Will REO Speedwagon Ever Get Inducted Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

REO Speedwagon: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Facts
Eligible Since: 1997
Finalist: Never
Grammy Awards/Nominations: 0/1
Career Top 40 Hits: 13
Essential Tracks: Roll with the Changes, Time for Me to Fly, Keep On Loving You, Take it on the Run, Keep the Fire Burnin’, Can’t Fight This Feeling, That Ain’t Love, Here With Me
Essential Albums: You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can’t Tuna Fish (1978), Hi Infidelity (1980), Wheels are Turnin’ (1984)

Despite their commercial success and enduring presence on classic rock radio, REO Speedwagon continues to remain a conspicuous omission from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

Let’s review their career and make a prediction about whether the band and its peak-era lineup of Kevin Cronin, Neal Doughty, Alan Gratzer, Gary Richrath, and Bruce Hall might someday be honored by the Hall of Fame.

REO Speedwagon’s Rock Hall Credentials

Let’s start with REO Speedwagon’s career peak: Their 1980 album Hi Infidelity made them one of the biggest bands in music for a time. The album is Diamond-certified for sales of more than 10 million, and produced four Top 40 hits, including the #1 smash “Keep on Loving You” and the #4 hit “Take it on the Run.”

Both tracks blended electric guitars with vibrant choruses and strong vocals, making them hits on rock and pop radio stations. They followed that up with a run of hits like “Keep the Fire Burnin’,” “One Lonely Night,” and their second #1 single, “Can’t Fight This Feeling.”

Powered by a piano, Cronin’s earnest vocals, and a few timely guitar riffs, “Can’t Fight This Feeling” was softer and less “rock” than the band’s previous work, yet fans loved it, and even critics gave it positive reviews. Cronin’s relatable lyrics about being attracted to a friend resonated with audiences.

In retrospect, it’s easy to see how “Can’t Fight This Feeling” served as a template for power ballads in rock music. For better or worse, that song did help to change the course of popular music, becoming one of the ultimate ’80s power ballads.

REO performed at Live Aid in 1985 and continued to earn hits for a few more years, before becoming a legacy touring act for the past few decades. Starting in the 1960s and touring into the 2020s is a pretty remarkable feat of longevity.

They earned a boatload of hits and sold more than 40 million albums. “Take it On the Run” and “Keep On Loving You” remain staples on classic rock stations to this day.

REO are often lumped together with similar pop-leaning rock bands like Journey and Foreigner. Both of those acts eventually earned Rock Hall induction. REO Speedwagon may deserve the same honor.

The Case Against REO Speedwagon

How many bands were substantially influenced by REO Speedwagon? Influence is always an important factor in Rock Hall voters’ minds, and it’s hard to cite a lot of acts who can trace their lineage back to REO Speedwagon.

The band also went in a more adult contemporary direction in 1984. Not just with “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” but with many of its other tracks as well. Before 1984, REO had only hit the Adult Contemporary chart once, but from that date forward, they logged seven hits on the AC chart.

Their transition from a rock band to more of a softer act definitely turned off some rock purists and could cost them some votes.

Hopefully these voters will be informed enough to check out earlier songs like “Roll With the Changes,” which shows the band’s more hard-rocking side with a jaunty melodies and lengthy guitar solos.

It’s worth noting that other soft rock bands have gotten inducted, like Hall & Oates and Neil Diamond, so REO Speedwagon shouldn’t be denied entry for that reason.

The Verdict: Will REO Speedwagon Ever Get Inducted Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Now that Foreigner and Journey have been inducted, REO Speedwagon leads that next batch of mainstream melodic rock acts who should be in consideration, along with Toto and Huey Lewis & the News.

The odd thing is that REO’s name rarely gets brought up in conversations on podcasts or websites that regularly discuss the Rock Hall. Right now, there isn’t much buzz or momentum about their candidacy.

Perhaps a reunion tour could change that? In recent years, Cronin and his bandmates have been at odds, but they did reunite in 2025 for a performance. That creates optimism that they could someday perform together at the Rock Hall. We put their odds of induction at 50-50.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: REO Speedwagon
Odds of Getting Inducted Next Year: 8%
Odds of Getting Inducted in the Next Five Years: 25%
Odds of Getting Inducted Eventually: 50%

Do you think REO Speedwagon will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame someday? Leave a comment and let us know!

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Last Updated on October 8, 2025