RIP Gary Richrath - REO

[John_P_WI]

Man, another one down. This one literally hits near home as I grew up not too far from their beginnings, I remember my siblings seeing REO in the early days around U of I. Gary was a great straight ahead player for sure. As a teenager my buddies and I always jammed to 157 riverside, golden country, flyin turkey trot etc etc...

[Gibsonman63]

I just saw this one. Sad indeed. Golden Country and Flying Turkey Trot are two of my favorite REO tracks.

I did not see a cause of death. 65 seems pretty young to me these days.

[vibratoking]

That's a big bummer. He had some great Les Pauls and I always enjoyed his balls to the wall style, especially when I was younger.

For too many years, it seemed he was the lone rock voice in a wimpy, chick-rock band. His true rock spirit is the only reason I listened to their music at all. RIP Gary.

[boots]

A real bummer - I had just been listening to an REO compilation album a few weeks ago and really liked Gary's playing. "Like You Do" was on of my faves of theirs.

It looked like he had gained a lot of weight in his later years - maybe responsible for his health problems?

RIP Gary.

[sliberty]

Sad indeed.

No disrespect intended to the departed, but a little funny story...

I went camping in NYS one summer with a friend. We both liked similar music, and REO was in the mix. The place we went camping was a private camp ground with some amenities (showers) and other facilities, including a roller skating rink. When we first arrived, we heard music coming from the skating rink, and it was REO oddly enough. Nice.

But as the day wore on, we realized that they only had one tape. Might have been an 8 track in fact, because it just kept repeating over and over again. AND, they didn't shut it off until nearly 3am!

Man, I learned to hate that band after two days of nothing but REO

I eventually detoxed and got over it.

[ampmike]

Wow,I remember Gary very well.Awesome guitar player,had that whole cool seventies rock star look.He was a great player,les paul player,Same here I like the music because of him.Sad to see another person from my childhood pass.Mike

[davidjon_99]

I grew up listening to REO and always loved their songs. I loved his playing and his tone.

RIP Gary.

[LeeMo]

Very sad to hear. I played in a three piece in '73-'74. we covered "Ridin' the Storm Out" an "Golden Country" . I never did get the leads down correctly. What a talent he was.

[gui_tarzan]

Did the cause ever get determined?