lead singer of reo speedwagon

Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all. DK: Keep On Loving You from Hi Infidelity is a great song. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. So I was quite literally and figuratively rolling with the changes (laughs). Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. Cronin: Ive written songs on both, honestly. It took me 10 days. Gary, Posted by REO Speedwagon onSunday, 13 September 2015, Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox, A daily briefing on what matters in the music industry. REO Speedwagon's official music video for 'Take It On The Run'. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, REO Speedwagon scored numerous hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including two chart-topping singles written by Cronin: "Keep on Loving You" (1981) and "Can't Fight This Feeling" (1982). Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. When MTV launched in 1981, they played the video, as REO Speedwagon were huge at the time, with a string of hits from their, Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band). REO Speedwagon has released a number of successful albums, including 1980s Hi Infidelity,which sold 10 million copies in the United States. The opening line may be even more important than the title. REO Speedwagon performing on Feb. 5, 1981 in Chicago, Il. Biggest hit "Sister Christian" (1984) took the band to . He was 65. It's been a pretty amazing journey. When Gary (Richrath) heard that song, it signaled to him that I had some ability as a songwriter. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Formed in 1966, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. So when the Hi Infidelity album came out and Keep On Loving You went to number one, then suddenly people started looking back and realized, Wait a minute, that was REOs 11th album, maybe I should check out their earlier albums because there might be some good songs on it after all (laughs). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Recording-history.org is a participant in the Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program. Speedwagon ), or simply REO, is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Your email address will not be published. It was one of those albums which was definitely top-heavy with songs that people, to this daythey come to our concerts and we play at least five or six songs from Hi Infidelity every night. Or maybe it was a little thing to make me feel at home? Cronin: That song, coincidentally, was number one 35 years ago from right now. Its a blessing because Ive always got myself (laughs). There was this girl in Chicago who Im still in touch with to this daywere still friends. Kevin Cronin and Gary Richrath of REO Speedwagon at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, August 24, 1980. 2023 Getty Images. Click to listen to REO Speedwagon on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/REOspot?IQid=RUNAs featured on The Essential REO Speedwagon. Midway through the song, the words disappeared from the screen and the singer had to rely on memory to get through the rest. REO Speedwagon is an American hard rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Im finding myself waking up in the middle of the night with ideas, and writing them down and recording them. "The lead singer of REO Speedwagon, Kevin he's a rock-n-roll Hall of Famer he said, 'How about that LaTonya, your first live performance, and you've got a platinum record already.' These words do not come close to expressing the depth of emotions I am feeling at this time.. I gotta tell ya, I see the name REO Speedwagon all the time, but I don't often see my own name there. "Gregg . Having accidentally begun writing his autobiography during REO Speedwagons 2016 tour with Status Quo, the enforced hiatus from touring bought about by the pandemic has made him get serious about it. Even though it wasnt a hit, its a REO fan favorite. I told the writer, You know, thats not what I would normally say. What Ive been saying for I don't know how many years is, Hey Cincinnati, check yourselves out. And then our light guy puts the spots on the audience. "If I want to see if . The current lineup of REO Speedwagon consists of Cronin, original member Neal Doughty (keyboards), Bruce Hall (bass), Dave Amato (lead guitar) and Bryan Hitt (drums). The neck fits my left hand perfectly, and it sounds exactly how I think an electric guitar should sound. Cronin: Theres no real formula with it for me. REO Speedwagon's 1971 debut album was with their original lead singer, Terry Luttrell. REOSpeedwagonPlans HiInfidelty30thAnniversary Reissue, Tour. Cronin: Yeah, I think so. Im trained on the guitarI took guitar lessons for years when I was a kid. DK: A couple years later REO released Hi Infidelity, which became your biggest album. [I think] co-writing is a lot of funit definitely makes the process of songwriting more enjoyable because youre not sitting there by yourself. If you catch Linda at a wedding be sure to check out the dance floor. The episode also featured one of the bands most popular tunes, Time for Me to Fly. Its fair to say they hadnt troubled the charts for some years, but the show seemed to remind people of just how good they could be. For our episode, they had me on stage delivering a couple of lines. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. After the stage performance, we sang, 'I Can't Fight This Feeling' and a couple of his other songs. It was kind of shocking in a way. Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream? REO Speedwagon's 1971 debut album was with their original lead singer, Terry Luttrell. We are pleased to do a new interview with Cronin, about how he wrote his classic REO songs, and his creative songwriting process. In the episodes opening sequence, Time for Me to Fly is used, then its on the car radio and Laura Linneys character Wendy is singing along. Scott Weiland, lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, died December 3 at age 48. Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, September 10, 1982. Sold in excess of 17 million records worldwide. Cronin also presented LaTonya with the plaque commemorating the Billboard chart-topping single's 1981 platinum status for sales of more than 1 million copies. The first was a Hey, everybody, how you doing? thing. "It's like a direct connection with my brother that was our song," LaTonya, 52, told PEOPLE afterward. LaTonya Floyd, at right, with sister Zsa Zsa Floyd at their brother George's funeral June 9, 2020. The current lineup of REO Speedwagon consists of Cronin, original member Neal Doughty (keyboards), Bruce Hall (bass), Dave Amato (lead guitar) and Bryan Hitt (drums). After all, hes been a mainstay in the world of rap music since the late 1980s. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. His initial period with the band proved brief. However, there, Read More 10 Things You Didnt Know about DJ PaulContinue, Your email address will not be published. It was really my songs that got me the gig. For example, In 2011, He worked on Universal Language with producer Will, Read More 10 Things You Didnt Know about Angel VivaldiContinue, Ice Nine Kills is a metal band that hails from from about an hour from where I grew up: Boston, MA. REO Speedwagon is an American hard rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Click to listen to REO Speedwagon on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/REOspot?IQid=RUN Show more REO Speedwagon - Event. Here it is, 50 years later, and it's still out there appealing to people; bringing up emotions, making people smile. Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. The subjects that we were writing about were what was going on in our lives, since we were all in the same boat in a lot of ways. "It was so inspirational.". Because I had a couple lines, they gave me the script, and it didn't dawn on me at first, but then I noticed the name of the episode was Kevin Cronin Was Here. I thought that was just a working title. So that was the song that kind of got it going. Afterwards, she spent time with Cronin, his daughter and his manager. But I think it served its purpose because people at the record company heard it, REO Speedwagon fans heard itif they didnt hear it on the radio they heard us playing it live. "I had my eyes closed the whole time picturing my brother. Cronin managed to reach $350,000 before being eliminated after forgetting the lyrics to Donna Summers Last Dance.. So when I came to Los Angeles I really wanted to feel the journey. I feel songs are kind of the same way. I think the opening scene is more a literal translation of what the song is about. REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Since starting his career at the age of 19 as the house drummer on Saturday Night Live, hes graduated into, Read More 10 Things You Didnt Know about Steve JordanContinue, If youre a fan of rap music, you might be quite familiar with the name DJ Paul. In our episode, my line is, Hey, are there any dentists in the crowd tonight?" When you were recording Hi Infidelity, did you and the band feel that this was your best album up to that point? It must have been 1989 after [late guitarist/songwriter] Gary Richrath and I parted ways and the band was at kind of a low point. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. We were all psyched up. I was talking to someone today about how the opening line of a song is so important to me. We didnt set out to write a concept album, but the songs do hang together conceptually, because we were all going through similar things. Cronin was born on October 6, 1951, in the Chicago suburb of Evanston. But my friend, Sammy Hagar, his brand name is Sammy Hagar. And when I had that realization, I went down to my piano room and I wrote the B section and the chorus in about 15 minutes. Bay Area. And then if Im lucky enough to capture that, then the actual craftsmanship comes into play. I try to stick with the inspiration, and keep as much of that initial burst of creativity in the song as I possibly can. But I remember when I just struggling to figure it out and the journey that a song takes is so remarkable and thinking back as a young songwriter, I remember that Keep Pushin was the first song that I actually wrote that I thought Yeah, I could hear this on the radio. If it came on the radio, I dont think I would turn the channel (laughs). Here is the Q&A interview with Kevin Cronin: DK: When did you join REO Speedwagon, andhow did you developa key role as the bands singer & songwriter? Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. As time went on, and my buddy broke up with her, we still remained friends. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. A monthly update on our latest interviews, stories and added songs. DK: Besides some of your big hits, what are some of your songs that are your favorites? Luckily, I had the sense to stick with my gut and sure enough, Cant Fight This Feeling ends up being the most popular song Ive ever written.