{"id":553120,"date":"2026-03-22T11:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T11:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/553120\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T11:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T11:29:09","slug":"on-the-charts-45-years-ago-reo-speedwagon-scored-their-first-no-1-hit-with-one-of-their-most-misunderstood-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/553120\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Charts 45 Years Ago, REO Speedwagon Scored Their First No. 1 Hit With One of Their Most Misunderstood Songs"},"content":{"rendered":"

In December 2024, arena-rock mainstays REO Speedwagon took their final bow<\/a> after nearly 60 years of entertaining. Formed in 1967, the band\u2019s most recognizable lineup consisted of keyboardist Neal Doughty, vocalist\/rhythm guitarist Kevin Cronin, bassist\/vocalist Bruce Hall, lead guitarist\/vocalist Dave Amato, and drummer Bryan Hitt. On this day (March 21) in 1981\u2014after 10 years and nine albums\u2014 the band topped the Hot 100 for the first time with \u201cKeep On Loving You\u201d, one of their most beloved songs to this day. <\/p>\n

What Everyone Gets Wrong About REO Speedwagon\u2019s First Major Hit<\/p>\n

Arguably the quintessential power ballad, \u201cKeep On Loving You\u201d first appeared on REO Speedwagon\u2019s 1980 breakthrough album Hi Infidelity. In fact, the album\u2019s title is the first clue that \u201cKeep On Loving You\u201d isn\u2019t the romantic ballad many fans have interpreted it to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny, because a lot of people over the years have told me how they played that song at their wedding and it was the first dance at their wedding, or it\u2019s \u2018their song\u2019 with their boyfriend or girlfriend,\u201d songwriter Kevin Cronin told Songfacts<\/a>. \u201cMy first thought is always, \u2018Wait. Did you listen to the verses of the song?!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, Cronin penned the song after discovering that his wife had cheated on him prior to their marriage. \u201cI always believed that people are capable of changing, and that if your life runs into a tough spot, it doesn\u2019t mean that you necessarily have to run from it,\u201d the vocalist said. \u201cYou can also look it in the eye, and if there is enough worthwhile in the relationship to keep it going, then you give it all you\u2019ve got, and that\u2019s what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

That relationship didn\u2019t end up lasting, but Cronin doesn\u2019t believe that undermines the song\u2019s famous line: When I said that I love you \/ I meant that I love you forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried my best, but it just didn\u2019t happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: The REO Speedwagon Classic That Had Us at the Opening Lines]<\/a><\/p>\n

Their Record Label Took Some Convincing<\/p>\n

After REO Speedwagon recorded \u201cKeep On Lovin\u2019 You\u201d, their label, Epic Records, didn\u2019t think it was worth releasing. Fortunately, the band members convinced them otherwise. Hi Infidelity\u2019s next single, \u201cTake It on the Run\u201d, also cracked the top 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time, Epic Records were ready to drop us,\u201d Cronin later said<\/a>. \u201cThey insisted we had to have a radio friendly song on our next album\u2026 And everyone in the band and around us thought if anyone could come up with that song, then it would be me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Cronin awoke at 4 a.m. one morning \u201cwith these three single piano chords stuck in my head.\u201d Those three chords turned into the band\u2019s breakthrough hit.<\/p>\n

Featured image by Paul Natkin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In December 2024, arena-rock mainstays REO Speedwagon took their final bow after nearly 60 years of entertaining. Formed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":553121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[36310,49,48,75,341,214615,5475],"class_list":["post-553120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-1980s","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-reo-speedwagon","tag-rock-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}