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Friday, January 11, 2019

Sights And Sounds From REO Speedwagon Tour

By Shirley Allen


When it comes to rock and roll, there are a number of different types of rock. When it comes to attending a REO Speedwagon tour, fans can often hear influences of pop, rock, hard rock, adult contemporary and blues in the music. It should be noted that while the group includes traditional blues rifts in some songs, the bluesy rock stylings of REO is far different than that of Delta or Deep Southern Blues.

Originally forming in Champaign Illinois in 1967, it has been a hard though successful journey for the band. While first becoming popular in the early 1970s and having achieved major commercial success, popularity waned in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although, one album titled Infidelity which features four top rated hits has remained the best selling album by the group after selling over 10 million copies.

The band was named in honor of the character, E. O. Speedwagon from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. While this is the case, the band definitely takes audiences on a musical journey with great light shows along with a trip through many different musical experiences along the way. Most often, bands such as Styx, Foreigner and . 38 Special will accompany REO on what have recently become annual or bi-annual tours.

In the beginning, the members of the band would have to haul equipment to shows in a station wagon which belonged to a long-time friend. In most cases, shows were at local venues in and around the greater Champaign and Chicago area. Then, after releasing the first self-titled album in 1972, fans found favor with the track 157 Riverside Avenue which became the most often played track by the group on the radio and by fans around the world.

While most of the band has remained stable over the years, there were three changes to the vocalist at the time the first three albums were recorded. After which, the band informed Epic Records that playing live shows was a strong suit. In response, Epic agreed to allow the band to record You Get What You Play For which was recorded during a live show. The album, having made platinum status was a huge success.

From the 1980s to present, the band has sold over forty million albums and has had 13 Top 40 hits. The most well known and popular top rated songs are most likely Can't Fight This Feeling and Keep On Loving You. While commercial popularity begin to wane in the mid-late 1980s, the group remains a very popular live act, often selling out shows in different areas.

More recently, in April of 2007, the band self-financed and released Find You Own Way Home. While the album did not make the charts, two singles appeared on the Adult Contemporary Chart produced by Billboard. As such, the group appears to have a fan base of young and old alike.

Currently, the band is on a Winter tour traveling from the West Coast throughout the Midwest and up and down the East Coast. The group often plays a number of classics as well as new material in each and every concert. Most often, music from Can't Stop Rockin, an album released in 2009, as well as music from the 80s and 90s are on the set list at each show.




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