Keep On Loving You

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Keep On Loving You
REO Speedwagon
publication November 4th 1980
length 3:22
Genre (s) Hard rock , power ballad
Author (s) Kevin Cronin
album Hi Infidelity
Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Keep On Loving You
  DE 15th 05/04/1981 (20 weeks)
  CH 4th 04/12/1981 (10 weeks)
  US 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 03/21/1981 (28 weeks)
  UK 7th 04/11/1981 (14 weeks)

Keep On Loving You is a REO Speedwagon song that was released on November 4, 1980. It was written by and produced by Kevin Cronin, Gary Richrath and Alan Gratzer. It became REO Speedwagon's first number one hit in the United States .

Release history

Before the recordings for the album Hi Infidelity , Reo Speedwagon was known more as a hard rock band. In fact, keyboardist Neal Doughty initially had reservations about recording the song. The piece is 3:22 minutes long and was first released as a single on November 4, 1980 as the forerunner of the album Hi Infidelity , which followed in December. On the single B-side is Follow My Heart , which is also represented on the album. The song reached high positions in the charts and was the group's first number one hit in the United States. Only four years later could they repeat this success with Can't Fight This Feeling . In Germany the song reached number 15 and in Switzerland number 4.

The song appeared on many REO Speedwagon compilation albums , such as The Hits and Keep On Loving You - Best . The recording on the compilation Second Decade of Rock and Roll (1991), which is underlaid with a reggae rhythm, is a special version . The song is also featured on numerous 80s, soft rock and love song compilations.

The song could be heard in various films, including The Last American Virgin and Crank 2 . The song is also featured in the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City . A cover version of The Donnas from 1999 was recorded for the soundtrack to the film Drive Me Crazy . The version was also used in the television series Cougar Town . Other cover versions are by Lisa Loeb & Dweezil Zappa and The Lemonheads .

Red Cafe used a sampling of the piece for Look in Your Eyes on his album American Psycho II (2014). Also Jadakiss had already in 2007 the sample on a mixtape used.

Music style and text

Keep On Loving You is a power ballad that can be found in hard rock . It begins with a solemn intro played by a piano and a triangle . Then Kevin Cronin's vocals begin , some of which are underlaid with harmonies. The guitar solo is introduced by a single vibrato .

The text is emotional and tries to sweep the listener away. It deals with the theme of eternal love, which the protagonist continues to promise her despite several misconducts of his beloved, and contains surreal images.

“You played dead but you never bled. Instead you lay still in the grass, all coiled up and hissin '. "

“You played dead, but you didn't bleed. Instead you are still lying on the grass, curled up and hissing. "

- REO Speedwagon : Keep On Loving You

The song is shaped autobiographically. As singer and songwriter Cronin announced on VH1's Top 40 Love Songs , he had just found out beforehand that his wife had cheated on him.

Music video

Shortly after the start of MTV in the United States, REO Speedwagon was one of the hottest rock bands , not least because of Keep On Loving You . Their relatively cheap, wacky clips were regularly played on the new station. Together with director Bruce Gowers , they had already shot three videos in just one day, including Keep On Loving You . The video initially shows a session with a psychiatrist . It begins with a spoken intro by Cronin, in which he tells of this one true love for an unknown woman. This is followed by a fade-over: The video shows a young lady who watches a live performance on television, first alone, then with the band. At the end, Cronin asks who this woman could be. Eventually this psychiatrist opens her hair and the lady emerges.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Charts DE Charts CH Charts UK Charts US
  2. ↑ a b c Keep on Loving You by REO Speedwagon. Songfacts.com, accessed November 30, 2014 .
  3. ↑ Hi Infidelity at Allmusic (English). Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  4. ↑ Paul Griin: beat chart . In: Billboard . Volume 97, No. 10 , March 9, 1985, ISSN  0006-2510 , pp. 7 .
  5. ↑ REO Speedwagon at Discogs (English)
  6. ↑ Keep On Loving You at Allmusic (English). Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  7. ↑ Soundtrack for the film Drive Me Crazy . Discogs , accessed November 30, 2014 .
  8. ↑ Reo Speedwagon in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  9. ↑ a b Keep on Loving You by REO Speedwagon. Whosampled.com, accessed November 30, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Bob Stanley : Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop . Faber & Faber, 2013, ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5 .
  11. ↑ Keep On Loving You lyrics
  12. ↑ Music video for Keep On Loving You. Sony Music Entertainment 1980. Online: Official YouTube video via ( Vevo )