REO Speedwagon grew in popularity in the Midwestern United States during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. REO Speedwagon hits include "Keep On Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling." Both songs are power ballads that topped U.S. charts, the former being prototypical of the genre and appearing on the group's most commercially successful album, Hi Infidelity, which also included the hit "Take It On The Run," a song that peaked at number five on the U.S. charts. Earlier REO songs "Ridin' The Storm Out," "Golden Country," "Roll With The Changes," and "Time For Me To Fly" enjoy continuous rotation on classic rock radio stations.

REO Speedwagon took its name from the REO Speed Wagon, a truck manufactured by the REO Motor Car Company. ("R.E.O." are initials of the company's founder, Ransom Eli Olds, who also founded the Oldsmobile division of General Motors.)

The band's debut album was released on Epic Records in 1971. One of the most popular tracks on this record was "157 Riverside Avenue." The title refers to the Westport, Connecticut address where the band stayed while recording in Leka's studio in nearby Bridgeport, and remains an in-concert favorite.

Although the rest of the band's line-up remained stable, REO Speedwagon switched lead vocalists three times for their first three albums. Luttrell left the band shortly after the group recorded its debut album, becoming the vocalist for Starcastle. He was replaced by Kevin Cronin. Cronin recorded one album with the band, 1972's R.E.O./T.W.O., but left the band during the recording sessions for 1973's Ridin' The Storm Out because of missed rehearsals and creative disagreements. Ridin' the Storm Out was completed with Mike 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 1976 and recorded R.E.O.

The lineup was now set for the band's most popular era. In 1980, REO Speedwagon released Hi Infidelity, which represented a change in the music from hard rock to more pop-oriented material. Hi Infidelity spawned several hit singles, including the #1 "Keep On Loving You" and the #5 "Take It On the Run," and remained on the charts for 65 weeks.

Good Trouble (1982) and Wheels Are Turnin' (1984) were follow-up albums, which also did well commercially, the former containing the #2 hit single "Keep The Fire Burnin'" and the latter containing the #1 hit single "Can't Fight This Feeling" and the lesser hits "One Lonely Night" and "I Do' Wanna Know." In addition, the band performed at 1985's Live Aid which also featured their album Live Infidelity.

REO Speedwagon continues to perform mostly its older hits at county and state fairs, casinos, and clubs, and occasionally tours with other classic rock bands such as Foreigner, Styx, Journey, and Fleetwood Mac. In 2007, REO Speedwagon released Find Your Own Way Home, their first album of original material in eleven years. The first single off the album, "I Needed To Fall," was REO's first charted song in 17 years.

Discography

R.E.O. Speedwagon (1971)
R.E.O./T.W.O. (1972)
Ridin' The Storm Out (1973)
Lost In A Dream (1974)
This Time We Mean It (1975)
R.E.O. (1976)
You Can Tune a Piano But You Can't Tuna Fish (1978)
Nine Lives (1979)
Hi Infidelity (1980)
Good Trouble (1982)
Wheels Are Turnin' (1984)
Life As We Know It (1987)
The Earth, A Small Man, His Dog And A Chicken (1990)
Building The Bridge (1996)
Find Your Own Way Home (2007)