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Fan Mount Rushmore

written by REO Speedwagon October 17, 2022

Hi friends, over our fifty-plus year history we have met hundreds, thousands of colorful characters as we travel the world playing our music. I still meet people every day who have stories about a particular concert …maybe their first show was an REO show; perhaps they met the love of their life at one of our concerts, or one of our songs is “their song”. Hey, country music star Martina McBride told me she and her husband’s “song” is “Can’t Fight This Feeling”.

Anyway, most bands that have been around as long as us have a fan Mount Rushmore. The other day in Jackson, Michigan as I dismounted from the REO tour bus, I saw the familiar ‘50s era panel truck, with the custom REO Speedwagon centric paint job, parked across the lot. And beside it, with his unmistakeable grin, and surrounded by twelve of his grown children and grandchildren, stood the George Washington of REO fans, the inimitable Terry Ellis. He is my age, and has put some serious mileage on that old frame…of his truck, I mean! 😎 Terry has been to countless shows, and we have watched his children grow up, as he has been bringing his son to our shows since he was a toddler.

So here are Terry and me, and that reliable old panel truck, chrome engine shining in the Sun, and now sporting its eight REO paint job. Golden Country was not on the set list that night in Jackson, but I figured Terry and his fellow Michiganders would want to hear it, so I pulled a last minute audible, and busted out an acoustic version of that song from REO/TWO. That album came out almost exactly fifty years ago, and Terry has been with us the whole time. So here’s to you Terry Ellis…take care, drive safe, and we will see you next time…kc

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