Take It On the Run
Encyclopedia
"Take It on the Run" is the fifth track on the REO Speedwagon
album Hi Infidelity
. It was released as a single in 1981
and reached #5 on the Billboard charts
. The song was written by guitarist Gary Richrath
. "Take It on the Run" was the follow-up single behind the group’s #1 hit, “Keep on Loving You”. The cover band
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
has punk-covered this song for their live album Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah
.
This song, unlike "Keep On Loving You" and REO Speedwagon’s eventual second #1 hit, "Can't Fight This Feeling
", is not a power ballad. It is faster in tempo
and has a forty-seven second guitar solo. It is in the key
of G major
or Ionian
, established by the melody and the verse's G-C-D-G (I-IV-V-I) chord progression
.
This song was released as a downloadable add-on for the Rock Band
video game franchise on April 21, 2009.
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...
album Hi Infidelity
Hi Infidelity
Hi Infidelity is the ninth studio album by REO Speedwagon, released in 1980 . It went on to become the biggest selling rock LP of 1981, eventually selling over ten million copies. Six songs from this album hit Billboard charts, including "Keep on Loving You" which was the band's first Number 1 hit,...
. It was released as a single in 1981
1981 in music
See also:* Timeline of musical eventsThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1981.-January–April:*January 10 – A revival of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance opens at Broadway's Uris Theatre, starring Linda Ronstadt and Rex Smith.*January 24 –...
and reached #5 on the Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
. The song was written by guitarist Gary Richrath
Gary Richrath
Gary Richrath is an American guitarist, best known as a member of the band REO Speedwagon from 1970 until 1989...
. "Take It on the Run" was the follow-up single behind the group’s #1 hit, “Keep on Loving You”. The cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes is a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in 1995. The Gimmes work exclusively as a cover band. The band is named after a children's book of the same name by Gerald G. Jampolsky and Diane V. Cirincione...
has punk-covered this song for their live album Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah
Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah
Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah is a live album by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, released on October 19, 2004 on Fat Wreck Chords.It was recorded live at an actual bar mitzvah party, and its runtime lasts their entire performance, including a break in which little can be heard other than the sounds of...
.
This song, unlike "Keep On Loving You" and REO Speedwagon’s eventual second #1 hit, "Can't Fight This Feeling
Can't Fight This Feeling
"Can't Fight This Feeling" is a number-one power ballad from REO Speedwagon about a man falling in love with a girl with whom he has been friends for a long time....
", is not a power ballad. It is faster in tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
and has a forty-seven second guitar solo. It is in the key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of G major
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
or Ionian
Ionian mode
Ionian mode is the name assigned by Heinrich Glarean in 1547 to his new authentic mode on C , which uses the diatonic octave species from C to the C an octave higher, divided at G into a fourth species of perfect fifth plus a third species of perfect fourth : C D...
, established by the melody and the verse's G-C-D-G (I-IV-V-I) chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
.
This song was released as a downloadable add-on for the Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
video game franchise on April 21, 2009.
In popular culture
- Chicago radio personality Steve DahlSteve DahlSteven Robert Dahl has been an American radio personality and humorist for more than thirty years. He is currently podcasting, and releases the podcasts for download daily from his own website as well as the iTunes store...
recorded a parody version called "Better Get a Gun", which made light of then Chicago mayor Jane ByrneJane ByrneJane Margaret Byrne was the first and to date only female Mayor of Chicago. She served from April 16, 1979 to April 29, 1983. Chicago is the largest city in the United States to have had a female mayor as of 2011.-Early political career:...
moving into the Cabrini–Green public housing development. - It was featured in Paul Blart: Mall Cop, where Paul gets drunk in the bar.
- In the Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode "The Splendid SourceThe Splendid Source"The Splendid Source" is the nineteenth episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Directed by Brian Iles and written by Mark Hentemann, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 16, 2010. The episode follows Peter, Joe and Quagmire as they set out...
", Peter, Joe, and Quagmire find REO Speedwagon performing this song before questioning them. - The song is featured in a YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video released by Charlie SheenCharlie SheenCarlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
, in which his ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
interview is parodied. Kevin CroninKevin CroninKevin Cronin is the lead vocalist/ rhythm guitarist/ occasional pianist for the American rock band, REO Speedwagon. REO Speedwagon had two #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 written by Cronin, "Keep on Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling" .- Early life and career :Cronin was born in Evanston,...
is also featured in the video.
Band Members
- Kevin Cronin- Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocals
- Gary Richrath- Lead Guitar
- Neal Doughty- Keyboards
- Alan Gratzer- Drums, Vocals
- Bruce Hall- Bass, Vocals