Former REO Speedwagon bassist Gregg Philbin, who performed on the band’s first six studio albums and appeared on 1977’s Dwell: You Get What You Play For, has died.
Singer Kevin Cronin paid tribute to his former bandmate in an announcement shared by the band. “Nobody ought to underestimate the Philbin Issue within the evolution of REO Speedwagon,” Cronin wrote. “When Gregg left the band in 1977, he took with him the prog-leaning prolonged instrumental part side of the REO sound.
“Gregg approached the bass guitar very similar to legendary Who bassist John Entwistle,” he continued. “They each performed the bass as extra of a lead instrument. However because the songs Gary Richrath and I had been writing turned extra compact, and needing the bass to play a extra conventional position of locking with the drums, Gregg’s fashion turned a difficulty, and he would depart the band.”
Philbin’s tenure in REO Speedwagon predated Cronin’s. He appeared on the band’s self-titled debut album in 1971 and performed on every successive LP by means of 1976’s R.E.O. Their first six albums didn’t make a lot of a business splash, though Dwell: You Get What You Play For — his swan-song with the band — turned their first gold album. REO Speedwagon’s first studio album with out Philbin, 1978’s You Can Tune a Piano, however You Cannot Tuna Fish, would change into their first Prime 40 LP and in the end go double platinum.
Regardless of their musical conflicts, Cronin was fast to reward Philbin’s persona and supply his sympathies to these near the bassist. “All that mentioned, Gregg was a sensible, humorous, charming man, and you’ll be hard-pressed to discover a extra savvy particular person,” he concluded. “His well being had been a difficulty for a while, and immediately his soul is freed. All of us beloved Gregg, mourn his dying and ship our condolences to his surviving relations and mates. Right now is a tragic day in REO World.”
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