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REO Speedwagon music biography continued...

first formed in 1968, by a pair of University of Illinois students, keyboardist Neal Doughty and drummer Alan Gratzer. After graduation, the group signed on with then-unknown manager Irving Azoff (who would later guide the careers of such multi-platinum acts as the Eagles and Steely Dan), and eventually added guitarist Gary Richrath, bassist Gregg Philbin and singer Terry Luttrell. The group experienced a number of false starts in the early seventies and changed front-men several times before ultimately going with Kevin Cronin. 1976's R.E.O. signaled the beginning of the veteran group's winning streak, as both 1977's Live: You Get What You Play For and 1978's You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish were REO's first to earn gold and platinum status. Real lightening, however, didn't strike until the 1980 release of Hi Infidelity, which became one of 1981's biggest albums -- spawning one of the best-known power ballads of all time, "Keep on Loving You," as well as such popular rock radio hits as "Don't Let Him Go" and "Take It on the Run." Hi Infidelity would eventually go on to sell more than nine million copies - propelling REO to arena-headlining status.



REO continued to score with hits in the early 80s, including such singles as Keep the Fire Burnin'," and the number one hit power ballad "Can't Fight This Feeling, but soon began to fall off the charts. Richrath and Gratzer left the band and were replaced, but the magic seemed gone. In the late 90s with the renewed interest in classic rock bands, REO again found themselves successfully touring with such other outfits as REO launching successful co-headlining tours alongside such acts as Styx, Fleetwood Mac, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, Peter Frampton and Journey, among others. The group reunited for there first album in ten years in 2000, and continued to play venues that supported classic rock. By the enthusiastic crowds which greet them, it's clear that REO Speedwagon still retains the charm that made them chart-toppers in the first place.