Late one night, Gary Richrath of REO Speedwagon was half asleep, mindlessly strumming his guitar while watching an old soap opera on TV…when it suddenly dawned on him:

“These guys’ relationships are worse than mine!”

And that realization became the basis for “Take It on the Run,” .which, in turn, helped REO settle on the title of their 1981 album: “Infidelity.”

The original title was “Don’t Let me Down,” but it was changed to put more focus on the MEN who have been cheated on…which led to the legendary opening lyric: “Heard it from a friend…who heard it from friend… who heard it from another you’ve been messing around.”

Gary and REO bandmate Kevin Cronin were SURE “Take it on the Run” would be a hit, but, of course, their record label, (Epic) thought differently…and it was an “Epic battle” to get them to release it as a single as a follow-up to REO’s mega-hit “Keep on Loving You.” Luckily, the band prevailed and the song promptly “took it for a run” up the charts to #3 on The Hot 100, and #4 on the Rock Chart.

And here’s a Fun Fact for you–well maybe not fun for REO: Shortly after the song became a hit , the video was the 9th song played on the first day of MTV, but it only ran for a few seconds before a glitch knocked it off the air. So for a moment, it appeared that radio killed the video that killed the radio star.

“Take it on the Run” by REO Speedwagon: I heard it from a friend who heard from a friend that it was a Great Song of 1981!

== Mike Cook