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Sounds And Sights From REO Speedwagon Tour

By Shirley Allen


While there are a number of rock and roll concerts which occur in America each year, some are better than others. When it comes to a REO Speedwagon tour, the shows are often some of the most well attended, especially for classic rock bands. Most likely, this is because of the different types of rock which include pop, rock and roll, American Contemporary and Blues the group includes on various albums and live shows.

The band, originally from Champaign, Illinois, first began playing together in 1967. After which, the group first became popular in the 1970s, then achieved major success during the 80s big hair, pop music days. One album by the group Infidelity featured 4 Top 40 hits and remains the best selling album by the group, having sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

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 the band has mostly remained stable over the years, the most notable change is that the vocalist changed three times during the first three recording sessions. Whereas, in the mid 1970s, REO convinced Epic to allow the band to record a live show to be released at a later date. Epic responded in kind, and the first live show You Get What You Play For was recorded during a live performance.

The band has sold over 40 million recordings and boasts over thirteen top forty hits on the Billboard charts. The most popular and well known songs are often considered to be Roll With The Changes, Can't Fight This Feeling and Keep On Loving You, all of which are still played at live shows. As with other bands, while record sales are down, the group still remains a popular live musical act.

While the self-financed release, Find Your Own Way Home in April of 2007 did not make the Billboard Rock and Roll charts, two singles from the album appeared on the Billboard American Contemporary chart. As such, it appears REO Speedwagon is a band that has new and old fans alike.

The band continues to tour on a regular basis, playing most of the classic hits from the 1970s and 80s. The group recently teamed up with the well known rock group Styx to record a single called Can't Stop Rockin which was released in 2009. REO Speedwagon is currently on a 2019 Winter tour which includes dates from California and the Pacific Northwest to the East Coast.




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