Think you see REO’s Kevin Cronin on streets in Bristol?

Look on the streets on Bristol just before REO Speedwagon hits the stage at Bristol’s Viking Hall Civic Center on Nov. 13.

You may see the band’s lead singer, Kevin Cronin, strolling around town.

That’s a ritual – before just about every concert.

“I usually like to take a walk around the town during the daytime,” Cronin said during a recent telephone interview. “I like to read the local newspaper in the morning and go to the local gym.”

After that, Cronin will take parts of what he sees – and incorporate them into the night’s set list.

“We’re still tweaking the arrangements of songs that we recorded 30 years ago,” Cronin said. “We’re always trying to perfect those songs.”

The band’s jukebox reads like a play list for both classic rock and mainstream adult contemporary radio:
—“Keep On Loving You.”
—“Don’t Let Him Go.”
—“Can’t Fight This Feeling.”
—“Take It On the Run.”
—“Ridin’ the Storm Out.”

‘HAS A STORY’

REO Speedwagon practically owned the airwaves of the 1980s, when the group scored an astounding 13 hits on Billboard’s Top-40 singles chart.
“And I wrote most of them,” Cronin said, “so every one of them has a story for me.”

Today, the band is touring with Styx in a double-bill show that has both acts on stage, before it’s all over, playing a new, collaborative song called “Can’t Stop Rockin.’”

“And it’s just one of those magical rock’n’roll combinations,” Cronin said.

‘KEEP PUSHIN’’

Formed without Cronin in 1968, REO Speedwagon took its name from a high-speed fire engine.

The group released its first record in 1971 with Terry Luttrell on lead vocals.

Cronin joined for the second album but then split with the band - only to return with a song called “Keep Pushin’” for a 1976 set simply titled “R.E.O.”
“I wrote that song back in the mid-’70s,” Cronin said. “I was taking a walk through Chicago. It was a tough time in my life ... I was running out cash ... I kind of wrote that song more as therapy for myself. So, when times get tough, I think about that song.”

And, it seems, so do others.

Cronin said he has gotten letters from soldiers who said they blast “Keep Pushin’” in times of danger – like driving a tank during wartime.

DIAMOND STATUS

Soon came 1978’s “You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can’t Tuna Fish” featuring classics like “Roll With the Changes” and “Time For Me to Fly.”

Then, in 1980, the band released “Hi Infidelity,” one of the most successful rock albums of all time. This No. 1 hit achieved diamond status – going well beyond gold and platinum – in selling 10 million copies.

More recently, the band completed a Christmas album, “Not So Silent Night,” featuring renditions of “The First Noel,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Deck the Halls” and “Silent Night.”

Besides Cronin, the band features Bryan Hitt (drums), Dave Amato (guitar), Bruce Hall (bass) and Neal Doughty (keyboards).
And, during concerts, Cronin knows what to give fans.

A couple of early classics – like “Golden Country” and “157 Riverside Avenue” – show up in the set.

“There is a certain group of songs we play,” he said. “There are the core songs. Without playing those, there would pretty much be an angry mob waiting outside the tour bus.”

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YOU SHOULD KNOW
What: Concert featuring REO Speedwagon, Styx and Night Ranger
Where: Viking Hall Civic Center, Bristol, Tenn.
When: Nov. 13, 7 p.m.
How Much: $28 to $68
Info: (423) 764-0188