He was a member of the band when it released its self-titled debut in 1971 and was with REO Speedwagon until 1989. REO Speedwagon Even after more than 40 years of success, Kevin Cronin, lead singer of arena rock specialists REO Speedwagon, never takes the band's status for granted. So he knew that they needed some help in the songwriting department. Back in the day of the album, that was very important. Erik Stein confirmed on Monday that Richrath passed away but offered no details about the cause of death. Afterwards, she spent time with Cronin, his daughter and his manager. 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. Ozark, a dark, violent drama about family both the crime and blood variety is not the kind of show where youd expect to hear the light classic rock stylings of REO Speedwagon. Had I seen [that script] But that was episode one. At that point, Cronin decided to dole out some tough love and stop enabling his son. DK: Thats a great story about how you wrote Cant Fight This Feeling. Thank you. After the stage performance, we sang, 'I Can't Fight This Feeling' and a couple of his other songs. Thats another way of doing it. After all, hes been a mainstay in the world of rap music since the late 1980s. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. Click to listen to REO Speedwagon on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/REOspot?IQid=RUNAs featured on The Essential REO Speedwagon. How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names. I wanted to put any extra time that I hadobviously the band tours and thats very important to all of us. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. According to legend, Cronin thrashed out the lyrics to REO Speedwagons Roll With the Changes on the back of a trash bag. She was actually going out with one of my buddies. Tell me about being on set to film your scene. So well seethis year should be interesting. So the songs come in all different shapes and forms. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. We wanted to see the Blue Cat [Lodge; the set is a shuttered bar on Lake Allatoona] and the strip club, Lickety Splitz. I was kind of a late bloomermusic was my vehicle. Im thankful for that and proud of that as well. Cronin: Well, I will tell youI was thinking about this todaythis year (2016) will be the year that I get back to knucklin down. 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. Im trained on the guitarI took guitar lessons for years when I was a kid. Do you love music? So the earlier songs were given a second chance as a result of the Hi Infidelity album. He was 65. They are Do you love animals? Welcome to the Quantum Realm. I named my children after they were born and I looked at them, and I saw their little bodies, and they kind of told me what their names should be to some degree. Sure enough, its proven itself right so many times for me, that I have to really believe its a truth that I can count on. In our episode, my line is, Hey, are there any dentists in the crowd tonight?" When you start second guessing yourself, thats when you get lost. Its funnyeven though it was 35 years ago, it still feels like it was just yesterday to me, because I remember writing it so vividly. Cronin: The first album that I made with them was an album called R.E.O./T.W.O., which was our second album. But for me, I usually write the song first and then I find the title in the song. Now I kind of see how it feels when your own name is up there. I was talking to someone today about how the opening line of a song is so important to me. Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. You have entered an incorrect email address! Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. It just has this huge history to it. Collect, curate and comment on your files. Who knows what came first, the chicken or the egg there. 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? Speedwagon ), or simply REO, is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. These are ten things you didnt, Read More 10 Things You Didnt Know about Andrew BaenaContinue, Angel Vivaldi is a New Jersey-based progressive metal guitarist, composer, producer, environmentalist, and philanthropist. I literally woke up in the middle of the night and I had these three, simple piano chords going through my head. Michael Bryan Murphy took his place, and remained with the band until Cronin stepped back up to the mic in January 1976. So I was quite literally and figuratively rolling with the changes (laughs). All Rights Reserved. Cronin: I would hope that the point [of this story is], when youre writing a song, you have to stick with your gut. Formed in 1966, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. I can tell when a song is too much craftsmanship and not enough inspiration. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Hi friends, kc here. Kevin Cronin took over that role for their next effort, R.E.O./T.W.O. What are we doing here? I swear to you, all of a sudden from behind one of our road cases pops the ventriloquists dummy. I was really focused on my wife, my children and my homemy children are all in high school now. The bands most famous album, Hi Infidelity, which was released in 1980, has sold 10 million copies and became the best-selling rock album of 1981. Now, hes all about healthy eating and working out. Youre with another person, youre bouncing ideas around and I enjoy that. Classic Rock at the best online prices at eBay! "It's like a direct connection with my brother that was our song," LaTonya, 52, told PEOPLE afterward. Since rejoining the band, Cronin has penned the bulk of their most successful songs, including Keep the Fire Burnin', I Do Wanna Know, Keep on Loving You, Cant Fight This Feeling, In My Dreams, and Dont Let Him Go. Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from, Paul McCartney was in too much 'emotional pain' to keep the Beatles going after John Lennon left. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. I couldnt figure it out, and as a result, I had a really hard time finishing that song. It was basically Garys responsibility to write the songs, and I think he realized thatyou know what they saythat you have your whole life to write your first album but only a year to write your second albnm. Which instrument do you prefer to write songs on? After realizing his lifestyle was starting to overshadow his work and family life, he made a 180-degree turn. We didnt set out to write a concept album, but the songs do hang together conceptually, because we were all going through similar things. So I wanted to drive. We recorded it in Nashville, and the song of mine that [probably] got me the gig was called Music Man. It was never a huge hit, but its still in the REO setlist and it was basically my fantasy of how my life would turn out. Hearing Time for Me to Fly in that show, there may well be people who heard that song for the first time and went, Oh, that's cool. "When Gregg left the band in 1977, he took with him the prog-leaning extended instrumental section aspect of the REO sound," Cronin wrote. I had the verses already written. 10 Things You Didnt Know about Andrew Baena, 10 Things You Didnt Know about Angel Vivaldi, The Top 10 Ice Nine Kills Songs From The Silver Scream, 10 Things You Didnt Know about Steve Jordan. 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). In the REO Speedwagon band, there are two lead singers, and one is Kevin Cronin and Terry Luttrell. Collect, curate and comment on your files. But with [Music Man] I thought, Hmmmthis song had structure to it, it has a nice feel to it, there were some nice rhymes in it. Kevin Cronin -- lead singer of '80s rock group REO Speedwagon -- heard the words straight from his own son's mouth . I was writing [the words] on this brown paper bag as I was rolling down the road. There was this girl in Chicago who Im still in touch with to this daywere still friends. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. We did have a feeling that there was something special going on. Maybe it was just the timing of when it was released. "If I want to see if . And my immediate reaction was, Wait a minute, all the other characters are fictional, except for us. I'm strictly nonfiction at this point in my life. I never really took any piano lessonsI just messed around with it and figured it out for myself. Yet Im thinking this song is so important to me and I think its got the potential to be a real special song in the world, but this title is going to kill it. Meanwhile, their 1988 compilation album, The Hits, entered the Top Rock Albums chart at 49. It's a time when many young people feel like they are finally becoming adults. Who do you think is listening: old fans who were reminded of REO by the show, or young listeners just discovering the band? So I think that really helped for the album, that it felt like all the songs belonged together. The neck fits my left hand perfectly, and it sounds exactly how I think an electric guitar should sound. So thats going to be a lot of fun. Considering the band has toured with everyone from Def Leppard to Status Quo and Chicago, it promises to be unmissable. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. 1 of 13. "I have this Forrest Gump-ian way of touching something and it becomes a hit!" Cronin had been inspired to write the album after his son, Paris, fell into drug addiction. However, there, Read More 10 Things You Didnt Know about DJ PaulContinue, Your email address will not be published. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. We are pleased to do a new interview with Cronin, about how he wrote his classic REO songs, and his creative songwriting process. Gary Richrath, songwriter and lead guitarist for REO Speedwagon for decades, has died, the band announced on its Facebook page Sunday. October 6, 1951 Birthplace Evanston , IL Age 71 years old Birth Sign Libra About American guitarist and lead singer for the rock band REO Speedwagon who wrote "Keep on Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling." Before Fame He was first chosen as the second lead singer of REO Speedwagon at age twenty in 1971. Joined my first band in 2008 (a Metallica cover band) and. Is the lead singer of REO Speedwagon married? Your email address will not be published. Its kind of a blessing and a curse. Want to know what everyone in the music business is talking about. So I sat there and looked at my lyric notebook and if you think about it, the opening line of the song is I cant fight this feeling any longer. That was likeBingo! But, spoiler alert: REO plays a major role in one Season 3 episode, which also happens to be named after the band's lead singer, Kevin Cronin. 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). Notably, these five band members have been together since 1989. But I was probably over halfway finished with Cant Fight This Feeling, and I felt that it was something special. REO Speedwagon is an American hard rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Last year, we called our tour the Family First Tour. Cronin is known to play Ovations on tour, and even has his own signature guitar from the brand. 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. Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, September 10, 1982. DK: Which album was it, where you started to write a good amount of the songs for the group? Can't Fight This Feeling I had written some songs before that were okaythey were passable. Some of the greatest songs ever have been written by songwriting partnerships. So my dental line kinda bombed. Its a blessing because Ive always got myself (laughs). George Floyd's Sister Says Trial Reminds Her of Suffering He Endured: 'He Felt Every Ounce of Pain'. He needed the money to buy the group's back catalogue. REO remains a popular live band which tours steadily throughout the U.S. and worldwide. The cause of death has not yet been. So we wrote that into the script. He goes, [Spanish accent] This is bullst. Robert Smith doesn't license Cure songs for commercials, but he made an exception in 2004 when he let Hewlett-Packard use "Pictures Of You." I've also got a horrible habit of needing the absolute newest technological wonder, whether it's stable or not. Gary Richrath, a former guitarist for the classic rock band REO Speedwagon who also co-wrote the group's hit song . It just so happens that the album came out when I was in junior high school. As time went on, and my buddy broke up with her, we still remained friends. Its like the stars lining up. We were all psyched up. For our episode, they had me on stage delivering a couple of lines. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for REO Speedwagon CD Lot! DK: When you write, do you usually create the melody or the lyrics first? Basically, the only songs I can play on piano are those that I wrote (he laughs). Cronin: I first joined the band in 1972. I could have very easily followed that fear that I had about that title and thought Oh Man, I better not call it this, because of some commercial concern. REOSpeedwagonPlans HiInfidelty30thAnniversary Reissue, Tour. In addition to REO's jaunty 1978 hit 'Time for Me . In 2008, Cronin took a break from the recording studio to appear as a celebrity contestant on Dont Forget the Lyrics! The premise of the show revolved around contestants competing for a prize pot of $1million by selecting songs to sing along to alongside a karaoke-style video screen. It's one of my favorite moments, because when I play those opening guitar chords, everybody in the place stands, everybody's got their lighters or cell phones up. Im finding myself waking up in the middle of the night with ideas, and writing them down and recording them. Thanks to their appearance, REO songs "Keep On Loving You," "Can't Fight This Feeling," "Time for Me to Fly," and "Take It On the Run" have all re-entered Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart. Well, then you're going to love this blog post! DK: These days, so much of the songwriting process is co-writing, particularly in Nashville. I learned something from thisthat if you pay attention to the song, the song will tell you what it needs. Andrew Baena was born on July 18, 1992, in Canada. After releasing one album (1972s R.E.O./T.W.O,), he left the band during the recording of 1973s Ridin the Storm Out over creative differences. Honestly, when I finished that song, I was really youngI was 18 or 19 when I wrote that song. Theres no bigger influence for me. How do you think Ozark meant for the song to be seen? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. When Gary (Richrath) heard that song, it signaled to him that I had some ability as a songwriter. All the songs I write, they spring from an initial burst of creativity that kind of gets the ball rolling. Speaking to Guitar World about his favorite piece of kit, he said: People tell me its too valuable to take on tour, but I love playing that guitar so much that I dont care. A monthly update on our latest interviews, stories and added songs. The career of Antonio Vivaldi defies music industry logic. Night Ranger original guitarist formed in 1980. When you write a song, you have no idea the journey that song may or may not take you on. I am an avid Mac-user, nerd, musician, freelancer, and gamer. Trivia I was an unknown, unproven commodity as far as performingGary never really saw me play anywherehe just came up to my apartment and we got out a couple acoustic guitars, and I played some of my songs. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Recording-history.org is a participant in the Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program. written by REO Speedwagon January 22, 2016, As the lead singer & songwriterof the multi-platinum rock band REO Speedwagon, Kevin Cronin has been the bands guiding force since joining the group in the mid-1970s. Bay Area. We did a tour of Mexico. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. All the energy that came back to me was, You might want to think about doing this.. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. I feel so sad. "It's amazing when I walk out on stage and start playing one of the songs . So it all kind of came true. Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from Coffy to Jackie Brown. Currently seeking: Band to Join, Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar and more.Hi my name is Luke Bolen! When they wrote those songs, they were just trying to write good . DK: More recently, REO has released the album Find Your Own Way Home in 2007 and REOs Christmas album in 2009. REO Speedwagon's 1971 debut album was with their original lead singer, Terry Luttrell. REO Speedwagon's official music video for 'Take It On The Run'. Artists and entertainers. In the original script there was a shot of a banner that has a big REO Speedwagon logo and says "Welcome to the Missouri Dental Association Convention." I didnt just want to jump on an airplaneit was too big of a move for me. From Austin Butler and Cate Blanchett to a potential Best Supporting Actress toss-up, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. "We laughed, we joked it was like we knew each other forever. S.F. If I can inspire any young songwriter with anything that Im saying today, thats probably the most important thing that Ive learned over the years. So that was special. It was just that I needed to really identify where the heart and soul of this piece that I was working on was. I couldnt do it the real way that human beings communicate (laughs). ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. When you were recording Hi Infidelity, did you and the band feel that this was your best album up to that point? Five years later, it inspired a movie of the same name starring Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy and Jon Cryer. Or maybe it was a little thing to make me feel at home? 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. I gotta tell ya, I see the name REO Speedwagon all the time, but I don't often see my own name there. Luke Bolen: Musician in Bradenton, Florida. https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/reospeedwagon/cantfightthisfeeling.html, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/reospeedwagon/keeponlovingyou.html, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/reospeedwagon/takeitontherun.html, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/reospeedwagon/rollwiththechanges.html, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/reospeedwagon/timeformetofly.html, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/reospeedwagon/dontlethimgo.html, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/reospeedwagon/keepthefireburnin.html, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/reospeedwagon/inmydreams.html, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/reospeedwagon/onelonelynight.html, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/reospeedwagon/inyourletter.html, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/reospeedwagon/keeppushin.html, https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/reospeedwagon/backontheroadagain.html, Rock Music: 49 Different Types and Their Characteristics, Loverboy Greatest Hits: The 17 Best Songs of All Time, 42 Songs About the Experience of Being 17, 48+ Songs About Good Times and Memories to Look Back On.