Gary was REO One of my favorite guitar 🎸 players

My favorite band! My neighbor in Belleville, Illinois was Mr. Neal Doughty! He is co-founder of REO Speedwagon. When i was 13 he taught me how to play the piano! He lived #8 Cambridge Drive & i lived #23 Cambridge Drive. I still play @ 69 yrs. old. Thank You, Mr. Doughty! My favorite album is High Infidelity! ❤ Rock N' Roll Forever..5/24/2024

Gary Richrath King!!

I was shopping at my Albertsons one day and saw this guy with a Gibson shirt on he was older and real heavy with big hair so I asked him do you play and he said yes then he asked me do I play and I said yes so we started talking about guitars for I found out an hour!! We both laughed and he said we got jam some time and fou d out he live right by me so I said sure. That afternoon I went to his place with my 3 guitars thinking I gonna jam with a local but after 10 mins of playing this guy was ripping REO stuff like know end so I starting to play Turkey Trot and he smiled and Damm that's when I knew I was playing with Gary Ritchgrath!! Knew Gary for that last 2 yrs of his life. Special Man!! In my opinion most underrated player of our time!! Thanks for Dave Amato another very underrated Guitarist going forward with Kevin and Bruce and Neal in REO!! I was blessed to know Gary. Having him and John Fogerty shopping together at Albertsons and listening to their stories almost got us all divorced!! Our wives where pissed!! Johns still Rockin!!

Cronin hit's it on the head with the Barry Manilow meets rock band and why Gary lost passion. I would never begrudge their success but the band I loved was less ballad and more guitar. Rest in Peace Gary, your version of REO was absolutely the best.

We miss you Gary Richwrath !🎸

I still like old school REO,before the love ballads,and the song Riding The Storm Out was originally done with front man Michael Murphy,in fact they made some good music with him,that unfortunately will never be heard by most fans.

1975 they were my first concert at Rocky Mountain College in Billings MT. They opened for Styx at the time and we got stuck outside because of some off duty drunk cops who were security who refused to let us back in even with tickets. So we were standing outside the band loading area and they were coming out after finishing the set. They saw us and a few others were stuck outside so they got us back in through the band loading door. 😎 Thanks for the memories guys. 👍

44 years ago, and these are still some of my favorite songs.

Brian bought my (very lightly used) kit of Roland V-Drums off me around 2000, as REO was getting ready to tour with Styx. He mentioned needing the electronic kit to practice at home without waking the kids/neighbors. I saw REO on TV a few weeks later playing a song on Larry King Live, and there were my V-Drums. It was at that moment I knew I had done my part for humanity. It was very cool meeting him.

Always liked REO Speedwagon, had a few of their albums from the ‘70s.

Kevin has magically turned into Dana Carvey's character, the Church Lady. And once you see it, it's impossible to unsee it.

Freshman in high school when the album dropped! "Take it on the run" is still my fav REO tune.

One of my all time favorite bands. I see them live every chance I get. ❤

Kevin looks like Aunt Polly. Great band in the 70's and early 80's.

Got to see them in Kansas City at one of the sports arenas first my 18th birthday in 78. Awesome show. Thank you for the memories. ❤

LOVE the mid-west rockers; REO, Styx, Cheap Trick, Nugent, Bob Seger.

That famous album "The Hits" from 1988, was one of the first albums that I bought. I was 14 and I used to play it and think about that girl I liked and dreamed that she was my girlfriend. I was too shy, but I did spend many nights talking to her but she was just visiting her relatives (my neighbors) for a few weeks. It was sad when we said goodbye, but I remember I gave her a cassette with rock ballads and I told her to listen to the first two songs on side A. The songs were "Can’t Fight This Feeling " & "In My Dreams" She was to leave the next morning and her cousin gave me an envelope the day she left. She basically wrote that she felt the same about me and she wrote that letter after listening to the songs. But I never saw her again. As a matter of fact, I had also written a letter to her but I was too shy to give it to her. So I kept the letter in my closet and one day my mom found it and she read it and she cried. I never had a first love, but she was the closest to be the one. Many years later a song called "What Might Have Been” by Little Texas came out and made me think about her. But life goes on.

Now that Neal has retired, these guys are an REO cover band

I grew up in Illinois and saw REO many many times. Richrath was the reason to see them.

Son of a Poor Man....Golden Country. Old stuff was the best

First concert I went to was REO Speedwagon and I have loved them ever since. My all time favorite.

Love all of their music!!! The music is just great!!!! Still listening loudly, while cleaning my house, excellent!!!! ❤❤❤❤...

My favorite REO song will always be Back On the Road Again with Bruce on lead vocals. I've seen these guys live 5 or 6 times and it's always a huge crowd favorite.

“Roll with the Changes” awesome tune. I remember jamming this album in the dorms. San Vito AS, Italy.

Hi Infidelity came out right after I graduated HS and I remember how that album floored me. Up until then I wasn't a fan of the band at all. But I bought that album based on 'Keep on Loving You' and couldn't believe I loved every single track on the album. Not one bad song. Still one of my 5 all time favorite albums.

No Gary, no REO

ricrath added so much to the songs....listen to that ain't love or the guitar stuff he does in i can't fight this feeling....and of course the solo in keep on lovin' you....etc.,

You are such a great band Reo Speed Wagon! Thank you for visiting locally in South Bend IN in the past where my wife and I got to see you. I’m so very glad you guys all get along well. Keep on Rocking Reo Speed Wagon, you guys are one of my favorite bands of all times. ❤️✌️😎👍

I worked with R.E.O Throughout the 90's with a production company. Such GREAT guys and crew! Memories that will last my lifetime.

They all have blue eyes!!@ Love this band❤

Fun band to see live. They are good

Sadly Gary walked away from his own band, and never looked back. He put REO on the map before he left. RIP Gary

Great band and songwriters… need to be in the Hall!

Saw them in 1981 in Houston. Loudest concert I ever attended. My ears are still ringing.

REO Speedwagon was in the background of my middle school dances. Some of my first romantic memories with their songs playing in the background .the awesome power of music

Nine lives ....really underrated album

Saw them last year in Laughlin they were great 👍

can definately remember this song, i couldn't listen to it for 3 years, thats how long it took me to get over this gal i was madly in love with....

REO is a class act!

Love the Nine Lives album. First one I heard. My big brother gave it to me. I was 13. Thanks big bro!!!

One of my favorite bands great time to be a teenager 😊

They are a great live band! I saw them in Nashville with Foreigner years ago at the amphitheatre. Awesome show

Absolutely love these guys! Such great songs!! They are amazing!❤

The first times I saw REO as a young lad were in 78 and 79, 78 Kevin came out in the coveted majorly pre-washed blue jeans, the second year I thought I would try to do the same. (You know before they made them pre-washed) 79 he came out with Bright baby Blue Silk pants!

What an answer. We work hard at what we do. True pro

Great band and a great bunch of guys, REO Speedwagon are very underrated in my opinion and don't get enough attention that they deserve, my favorite song from them is time for me to fly!

Will always love REO - Just saw them at Bethel Woods in NY w/Train and they were PHENOMENAL!!!! First REO concert for me was when I was 12 years old in Long Island, NY at Nassau Coliseum.

Bruce was a good singer too, always liked his songs a lot.

Just caught them in concert last month. Awesome show! Love the older stuff before the got a little too mellow

I did sound for REO in Shelbyville IL. I Almost took out the PA on Riding The Storm Out.. Opps... Apologies!!! lol

Listen to all the bands before, during, and since, and NOBODY has that same Richrath heroic, melodic snarl that drives those songs and elevates them with the choruses to create something that fills you with power and joy 🤘

Cronin , poised at the head of the table and the rest sitting separate .... just as he intended all along

Now we know why this band is so good. They work their tales off. I've always thought they were the hardest working rock band of all time.

The R.E.O. T.W.O. album was my first introduction to the band. I saw them open in Detroit shortly before their live album came out in '77. The next time I saw them was in the mid 90's playing a county fair in Monroe, MI. It was one of the better performances I've ever seen. So when they say they give it their all for the fans, it doesn't matter if it's 20,000 or 1,500. You get their all.

Love REO. Party band to the max.

Love that song.

Some of these dudes are not the original members. I love Reo's 1980/1988 years of hits. Kevin Cronin is my favorite singer/songwriter. Gary Richrath, original lead guitarist is definitely missed.

Rock in Peace Gary Richrath🎸

I remember lying on my bed in the middle of the night listening to the Hi Infidelity album played in full on Rock 103 out of Memphis. I was just a young pup. How fast the years fly by.

Kevin Cronin is a force of nature. REO was huge my last year in high school--1980-1981...They were great at Live Aid 1985--so under rated..SAD AF that they never get nominated for the RRHOF

Riding The Storm Out lp....killer guitar gary....

These guys like Journey made great music in the 70’s, not so much in the 80’s… “Roll with the Changes” “Time for me to fly” “ “Back on the road again” “Golden Counrty” “ Ridin the storm out“

Kevin totally looks like Sophia from the golden girls.

I remember seeing these guys in Davenport, Ia in 1973 with Mike Murphy as lead singer. Then again in Debuque, Ia with Kevin Cronin as lead during the Tune a Fish tour. Just an awesome band and Cronin has to be one of the best lead singers in the business along with Paul Rogers!

I won back stage passes from a radio station back in the 80's and got to meet all of the orignal members one on one. Really cool. Gary Ritchrath was a really cool dude. Bruce too. Unfortunately Cronin was not. Hopefully he's learned to appreciate his fans by now.

I was fortunate enough to meet Richrath in Vegas a few times and even got to play with him at his place (Fuddy Duddy's) . He was SO gracious and welcoming to me. I'll never forget his kindness to me. 😢❤❤❤

Golden Country my fav

I’ve been an REO fan for a couple of years now Brian’s birthday is before mine

Great time to be a music fan. 1975-…

Love REO.

He looks just like a Golden Girl! Curly hair and everything! Such a grandma lol

I'm not a musician, but my brother is. I know what he is saying about capturing a melody when it happens. A melody I had never heard before came to me in a dream. I knew instantly it was a top ten tune. I thought to myself that I would remember it in the morning. When I woke up I had forgotten it. I wonder how much great music we will never hear because we don't catch the lightening in the bottle. Keep a recorder next to your bed.

Being an illinois boy, REO was huge for me during high school 78-81. Saw them many times but honestly lost interest when gary left. He was amazing to watch live.

WHERE…is this interview being conducted?? What a great room

REO Speedwagon was Gary, Neal, Bruce, Kevin, and Alan. As soon as Gary left, it was like Steve Perry leaving Journey. The voice was the same, but long time fans could feel the difference from a mile away.

No disrespect to Amato, he's solid, but he's playing Gary's hits for 30 years. Gary deserves more respect from their Golden Girls lookalike leader.

My favorite REO tune has no words, Flying Turkey Trot

God bless you

I’d ask Rather if he ever found out what “ What’s the frequency Kenneth? “meant! The guy could have just told him what the frequency was!!;)

Love REO sorrry we missed you in Fayetteville AR a few years ago,my nephew and myself were on our way but shit happened as it always does in m

Where is that filming location? Beautiful place.

Saw them in a tent in Ottumwa, IA for $1.25. Bought their new 8-track REO TWO.

Bruce Hall…Yeah!

Thats not Kevin Cronin, that is the Church Lady from SNL

Does anyone know where this location is? It’s amazing.

Dan looks pretty damn good for 92

How those guys can sit there without Gary! Hi-infidelity has to be in the top ten of all time rock albums! It’s a masterclass in rock music for that era!

Funniest SNL skit ever

Little old lady at Kroger

When was this filmed?

I like the Nine Lives album more than Hi-Infidelity. Had the Richrath edge to it. Glad they're still going strong. Be nice if they wrote some new material.

I’m in a minority of people who want a band to play exactly like the record live, and that’s exactly why I remember seeing REO early on the HI Infidelity Tour. Perfect recreation.

Dan Rather has the best interviews with musicians

If there is ever an REO movie, Dana Carvey is Kevin.

Nice interview. Where was this interview filmed?

Where was this interview recorded? Looks like a huge abby?

My Gad you Dinosaurs,... Elvis has passed and so did Gary...Deal with it! REO did what they had to do to survive..They STILL put on a GREAT show today! I have followed them from day one here in there home town of Champaign IL. Three generations at there concerts?! Them and Jimmy Buffet;...two success stories!!!

First 2 "albums" I bought with my own money at the same time. Hi-Infidelity and Back in Black, ... on 8-track.

"Picture it: Sicily, 1922!"