REO Speedwagon had its share of high adventures in the ’70s, but one particular instance could have put the group in serious hot water.
The thing is, they didn’t know about it. It was the ’70s and as the Midwest rock and roll group’s star was beginning to rise, so were the perks they enjoyed. Like some of their peers, including famously, the Doobie Brothers and their Doobieliner, REO Speedwagon started flying to their gigs in a private plane.
How REO Speedwagon Began Traveling in Style
“We thought, ‘My God, we’re on the road all the time, we need an airplane,” the band’s former lead vocalist Kevin Cronin recalled during a recent interview on Billy Corgan’s podcast, The Magnificent Others. “So Irving [Azoff] is like, ‘Okay, I’ll find you an airplane.'”
When they arrived at the Santa Monica airport, they found a World War II-era Lockhead Lodestar plane with the REO logo painted on the nose. “There’s no way we could afford it,” he remembers. “But we didn’t want to ask any questions.” They did notice people in the airports, “surreptitiously taking photos” and quickly rationalized, “Maybe these are our fans.”
Here’s where things get weird. One day, the pilot tells them they need to meet the owner of the plane. They fly from Ft. Smith, Arkansas for about an hour and a half, landing “in the middle of nowhere” on an airstrip that seems to be in the desert. The owner gets on the plane, looking like “the bad guy in a western,” as Cronin details. “His face was like 1000 miles of bad roads.”
The Moment Things Got Bad
The frontman goes on to share a series of funny anecdotes now that would have been not so humorous then. Drugs that aren’t shared, the guy totally ignores them…even though they’re supposed to be there to meet him. “His vibe was so scary,” he shares. They notice that instead of flying at 10,000 feet like normal, they’re still low to the ground. Midway through the flight, the owner gets up, goes to the back of the plane and opens the back door. With a weapon in hand, he starts taking “target practice” at the cows below.
Eventually, he closes the door, goes back to his seat and sits down again. What has become a terrifying journey comes to an end and the two sides never exchanged a single word.
Things soon made more sense. They were in their hotel in Washington, D.C. when they heard a knock on the door. A group of young fans stood outside with a book that looked like a high school yearbook. But instead, it was emblazoned with text that made it clear that they were from a department of the U.S. government that handled drugs, alcohol and firearms.
“The page [they showed us had a] photo from the perspective of an unmarked vehicle. Agents with their DEA windbreakers on,” he remembers. “Down in the distance, there’s the airplane with the REO Speedwagon logo painted on the nose.”
“It turns out, during our days off, they’d been taking the plane,” he adds. “We were their cover, basically. They were running guns from Mexico. The plane was found with no seats, full of bullets, pot and guns.”
READ MORE: Hilarious Real-Life Rock Star ‘Spinal Tap’ Stories
Watch Kevin Cronin’s Interview on the ‘Magnificent Others’ Podcast
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REO Speedwagon’s catalog and career have been marked by dizzying highs and big setbacks. Here’s a ranked look back.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
