RIP Gary Richrath
- Thread starter cactusjackosu
- Start date
I never net him but REO bassist Bruce Hall is a friend. Long after Gary left the band, we got to open for them and it was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced. Great guys and fantastic musicians. Underrated guitarist and underrated band. RIP Gary.
Here's Bruce Hall's tribute from his personal FB page. Very touching and some cool insight into the history of the "of record" lineup of classic REO.
It’s hard to find the right words to say when you lose a loved one, I guess that’s because you don’t believe at first that it’s real. So, when I first heard about Gary passing away yesterday, I didn’t want to believe it at first. But after talking to a couple of friends about it, I knew it was true,..Gary was gone.
He was my friend and my musical big brother and if it weren’t for Gary, I doubt that I would have been asked to join REO Speedwagon way back in 1977. It was Gary that called me and asked me if I was ready to join REO, and it wasn’t so much that he asked me, he said “it’s time for you to pack up your stuff, you’re movin to California. We’ve only got 2 weeks of rehearsals and then a gig in Globe/Miami, Arizona." I was on a plane within 24hrs headed for Los Angeles.
In 1968 Gary and I played together in a band called Feather Train before he joined REO, and we became close friends at that time. He was so good on the guitar even then, but he was still working on that signature sound and style that he became known for. He told me when he left Feather Train that someday we would play together again, and he kept his word on that. With that one phone call he changed my life forever and I will always be indebted to him for that.
Through the years we played music together and shared some fun times together. He was a few years older than me and I looked up to him like a big brother, in fact he treated me like his own brother and I loved him dearly. I’m gonna miss my friend and big brother Gary, he was one of a kind. Every night from now on, when REO plays a show, each time that we play one of Gary's songs I will think of him and smile. My heart is heavy with sorrow today but he will live forever through his music. Thank you Gary… I’m gonna miss you.
Bruce
It’s hard to find the right words to say when you lose a loved one, I guess that’s because you don’t believe at first that it’s real. So, when I first heard about Gary passing away yesterday, I didn’t want to believe it at first. But after talking to a couple of friends about it, I knew it was true,..Gary was gone.
He was my friend and my musical big brother and if it weren’t for Gary, I doubt that I would have been asked to join REO Speedwagon way back in 1977. It was Gary that called me and asked me if I was ready to join REO, and it wasn’t so much that he asked me, he said “it’s time for you to pack up your stuff, you’re movin to California. We’ve only got 2 weeks of rehearsals and then a gig in Globe/Miami, Arizona." I was on a plane within 24hrs headed for Los Angeles.
In 1968 Gary and I played together in a band called Feather Train before he joined REO, and we became close friends at that time. He was so good on the guitar even then, but he was still working on that signature sound and style that he became known for. He told me when he left Feather Train that someday we would play together again, and he kept his word on that. With that one phone call he changed my life forever and I will always be indebted to him for that.
Through the years we played music together and shared some fun times together. He was a few years older than me and I looked up to him like a big brother, in fact he treated me like his own brother and I loved him dearly. I’m gonna miss my friend and big brother Gary, he was one of a kind. Every night from now on, when REO plays a show, each time that we play one of Gary's songs I will think of him and smile. My heart is heavy with sorrow today but he will live forever through his music. Thank you Gary… I’m gonna miss you.
Bruce
