theBillboard rock charts.^[27] The song "Take it on the Run" features prominently in a 2018 episode of the first season of the TV series "Cobra Kai"; Daniel and Johnny are riding in Johnny's car when the song comes on the radio. Both men begin nodding their heads to the song, and Johnny, with some surprise, says to Daniel, "You like Speedwagon?" Daniel replies, "What kind of man doesn't!"

In 2021 REO Speedwagon was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum inJoliet.^[28] The group spent summer 2022 touring withStyx, on theLive and Unzoomed Tour, withLoverboy serving as the opening act.

Gregg Philbin died on October 24, 2022.^[29][30]

On January 4, 2023, the band announced that its sole remaining original member,Neal Doughty, would retire from touring with the band after 55 years.^[31] Bassist Bruce Hall said Doughty would always be part of the REO brotherhood, and left open the opportunity for Doughty to appear at select dates.^[32] The band announced Derek Hilland (ex-Iron Butterfly) as a touring replacement for Doughty.^[33][34]

On November 7, 2023, Hall announced he was taking a leave of absence from touring to prepare for and undergo back surgery for an accident he had a number of years earlier. Hall was expected to rejoin the band on tour in 2024. Later that day, Cronin announced that bassist/singerMatt Bissonette would be Hall's touring replacement.^[35]

On September 16, 2024, the band announced^[36] that they will cease touring effective January 1, 2025. The announcement said that Hall had not sufficiently recovered from his back surgery the year before, and that the situation had led to irreconcilable differences between Cronin and Hall. Other posts on the band's Facebook page in the days leading up to the announcement said that Cronin had experienced illness and had undergone emergency surgery, resulting in cancelled tour dates. On December 21, 2024, Cronin confirmed that the show from that night was the last that would be performed under the REO Speedwagon moniker and the name would be retired. However, he would continue to play solo concerts with the same touring lineup and REO Speedwagon songs would still be performed.^[37]

In March 2025, Cronin announced the he and his tour band had been excluded from a one-off reunion show due to take place on June 14. This show will feature Doughty and Hall, alongside early members Terry Luttrell (vocals), Alan Gratzer (drums), Steve Scorfina (guitar) and Mike Murphy (vocals).^[38]

Final lineup

• Neal Doughty - keyboards, organ, piano, synthesizer (1967–2024; not touring 2023–2024)
• Kevin Cronin – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, keyboards(1972–1973, 1976–2024)
• Bruce Hall – bass, vocals(1977–2024)
• Dave Amato – lead guitar, vocals(1989–2024)
• Bryan Hitt – drums, percussion(1989–2024)

Studio albums

• R.E.O. Speedwagon (1971)
• R.E.O./T.W.O. (1972)
• Ridin' the Storm Out (1973)
• Lost in a Dream (1974)
• This Time We Mean It (1975)
• R.E.O. (1976)
• You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish (1978)
• Nine Lives (1979)
• Hi Infidelity (1980)
• Good Trouble (1982)
• Wheels Are Turnin' (1984)
• Life as We Know It (1987)
• The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken (1990)
• Building the Bridge (1996)
• Find Your Own Way Home (2007)^[10]
• Not So Silent Night ... Christmas with REO Speedwagon (2009)

• List of artists who reached number one in the United States

• Official website
• REO Speedwagon atAllMusic
• REO Speedwagon discography atDiscogs
• REO Speedwagon atIMDb
• How REO Speedwagon Got Their Name
• REO Speedwagon Live Photo Gallery