A saxophone in a Peoria school band is not where most people would look for the origins of one of America's great arena-rock guitarists. Yet Gary Dean Richrath, born October 18, 1949, in Peoria, Illinois, started exactly there. By his teens he had picked up a guitar on his own and never looked back. The instrument replaced the horn, and the boy from East Peoria began writing songs that would eventually sell millions. When he died on September 13, 2015, in Worcester, Ohio, he was 65 years old.
From school band to REO
Richrath grew up in East Peoria, the son of Curtis and Eunice Richrath. He graduated from East Peoria Community High School in 1967. Within a year he was playing in a local band called Suburban 9 to 5. That group gave him a stage, but the real shift came in 1970. REO Speedwagon needed a lead guitarist and songwriter. Richrath walked in with riffs, melodies, and a clear sense of how Midwestern rock should hit.
The catalog he built with REO Speedwagon reads like a map of heartland rock's rise. He wrote 'Golden Country' in 1972, then 'Ridin' the Storm Out' and 'Find My Fortune' in 1973. The same year he contributed 'Son of a Poor Man'. In 1974 came 'Wild as the Western Wind'. These songs established a voice: plainspoken, restless, built for FM radio and long drives.
A decade of songwriting
Richrath kept writing across the decade. In 1976 he delivered '(Only A) Summer Love' and the instrumental 'Flying Turkey Trot'. By 1979 he had 'Only the Strong Survive'. Then came 'In Your Letter' in 1980 and the smash 'Take It on the Run' in 1981. He also took lead vocals on tracks like 'Find My Fortune', 'Dance', and 'Breakaway'. His guitar tone and songwriting were inseparable from the band's identity.
His guitar tone and songwriting were inseparable from the band's identity.
A turning point arrived in 1977. Richrath and the band took over production duties themselves. The result was their first platinum album. That decision reshaped REO Speedwagon's trajectory. It led toward the commercial peak of 'Hi Infidelity' in 1980, the most successful record of their career. Richrath's fingerprints were all over that run.
Twelve album discography
His studio output with REO Speedwagon spans 12 albums. The list starts with 'R.E.O. Speedwagon' in 1971 and 'R.E.O./T.W.O.' in 1972. It continues through 'Ridin' the Storm Out' in 1973, 'Lost in a Dream' in 1974, 'This Time We Mean It' in 1975, and 'R.E.O.' in 1976. The live album 'Live: You Get What You Play For' arrived in 1977. Then came 'You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish' in 1978 and 'Nine Lives' in 1979.
The records kept coming: 'Hi Infidelity' in 1980, 'Good Trouble' in 1982, 'Wheels Are Turnin'' in 1984, and 'Life as We Know It' in 1987. But by 1989 Richrath had left the band. He formed a solo project called Richrath. In 1992 that group released 'Only the Strong Survive'. By the end of the 1990s the project had dissolved.
A reunion came in 2013. REO Speedwagon and Styx announced a charity concert called Rock to the Rescue on November 2013. The show happened on December 4, 2013, in Bloomington, Illinois, raising money for families affected by tornadoes in central Illinois. Richrath joined his former bandmates on stage. He played 'Ridin' the Storm Out' as an encore and also took part in 'With a Little Help from My Friends'.
Kevin Cronin, his former bandmate, confirmed Richrath's death in September 2015. In 2017 Cronin revealed that Richrath had suffered from a stomach condition. The guitarist died from complications after stomach surgery. His songwriting legacy sits on vinyl shelves in a dozen REO Speedwagon studio albums, plus the solo effort 'Only the Strong Survive'.
The discography tells the story without nostalgia. From the self-titled debut in 1971 through 'Hi Infidelity' and beyond, Richrath's songs became the spine of a catalog that still circulates on used vinyl and remastered CD. The charity encore in Bloomington was not a farewell tour. It was a final 'Ridin' the Storm Out' with the band he had helped define for nearly two decades.