Sammy Hagar & Kevin Cronin
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A Note From Kevin Cronin
Hi friends, as we prepare to head off on our New Zealand adventure I need to take pause and share my sadness at the passing of another friend.
First we lost the original soul of REO Speedwagon when Gary Richrath passed away last August. I still think of him almost every day and find it shocking when it dawns on me that I will never see him again. Then this last week the music world lost art rock pioneer David Bowie. I did not know him personally, but over the years I had grown to respect and appreciate his unique talent and vision, and the fact that he inspired so many others who followed the tradition of fearless innovation which David Bowie began.
Yesterday I got a call which stopped me in my tracks… Glenn Frey had died. I did not know him well, but we were managed out of the same office, have a number of mutual friends, and whenever our paths crossed at various LA recording studios, charity events, or last year court-side at a Laker game at Staples Center, we always shared a friendly vibe. Glenn was an engaging and outgoing person, full of energy and seemingly in constant motion. I remember he had an occasional health issue, but he always appeared strong and athletic. I was taken totally by surprise yesterday.
Musically, Glenn and Don Henley created a sound that hit the spot for me…jangly guitars, sweet vocal harmonies, but most importantly well written pop songs. I grew up loving The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and The Eagles were the natural progression of that genre. But when Tommy Shaw told me that our friend Gary Loizzo had finally been taken down after a three year battle with Pancreatic cancer, that rocked my world deeply. Gary had been the front of house sound engineer for Styx and engineered or co-produced many of their records since the early days of the band. Before that Gary gained fame as lead singer ofThe American Breed whose number one single, “Bend Me Shape Me” topped the WLS radio Silver Dollar Survey chart in the early 60s. His sweet clear tenor was a big part of that record’s appeal and landed Gary in the heart of the lucrative Chicago jingle singing world, as well as allowed him to open Pumpkin Studios in suburban Oak Lawn.
Oak Lawn was also home to a young and naive singer songwriter who was searching to be discovered, (me). Gary brought me into his little four track garage studio where we arranged and recorded the earliest versions of future REO classics such as “Time For Me To Fly”, “Keep Pushin’ On”, “In My Dreams”, and “Can’t Fight This Feeling”. Gary taught me about stacking vocal harmonies, doubling guitar parts, and song arrangement, and was a stabilizing force for my emotional approach to writing and recording. We balanced each other out. When I hit a creative wall during the vocal sessions for ‘You Can Tuna Piano, but You Can’t Tune a Fish’, I hopped a plane for sweet home Chicago and went into the studio with a producer who always calmed and grounded me…Gary Loizzo.
But even before that, when I was 11 years old I saw Gary and The Nightlights play a short set as the finale of my next door neighbor’s accordion recital. I had just started taking guitar lesson and Gary made a mighty impression on me. Soon after that the Beatles came to America and my life course was set, but it was Gary Loizzo who made the initial rock’n roll mark on me. I am sick that I will be in New Zealand and will not be able to be at Gary’s service.
Life is so precious…kc
