Sure, you can call the members of REO Speedwagon rock stars. But if you have to label them, here's the more accurate term they prefer: Working musicians.
Formed in 1967, signed in 1971 and fronted by iconic vocalist Kevin Cronin since 1972, REO Speedwagon has - for decades - been a confounding blend of consistency and change.
Hits Include:
Ridin' the Storm Out,
Take It on the Run,
Can't Fight This Feeling
Beyond the tragedy, the history, the raging guitars and the killer songs, ultimately, Lynyrd Skynyrd is about an indomitable will. About survival of spirit; unbowed, uniquely American, stubbornly resolute.
Says Rossington, “We’re still standing, still keeping the music going. We wanted to do the guys who aren’t with us any more proud, and keep the name proud, too.”
Hits include: Sweet Home Alabama, Free Bird, Give me Three Steps
Powerhouse vocalist and songwriter Lou Gramm can be heard each and every day, all over the world, on Radio, iPods, CD players, television commercials, music videos, and of course… jukeboxes. He has become the voice of a generation.
Among the most distinctive and powerful voices to emerge from Rock and Top 40 radio, Gramm – the lead vocalist and co-writer of the multi-platinum band Foreigner – as well as a successful solo artist in his own right – remains one of the most recognizable performers in music today.
Aaron Tippin
Aaron Tippin is a force of nature, a man whose passion for music fuels an array of other vigorous enthusiasms. Apart from writing and recording songs and wowing crowds with his live appearances, Tippin is also a pilot, farmer, winemaker, outdoorsman, competitive bodybuilder and devoted family man. He even runs his own record label. It's no surprise then that so many in the music industry regard this tireless South Carolinian as the "Hillbilly Hercules."
Hits include: My Blue Angel, There Ain't Nothing Wrong with the Radio
Kory and the Fireflies create what's been described as "pop rock with punch". The band has also got a special gift for connecting with audiences and creating a magical unity at almost every show. They've toured with Goo Goo Dolls, Sugar Ray and Smash Mouth and supported over sixty more national acts including Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock and many others.
The band has garnered National Press in Album Network, Billboard, Washington Post, Chicago Sun Times and appeared twice at Farm Aid sharing the stage with founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews. A great honor for the band.
By name and position they are lead singer/guitarist Matt Fleener, vocalist/guitarist Ryan Fleener, vocalist/guitarist Jeff Middleton, bassist Jeremy Little and drummer Nick Diamond. They bring resumes that embrace country, rock, funk and R&B to bear on a gritty, lyrical roadhouse country that offers something substantial to the heart, the mind and the dance floor. One of the best summations of their brand of magic came from the last member to join the group. Bass player Jeremy Little saw the others live and, he says, "I was floored. I knew this was where I belonged musically. It was fun. It was entertaining. I thought Matt was one of the most charismatic people I'd ever seen onstage. It was everything about music I wanted to be a part of."
On any given night you can find them playing "Callin Baton Rouge" and moving right on to "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and then the most recent Nickelback hit. Not too long after that it's a five song non-stop dance marathon that includes "Girls Just wanna Have Fun", "Walk Like an Egyptian", Poker Face" (Did we mention that there aren't any girls in the band?), Hot, Hot, Hot, & Low. Closing the night one can expect to hear Zac Brown, AC/DC & Sir Mix-A-Lot.... Or something completely different...
No genre is off limits, No era is untouched, No Hit is out of reach.