Once upon a time...in 1980
By the time 1980 rolled around, we were living large. By that I mean my mom and dad purchased the family’s first-ever color television. We said good-bye to our old-time black-and-white set. It was a whole new world. We were movin’ on up in techni-color.
I was in the fifth grade, not exactly a little kid anymore, but not yet a teenager. Not sure if the word “tween” was around yet, and I was years away from being an adult. Around this time, I started paying attention to things going on outside my sunshine-hued bedroom.
For one thing, the Iranian Hostage Crisis was always on TV. As a kid I didn’t understand what was going on. I can recall seeing television footage of the hostages in blindfolds. Frightening. Someone in my school was somehow related to one of the hostages, and our class made “welcome home” cards for him when they were released.
Another big event was Republican Ronald Reagan and Democrat Jimmy Carter duking it out for the White House. I remember watching the campaign coverage on Election Night that November. Reagan defeated incumbent Carter and would serve two terms as commander-in-chief. Something else that grabbed my attention was the shooting death of John Lennon Dec. 8, 1980 in New York City. I'm sure every Beatles fan can pinpoint where he or she was when the grim news of his murder was announced. It was stunning and shocking and heartbreaking.
I either heard it from my parents or from a news broadcast on our new TV set about what happened. The world certainly mourned his loss with a collective lump in its throat. What I remember most was how Lennon’s new album “Double Fantasy” had been released. The song “Starting Over” dominated radio stations as people grasped the reality that a Beatle was gone. How could this have happened?
My mom talked about his death a little bit to me, but I didn’t feel the impact until I was much older. I hadn’t been born yet when Beatlemania hit. I wasn’t there when every teenage girl in America went out of their minds for Paul, George, John and Ringo after they performed on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on that unforgettable Sunday night in February 1964.
In essence, I always feel like I missed out on something big because I didn’t experience the Beatles from the start. When I see television footage of all these girls screaming and crying for the Fab Four, I feel left out, like someone threw a party on Saturday night and forgot to invite me.
George was my favorite band member. I always thought he was the cutest. I wanted to hold his hand. Ha! “In My Life” is most likely my fave song by the Beatles, and I like the fun tunes they did like…..ah…..“Twist and Shout,” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy.”
They just don’t make them like the Beatles anymore.
It’s safe to say 1980 is when I really discovered rock ‘n’ roll, and I got hooked on my first-ever band: REO Speedwagon. I had crushes on guitar whiz Gary Richrath and frontman Kevin Cronin. It must have been that Mac Davis hair.
I began listening to REO Speedwagon in 1980 right after the album “Hi Infidelity” was released. I just had to have a copy of it. You couldn’t go anywhere in my neck of the suburbs without hearing “Keep On Loving You” on the airwaves. The '80s line-up included drummer Alan Gratzer, bassist Bruce Hall and Neal Doughty on keyboards. Since I took piano lessons as a kid, I though it was so cool they had a keyboardist.
I soaked up all I could about the super-talented band. This was long before the Internet and we didn’t have cable TV. So, I had to rely on any television special that might showcase the band, or hunt through magazines or newspapers to find an article.
Whenever I received any cash for Christmas, Easter or my birthday, my mom made me put in the bank right away. I was, however, able to keep out a few dollars here and there. When I got together enough of those dollars, “Hi Infidelity” would be mine.
Mom took me to the Harmony House Records and Tapes store at the Hoover-11 Mile shopping mall in Warren that winter so I could buy a copy of the vinyl masterpiece. A store clerk with feathered bangs told me where to find the LP. She said it was spelled like Oreo cookie, but to drop the “O.”
I found it and holding it in my hands was awesome. When I arrived home, I immediately went to the portable record player in my room to play my new treasure. I looked up to find my dad standing in the doorway as I cued “Don’t Let Him Go.” He said he liked the song and left after that.
I was so in love with the record. So in love. “Take It On The Run” and “Tough Guys” were my favorite songs, but I needed more than just one album of the guys. Sometime that year I managed to buy the live double-album “You Get What You Play For.” I liked that record even more than “Hi Infidelity.” It rocked so much more, and because it was live, I felt I was there in the audience. I still have copies of both LPs.
With all the interviews and stories out there on the band, I don’t know why “You Get What You Play For” is often overlooked. To me, not only is that the best REO record ever, but one of the best rock records ever recorded. “Golden Country,” “Son Of A Poor Man,” “Ridin’ the Storm Out” and “157 Riverside Avenue” are solid rock classics in my book.
During the COVID-19 quarantine, I have been watching plenty of REO videos on YouTube. I like the live ones; they show how hard the band works on stage. I’ve been to two REO concerts as an adult and would love to meet the band. Even though fifth grade was a long time ago, I am still a fan. Great songwriters. Great musicians.
I am going to close this chapter mentioning two things: the sad passing of Gary Richrath in 2015, and a synopsis of a dream I once had about the band on March 11, 2014. (Sometimes I write my dreams down so I don’t forget them.) Here is what I jotted down on this particular night:
“Last night I had a dream about REO Speedwagon. Kevin Cronin and Gary Richrath were at a school. Kevin’s hair was dark again and Gary looked like he did in the 1980s. They were supposed to talk to students about music. I wanted to meet them so badly. I kept trying. I first asked the principal. Then I asked their manager but got nowhere. Then I tried to find a 45 RPM I had of them. Then we were at my house and my mom came home. Then Gary was in the bathroom.”
Unfortunately, I never met them. That is how the dream ended.
In harmony, Maria Allard
