"Keep On Loving You" is a soft rock

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romance (love), romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn m ...

written by

Kevin Cronin Kevin Patrick Cronin (born October 6, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter, who is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and pianist for the rock band REO Speedwagon. The band had several hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 throughout the ...

and performed by American rock band REO Speedwagon. It features the lead

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

work of

Gary Richrath Gary Dean Richrath (October 18, 1949 – September 13, 2015) was an American guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist and a songwriter for the band REO Speedwagon from 1970 until 1989. Early life Richrath was born in Peoria, Illinois, on Octob ...

. The song first appeared on REO Speedwagon's 1980 album ''

Hi Infidelity ''Hi Infidelity'' is the ninth studio album by American rock band REO Speedwagon, released on November 21, 1980 by Epic Records. The album became a big hit in the United States, peaking at number one on the ''Billboard 200''. It went on to be ...

''. It was the first REO Speedwagon single to break the top 50 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching the number-one spot for one week in March 1981. The single was certified platinum for U.S. sales of over one million copies. It peaked at number seven on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. "Keep On Loving You" has been a mainstay on 1980s soft rock compilations and has appeared on dozens of 'various artists' compilation albums, as well as several REO Speedwagon greatest hits albums.

Background and recording

Kevin Cronin stated that he wrote "Keep On Loving You" as a more traditional love ballad, and the band as a whole developed it into its final arrangement as a power ballad. He recounted: Cronin also said: Epic Records did not think the song was good enough to be released as a single but the band persuaded them to do so.

Music video

In 1981, the music video of the song was the 17th played on the first day of broadcast of MTV, on August 1. It was framed by a scene of Kevin Cronin talking about his relationship troubles with a female psychiatrist and contained a shot where a woman picked up a telephone connected to Gary Richrath's guitar, referencing the live version of "

157 Riverside Avenue "157 Riverside Avenue" is a song by REO Speedwagon from their first album, '' REO Speedwagon'', released in 1971. It was written by all five band members at the time, Terry Luttrell, Gary Richrath, Gregg Philbin, Neal Doughty, and Alan Gratz ...

Personnel

REO Speedwagon *

- lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, piano *

- electric guitars * Bruce Hall - bass *

Neal Doughty Neal Allan Doughty (born July 29, 1946, in Evansville, Indiana) is an American keyboardist, best known as a founding member of the rock band REO Speedwagon and the only member to have played on every album. He formed the band in fall 1967, with o ...

- Hammond organ *

Alan Gratzer REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. T ...

- drums Additional personnel * Steve Forman – percussion * Tom Kelly – backing vocal *

Richard Page Richard Lewis Page (born 22 February 1941) is a former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and from December 1979 to 2005. Early life Born the son of Victor Charles Page, he went to the independent H ...

– backing vocal

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1980 singles 1980 songs 1981 singles 1980s ballads Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles REO Speedwagon songs Songs written by Kevin Cronin Epic Records singles Song recordings produced by Kevin Beamish Song recordings produced by Gary Richrath Song recordings produced by Kevin Cronin Rock ballads