Over the course of its career, the band has sold more than 40 million records and has charted thirteen Top 40 hits, including the number ones "Keep On Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling". REO Speedwagon's mainstream popularity waned in the late 1980s, but the band remains a popular live act.
In the fall of 1966, Neal Doughty entered the electrical engineering program at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, coming in as a junior. On his first night, he met another student, Alan Gratzer. They held an impromptu jam session in the basement of their Illinois Street Residence Hall dormitory, and soon started a rock band. Gratzer had been a drummer since high school, and was playing in a local group on the weekends, while Doughty had learned some Beatles songs on his parents' piano.
Doughty started to follow around Gratzer's band, eventually sitting in on a song or two. The keyboard player was the leader, but several other band members were unhappy with the situation. On the last day of the university's spring semester, guitarist Joe Matt called the band's leader and told him that he, drummer Gratzer, and bassist Mike Blair had decided to leave the band and start a new one with Doughty.
They made a list of songs to learn over the summer break, and Doughty landed a summer job to buy his first keyboard. On his Farfisa organ, he learned "Light My Fire" by The Doors. The members returned to school in the fall of 1967, and had their first rehearsal before classes even started. They named the band REO Speedwagon, from the REO Speed Wagon, a flatbed truck Doughty had studied in transportation history, and the initials are those of its founder Ransom E. Olds. Rather than pronouncing REO as a single word as the motor company did, they chose to spell out the name with the individual letters each pronounced ("R-E-O"). An ad in the school newspaper produced their first job, a fraternity party that turned into a food fight. They continued to perform cover songs in campus bars, fraternity parties, and university events. The first lineup consisted of Doughty on keyboards, Gratzer on drums and vocals, Joe Matt on guitar and vocals, Mike Blair on bass and vocals.
In early 1968, Terry Luttrell became lead singer, and Bob Crownover joined as the guitar player, replacing Matt. When Mike Blair left the band in the summer of 1968, Gregg Philbin replaced Blair, Marty Shepard played trumpet and Joe McCabe played sax until McCabe moved to Southern Illinois University. Crownover played guitar for the group until the summer of 1969 when Bill Fiorio replaced him. Fiorio then departed in late 1969, eventually assuming the name Duke Tumatoe, and went on to form the All Star Frogs. Steve Scorfina (who would go on to found progressive rock/album-oriented rock band Pavlov's Dog) came aboard for over a year, composing with the band and performing live, before being replaced by Gary Richrath in late 1970.
Richrath was a Peoria, Illinois-based guitarist and prolific songwriter who brought fresh original material to the band. With Richrath on board, the regional popularity of the band grew tremendously. The Midwestern United States was the original REO Speedwagon fan stronghold and is pivotal in this period of the band's history.
The band signed to Epic Records in 1971. Paul Leka, an East Coast record producer, brought the band to his recording studio in Bridgeport, Connecticut where it recorded original material for its first album. The lineup on the first album consisted of Richrath, Gratzer, Doughty, Philbin, and Luttrell.
Richrath was a Peoria, Illinois-based guitar player and prolific songwriter who brought original material to the band including REO's signature song "Ridin' the Storm Out". With Richrath on board, the regional popularity of the band grew tremendously. The Midwestern United States was the original REO Speedwagon fan stronghold and is pivotal in this period of the band's history.
The band signed to Epic Records in 1971. Paul Leka, an East Coast record producer, brought the band to his recording studio in Bridgeport, Connecticut where it recorded original material for its first album. The lineup on the first album consisted of Richrath, Gratzer, Doughty, Philbin, and Luttrell.
The band toured relentlessly under guidance from early manager Irving Azoff. The band's most successful period featured lead vocalist Kevin Cronin who joined the band briefly for their second album T.W.O in 1972, and left in the middle of recording the Album "Ridin' The Storm Out" and returned in 1976, co-producing with Richrath their landmark Live: You Get What You Play For. Ridin' the Storm Out was completed with Michael Bryan Murphy on the microphone. Murphy stayed on for two more albums, "Lost in a Dream" and "This Time We Mean It", before Cronin returned to the fold in January 1976 and recorded "R.E.O.", which was released that same year.
They grew in popularity in the Midwestern United States during the early 1970s and peaked in popularity in the early 1980s. The band's first mid 70s FM hit was the Richrath composed concert fave "Ridin' The Storm Out", and their first gold record was a live album, 1977's "Live: You Get What You Play For". Their hard rocking live show was so integral to their success, their label released another live album in 1978, "More Live".
In 1977, Philbin was replaced with Bruce Hall to record the first studio album that reached platinum, "You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish", released in 1978 which received FM radio airplay but fell short of the Top 40. In 1979, the band took a turn back to hard rock with the release of Nine Lives.
By 1981's "Hi Infidelity" they had reached a new peak, and the LP spawned several major radio hits including "Keep On Loving You", "Don't Let Him Go" and "Take It on the Run" which went to #5 on the US charts, and the Cronin composed "Time For Me To Fly, released on the "Tuna" album.
REO Speedwagon followed up the "Hi Infidelity" LP with the power ballad "Can't Fight This Feeling" from Good Trouble in 1982, and dented the charts again with 1984's "Wheels Are Turning" album, 1987's "Life as We Know It" was the last new release to go gold, before popularity waned, and their long winning streak subsided. Founding members Richrath & Gratzer left the band, essentially ending a 20 year arena rocking run, but the band's collections continued to sell and earn classic rock & retro power pop airplay. Richrath and Gratzer was replaced by Miles Joseph and Graham Lear, Cronin's band members from jazz ensemble called "The Strolling Dudes". And soon Lear and Joseph was replaced by Bryan Hitt (formerly of Wang Chung) and Dave Amato.
Nowadays Reo Speedwagon remains a U.S concert circuit staple, mostly known as a crowd pleasing classic AOR genre rock band. Still fronted by longtime vocalist Cronin, currently the only original member in the 21st century touring lineup is keyboardist Neil Doughty. The hired guns brought in since have had stints in band's like Ted Nugent and Wang Chung. Spurred on by numerous re-packagings of their back catalog, and successful newer live recordings, in 2007 they released "Find Your Own Way Home" the group's first new studio album in more than ten years. Though it did not chart as an album, it produced two singles which appeared on Billboard's Adult Contemporary radio chart.
REO Speedwagon continues to tour regularly, performing mostly their classic hits. They are popular on the fair and casino circuits, but still team with other acts to play larger venues.
REO Speedwagon's birth place was reportedly a Red Lion Inn, on Green Street near the U of I campus (Champaign-Urbana, IL).
Principal Members (1971)
Gary Richrath - Guitar
Alan Gratzer - Drums
Gregg Philbin - Bass
Terry Luttrell - Vocals
Mike Murphy - Vocals
Current Lineup
Kevin Cronin - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Dave Amato - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Bruce Hall - Bass Guitar, Vocals
Neal Doughty - Keyboards
Bryan Hitt - Drums, Percussion
http://www.speedwagon.com
Here with Me
REO Speedwagon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But this feelin' is runnin' through my soul
I think I learned what love is, but I'm afraid I let it go
Maybe it's too late
Maybe you've already changed your mind
Turned lovin' into leavin'
And I'm on the outside
And hold on to them at night
They can erase the emptiness
And make everything alright
But your laughter and your tenderness
Will never disappear
No matter where you are tonight
A part of you is here with me
Here with me
I don't know where you are
All I know is I need you to be
Here with me
I know it's not too late
to turn around and get it straight
It's my fate to have you here with me
I can hear your voice
Promising your love will never die
I can feel your golden skin on mine
Beneath the desert sky
So how can it be true
How can you just turn and let me go
Let the story of your life with mine
Forever go untold
I can take these words to bed with me
And hold on to them at night
They can erase the emptiness
And make everything alright
Cause your laughter and your tenderness
Will never disappear
No matter where you are tonight
A part of you is here with me
[Chorus]
[Repeat Chorus]
Here with me (are you here with me)
I don't know where you are (don't know where)
All I know is, I need you to be, ohohwhoa
Here with me
I know it's not too late (know it's not too late)
To turn around and get it straight
Here with me...
In the song Here with Me by REO Speedwagon, the singer expresses regret and longing for his lost love. The first verse suggests that he may have taken his love for granted and now fears that it's too late to win her back. The chorus emphasizes his need for her to be present with him, both physically and emotionally, and he feels that a part of her is still with him even though she's gone. He remembers her promises of undying love and their intimate moments together, but he cannot understand how she could leave him and let the story of their life together go untold. Despite this, he finds comfort in the fact that her love and tenderness will never disappear and that he can hold onto the memory of her as he tries to get her back.
Line by Line Meaning
Maybe it's too late
The feeling of love is present but may have passed the point of no return
But this feelin' is runnin' through my soul
The overwhelming sensation of love is still present
I think I learned what love is, but I'm afraid I let it go
The realization of love has been made but may have been lost
Maybe you've already changed your mind
The other person may have already decided to move on
Turned lovin' into leavin'
Their love has turned into leaving
And I'm on the outside
The person is now on the outside looking in on the relationship
You can take these words to bed with you
Words of love can be held onto and cherished
And hold on to them at night
The words can provide comfort at night
They can erase the emptiness
Words of love can fill the emptiness in one's heart
And make everything alright
Love can make everything feel right
But your laughter and your tenderness
No words can replace the value of laughter and affection
Will never disappear
The memories of love will never fade away
No matter where you are tonight
Regardless of where the person is, the memory of them remains
A part of you is here with me
A piece of the person's love remains with the singer
I don't know where you are
The person's whereabouts are unknown
All I know is I need you to be
The singer knows they need the person in their life
I know it's not too late
It's not too late to make things right
To turn around and get it straight
The opportunity still exists to fix the relationship
It's my fate to have you here with me
The singer feels it's their destiny to be with the other person
I can hear your voice
The memory of the person's voice remains
Promising your love will never die
The person promised their love will never fade away
I can feel your golden skin on mine
The warmth of the other person's skin remains in their memory
Beneath the desert sky
The memory of a specific moment in time remains strong
So how can it be true
It's hard to accept that the love is gone
How can you just turn and let me go
The pain of being abandoned is hard to bear
Let the story of your life with mine
The opportunity for a shared future together is gone
Forever go untold
The story of their life together will never be written
Here with me
Singer needs the other person with them
I know it's not too late
It's not too late to fix the relationship
To turn around and get it straight
To make things right
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: RICK BRAUN, KEVIN PATRICK, JR. CRONIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@wilfredorojas1892
Maybe it's too late
But this feelin' is runnin' through my soul
I think I learned what love is, but I'm afraid I let it go
Maybe it's too late
Maybe you've already changed your mind
Turned lovin' into leavin'
And I'm on the outside
You can take these words to bed with you
And hold on to them at night
They can erase the emptiness
And make everything alright
But your laughter and your tenderness
Will never disappear
No matter where you are tonight
A part of you is here with me
Here with me
I don't know where you are
All I know is I need you to be
Here with me
I know it's not too late
to turn around and get it straight
It's my fate to have you here with me
I can hear your voice
Promising your love will never die
I can feel your golden skin on mine
Beneath the desert sky
So how can it be true
How can you just turn and let me go
Let the story of your life with mine
Forever go untold
I can take these words to bed with me
And hold on to them at night
They can erase the emptiness
And make everything alright
Cause your laughter and your tenderness
Will never disappear
No matter where you are tonight
A part of you is here with me
Here with me (are you here with me)
I don't know where you are (don't know where)
All I know is, I need you to be, ohohwhoa
Here with me
I know it's not too late (know it's not too late)
To turn around and get it straight
Here with me...
Fuente: LyricFind
Compositores: Rick Braun / Kevin Patrick / Jr. Cronin
Letra de Here With Me © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
@leecalvinmusic
Why does Kevin Cronin get so much hate for these classic REO ballads? Here With Me is absolute gold! This one is any day as good as Keep On Loving You and Can’t Fight This Feeling. REO are responsible for inventing the power ballad and this should have been a number one! Thanks for posting and keeping REO’s music alive.
@seanbrou-bj9ob
Jealousy
@stepheniesheriff
❤❤❤❤❤
@karenledsworth8490
Kc gets slack for alot of things including things which are not his fault and involves Gary, so sad. He's human after all and isn't perfect. I love this song so much and agree it should have been a hit. I also wish I had been that girl in the video doing those scenes with my Music Man.😂😉
@dontayjoncas3408
🎉
@chartroy
He put so much raw emotion into this song! 💕
I also love “In My Dreams”
@jamesdosch8754
In my dreams. That’s the song I been thinking of. Thank u. I’ll play that one. Thank you thank you🎸🎸
@tammyboykin5285
Me.too my favs Take it on the run, cant fight this feelings, in my dreams. 💕💕
@colleenhelminiak1429
REO Speedwagon music has gotten me through some pretty tough times - and without their music, there would be no me. Thanks for not only getting me through some rough times, but also to believe that the best is yet to come. You are the best in my book (yes, I do like other bands - but REO brought me back from a very dark place and I will be eternally thankful for that gift.💖💖💖
@POWERLIFTER-666
I LOVE THIS TUNE! 80'S FOREVER! ❤️❤️❤️