REO Speedwagon and Ozark

By Greg VessarMay 5, 2020 ( 4 )

The Netflix series Ozark hooked me with season one back in 2017. This spring, with the current pandemic and stay at home orders, I found myself binge watching season three. Jason Bateman is simply fantastic as Marty Byrde, money launderer for the notorious Navarro drug cartel. The music showcased in the series is exceptional and ranges from classic rock to classical compositions with a wide variety of genres in between. The music in episode three, “Kevin Cronin Was Here” was a blast from the past! The rock band REO Speedwagon was a big part of the story line in this episode and they even make a short appearance as they sing “Time for Me To Fly” at a dentist convention at the Byrde’s Missouri Belle casino. That same song opens the episode as Marty’s wife, Wendy, drives down a two-lane road contemplating their marriage. As Wendy Byrde contemplated her life, my mind was traveling back to my youth and how much I loved to listen to REO Speedwagon. In fact, since they appeared in the episode, REO has found renewed chart success. I had forgotten what a good rock and roll band they were, and still are!

REO Speedwagon circa 1987.

REO 3 HiInfedelityCover REO Speedwagon have been rocking since the early seventies. Their popularity began to increase with the addition of lead singer and songwriter Kevin Cronin. Although the band and Cronin parted ways in the late seventies, he soon rejoined the band, to guitarist Gary Richrath’s dismay, at first. Soon the partnership of Cronin and Richrath were churning out hits. The combination of Cronin’s folk music-esque lyrics and Richrath’s dirty, nasty guitar licks rocketed the group to superstardom with the release of the 1980 single “Keep On Loving You”, which is on the album Hi Infidelity. “Keep On Loving You” was the first power ballad and ruled the charts and the video rotation on MTV in the Eighties.

REO Speedwagon and their 1984 number one hit, “Can’t Fight This Feeling” is one of the reasons my wife and I started dating back in our university days. We saw them live on a double bill with Cheap Trick back in 1987. When REO played their current hit, “Can’t Fight This Feeling”, we both just sort of blurted out that we thought of each other on this song. For that reason, that song sits at the number one spot on my REO Top Ten.

Thank you Netflix and Ozark for reminding me that a great rock-n-roll band like REO Speedwagon will always withstand the test of time. Rock on!

My REO Speedwagon Top Ten!