MUSIC HISTORY 101 JULY 29, 1946 - Born on this day in Evansville, Indiana: REO Speedwagon keyboardist NEAL DOUGHTY The sole remaining founding member of REO Speedwagon currently in the band. He formed the band in the fall of 1967, with original drummer Alan Gratzer. While at the University of Illinois, he joined a band with Gratzer that needed a name. “One day we decided to advertise in the campus paper to see if anyone would hire us,” says Doughty, “So we needed a name fast. The very next day I walked into an engineering class and saw REO Speedwagon written on the board in giant letters. It was a milestone in the history of transportation: a high-speed, heavy-duty truck. I told the guys that night and they all loved it. It was the only name we ever considered.” As it turned out, people wanted to hear REO and they were hired to perform on-campus, as entertainment for the party….and a food fight!. Neal recalls, “It was a frat house that had invited a sorority over for a dinner. We walked in and saw heavy paper covering all the walls. We kinda thought something was up, but it was too late. The evening ended with mashed potatoes everywhere. Alan spent the next whole day cleaning them off the drums. But we made forty dollars.” From those humble beginnings, REO Speedwagon eventually became a household name, yet massive success eluded them for over a decade. Although he has never been one of REO Speedwagons primary songwriters, Doughty has written or co-written several of the bands songs. Songs for which he is the sole composer include Sky Blues from 1973, One Lonely Night from 1984 and Variety Tonight from 1987. The latter two songs charted as Billboard singles, with One Lonely Night cracking the top 20. His most notable playing includes the Hammond Organ solo on Roll With The Changes and the honky-tonk piano work on 157 Riverside Avenue. He notes the beginning to Cant Fight This Feeling is the most difficult and rewarding to play. He was an early adopter of the Moog Synthesizer, which can be heard on the opening swoop of Ridin The Storm Out. READ MORE: nealdoughty.iwarp/ speedwagon/ classicrockrevisited/show_interview.php?id=1027 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REO_Speedwagon speedwagon/band/neal.html
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 17:21:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015