Gary Richrath is absolutely the most underrated guitarist ever. Man, that dude just shreds.

This is the R. E.O. Speedwagon that I grew up listening to and watching play, plus Gregg. I've never heard anyone who could duplicate Gary's sound and style. This makes Gary Richrath a legend and still the best guitarist of all time in my book that I've ever heard play. The crowd definitely loved him in Golden Country here! I've heard the so-called greatest duplicated, but never Gary! R.I.P. Gary! Keep Rockin' the Heaven's!!!

Someone needs to upload more Don Kirshner Rock Concert episodes!

In my humble opinion, one of the best live albums ever is you get what you play for.

Ran into this concert today and even though i saw REO live three times from the late 70s through early 80s I still can't get over how talented Gary Richrath was. I think its his ability to play such expansive melodies while burning up the fret board on his Les Paul as most really fast shredders give little in the way of melody. Regardless, he certainly delivers a top notch, high energy performance in this concert! Rest in peace Gary Richrath, you are gone but certainly not forgotten...

HELL YES!! THIS is REO Speedwagon. My absolute favorite band. Gary is my hero.

These boys have class, 1 of America's top 10 greatest rockbands and they're still out there entertaining millions !!! :)

"you get what you play for" IS the greatest live record ever !! Gary's guitar work was incredible and the BAND was flawless !! If you were fortunate to grow up in the midwest from 1973-1979 you witnessed musical genius !!

So great. Everyone in this band could play their ass off. Unpretentious masters of their craft.

Reo is the most underrated band of all time and gary was the most underrated guitarist of all time RIP GARY

Right before Tuna fish, arguably their best era. I know the early / mid '80s stuff did good on the charts, but in the mid/late '70s they were still kicking out rocking tunes. Gary was the best.

Gary was the heart and SOUL of REO. Always the perfect solo, very fluid, great tone, great melody, and execution!

Lots of memories here. I saw them for the first time just a few months after this, with Molly Hatchett opening, and again a few years later with Cheap Trick. The '78 show was by far the best, before the radio friendly b.s. Gary was a master of his Les Paul and could hold his own, even blow away, most guitarists of that era. 'Live-You Get What You Play For' is a must listen for anyone who wants to witness what this band could do when they were straight up rock&roll. RIP, Gary. You were the best.

Gary was a BEAST!

OMG YES!!!!! Saw them in Fort Wayne at the Memorial Coliseum in in 1979. Gary Richrath is one the the GREATEST LEAD GUITARISTS in history. I love REO.

I was born in 1971 -- and REO Speedwagon was -- and still is -- one of my favorite bands!

I put Neil Doughty right up there with Elton John with his piano playing. He's fast and I've never heard him mess up. Definitely a real piano man pro.😍

No lip synching here. Actual LIVE playing. Gary is one of the most underrated guitarist of all time!

Germany 1985, driving around country side, drove by a little school in a little town. Sign said concert tonight, so what the hell, we went. Got to door, got tickets, it was freaking REO!!! Walking around inside, bought our cold pack if beer, carrying it around, walkin up to the stage, watch the band, fall back a bit, drink beer, go back up to stage, maybe 200 people. So flicking cool!!! No sheet story. The best experience ever!!!

Unbelievable concert. This is the kind of show that made REO famous. I was lucky enough to see them in 1974 and in 1979 and many times since then. This is when they had their best lineup and when Kevin's voice was great. They were my favorite band for many years. This is the way I like to remember REO.

Yeah, I LOVED REO when they just ROCKED, before all the pop-song ballads…. This is from that time. Their live album was frickin GREAT, LOVED GARY RICHRATH!!! I was in the front row of a show in Atlanta, & during the show Kevin pointed at me & said “there’s my brother” & laughed, cause my hair was a lot like his!!!

Sittin in my bean bag chair just finished a Mary Jane head phones plugged into my new Marantz receive, listening to REO’s new live album, not a care in the world, so miss the that time

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands

IMO this was the best lineup of REO. Gary is very underrated. R.I.P. Gary...

This is my absolute favorite Don Kirshner performance ever! Golden Country never sounded better live than this performance! Watching Gary shred on that guitar, Wow!!!! Reo was and still is one of the hardest working bands out there and still going strong! ❤😁

I just love watching Gary play!!!! He is a standout legend!!

Could u imagine being a young person today with the music out there now?? How sad..

Like You Do and Golden Country, two of my favorite REO songs. Not many people know this era of REO. That’s too bad. Gary Richrath was very unique and played with so much intensity. Killer guitarist.

THIS is the BEST REO Lineup! 1977-1989

GARY-O-SPEEDWAGON!!!!!

Gary Richrath…incredible screaming lead guitar. Melodic and bluesy.

RICHRATH!!!

The ONLY REO lineup that matters, THEN and NOW! 🔥🎸🙏

I was a Senior in high school that year... What a Greatyear to be a Teenager! 💯👋😎👍

Golden Country!! The best live performance of all time.

Sad that Golden Country fell off the setlist years ago. Same with Son of a Poor Man. Worst of all Gary RIP

Hard to believe my band opened for these guys in 1973. Who knew at the time they had this kind of longevity.

Thanks for sharing! Back when R.E.O. kicked ass and was on top of their game. I always loved R.E.O. ever since I saw them for the first time and saw Gary shredding back in 73 or 74, after wich I went out and bought their T.W.O. album with my allowance.lol RIP Gary Richrath! You did it, and you definitely left your mark as a guitar god, thanks to you I went out and bought several more albums. Until we meet again, keep rocken in heaven.

Dyyyyyyam brings back Grrrrreat Memories!!!!!! 3 Channels and my buddies and I drinkin a few cold ones and smokin some grrrreat weed,,,, staying up late of course to watch Don Kirshner on Saturday Nights!!!!!!!! Looooooved those Times!!!!!!!!

This is what Rock n Roll is supposed to sound like. And millennial this is why your grandparents are cooler than you will ever be

Alan Gratzer on drums. Amazing!😎😃

Hi Infidelity. The days when every song was good on an album and it was worth buying and treasuring. 10 million people ate this up. I learned how to play drums to it. Haven’t stopped since.

THANKS FOR THE video I love old REO BUT DAMN GARY'S THE BEST!!!!!SO SORRY HE IS GONE. GOD BLESS YOU GARY!!!!

This was the good old days! These boys used to play at the bar right next to the house we rented ( me and 5 roommates ha) on S.E. 5th and Army Post Rd…. Des Moines, Iowa

Classic REO! The best REO!

REO right before they became a hit machine. What a great snapshot in time. Also, Geddy Lee and Kevin had matching 70's hair.

Wow back when Kevin could effortlessly belt out the vocal! What an incredibly tight band!! 😎

These are my favorite REO songs!!! They rock! Gary, very underrated. One of my favorite guitarists!!!!! RIP.

Gotta love these old vintage videos. Raw and not overly produced, the real deal. Oh yea, I may sound a little impartial when I say these guys kicked ass, but that's because they are my favorite band of all time. RIP GARY

My favorite REO lineup!!!

The time when they all had one goal music.

I was a big fan of REO before they went all commercial. And "Golden Country" my favorite by them. Thanks for posting this Ned.

Bad Ass Bass Playing Bruce Hall!!!!!

Gary fucking rocked his guitar and he was hot, hot, hot!! RIP Gary....gone but definately not forgotten!

Golden Country is a great song. I havent heard it in a long , long time.

Never appreciated the bass player when I was young but OMG what a talent!!!

This is so good love the early Reo Speedwagon stuff!

Great musicians..each and everyone of them

Wow. Whoever mixed this during the performance made sure Gary was right at the forefront. His guitar just cuts through everything. RIP Gary....you were one of my first guitar heroes.

Great live rock band in the 70s when Gary was the leader. Not so much when they went commercial after 1980. Saw them several times in Indy 77 to 80 always put on a good show.

Wow. Just amazing! REO was the hardest working band the Midwest ever produced! This will always be the true REO Speedwagon! You can see how good they are together & especially how great Gary is! He loved to play & boy did he ever. He was the heart & soul of the band. Thanks Ned for posting this amazing footage. Hope you post more from this period. RIP Gary!

Illinois has put out great bands. Cant say that about governors lol

Great stuff, thanks for putting it up! I loved the play list here, back when they were still a "Boogie Band" Gary and Neil sure played well off of each other! I'd sure like to see some quality video of the "Get what you play for" lineup featuring Greg Philbin.

This is REO at their peak....Once they got into the power pop, I was out....

This was wild-old memories!

Thank you Ned ! Long live my guitar hero Richrath, he’s the reason I play, I also make a trip to Peoria a few times a year to visit his “Golden Bench” overlooking the Illinois river in East Peoria

Love this!! Thank you for sharing!

Just really amazing performance

Bruce Hall deserves more credit than he ever got for being a great bass player. Gregg Philbin too.

O MY GOD!!!!!!! you tube is the ultimate time machine. I can clearly recall being a 15 yo kid, up late one night and seeing this performance. never heard of the Speedwagon before that, and I was blown away at the performance of Keep Pushing. thank you, thank u, thank u for posting this!!!!

Boomers music, hey what's that, i hear a band .no machines. Just real musicians.

No doubt that every member of REO Speedwagon was at the top of their game in these days. Visually, Gary Richrath was about the most exciting guitarist to witness playing. Sonically, Gary made his Les Paul speak volumes. R.I.P. Gary, you are missed.

The REO I Loved.

I loved watching Don Kirshners Rock Concert. Got to watch a lot of incredible bands perform on this show.

Ned this is the year that I graduated high school. I remember seeing so many of these acts as they were happening. Late Friday night and Saturday night they always played these acts late at night on our television networks.

Memories

All my Life! Can't Get Enough of this Band! Every One of them Rocked their Asses Off!!! And Seriously WELL!!!!!

Keep Pushin On 0:35 Like You Do 4:23 Ridin The Storm Out 11:10 Golden Country 16:17 157 Riverside Avenue 23:45

My favorite album is You Get What You Play For which was originally released on Epic records back in 1977.

I miss these days ! These bands was ruling the charts and music we fans loved and still love! Wish Gary was still here and Greg Philbin ! No one made a les Paul squeal squawl like Gary did! He had fire 🔥 to his playing ! The world just hasn’t been the same since he passed! 🙏 ⚡️space ace Ron⚡️

Absolutely awesome! This was back in the days when Kevin Cronin had not been with the band all that long and they were still packing up their own gear! Great times!

"...the time has come for you my friend, to all this ugliness we must put an end..." applies in 2023 more than ever!!!!

Thanks again Ned! This is the R.E.O. that I love to remember. I think this was Bruce's first year, and Gary doing what he did best shredding that Les Paul like no one else, and Bruce and Neal at there best too. RIP Gary!

They sounded much better with the late Gregg Philbin on bass earlier in 1977 when double live album "You get what you play for" was released. Just my opinion.

I love 157!!

And Yes, Gary was So Gorgeous 😍

Kevin had some amazing hair back then.

Stunning performance. If we could go back in time

Yes Golden Country! And the rest of the guitars thru are under produce, damn it!

Richrath made that band.

I love Speedwagon in the 7th, a real decade of rock n roll and legends til today

Guitar solo at 19:00 is insane

Gary’s Wah wah control is just awesome to listen to

I remember staying up late to watch this on TV!

Great show 😁

I was waiting on Kevin to say .. Your beautiful people ! Saw this lineup in 79'. REO may have a top 5 logo..Their concert shirts alway's look good..

When Speedwagon was a rock and roll band.

On top of their game here. Love the Lakers jersey Alan is wearing lol

Gary was a no nonsense rocker!

Gary and Kevin in the seventies were a rock n roll force! I wish they would have kept playing songs like these.