Joanna Manaves, director of planning and materials management at Peacock Foods in the greater Chicago area, also serves as national director for the United Hellenic Voters of America, an organization promoting citizenship among Greek Americans. When she has time for entertainment, Joanna Manaves enjoys going to concerts and has seen artists such as REO Speedwagon.
REO Speedwagon was formed in Illinois in 1968 by keyboardist Neal Doughty and drummer Alan Gratzer, two University of Illinois students. When Doughty and Gratzer graduated, they joined with manager Irving Azoff. They then welcomed Gary Richrath as guitarist in the early 1970s, along with singer Terry Luttrell and bassist Gregg Philbin. This lineup was featured on REO Speedwagon’s debut record.
Shortly after the debut record, REO’s future fell into uncertainty. Luttrell left the band and was replaced by Kevin Cronin, who was on the band’s 1972 REO TWO album. However, the band still wasn’t a mainstream success, and they asked Cronin to leave. Mike Murphy then joined the band and stayed on board for several releases in the mid-1970s, including Ridin’ the Storm Out and This Time We Mean It. Still lacking the breakthrough it wanted, the band welcomed Cronin back.
With Cronin back on board, the band earned gold and platinum certification with the release of Live: You Get What You Play For in 1977 and You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can’t Tuna Fish in 1978. Hi Infidelity was released at the end of 1980, catapulting the band into mainstream success. REO Speedwagon continued to have success until the end of the ’80s, when music styles began to shift toward grunge and the band’s lineup changed yet again.
