"In Your Letter"
UK single cover
Single by REO Speedwagon
from the album Hi Infidelity
B-side"Shakin' It Loose"
ReleasedJuly 1981
Recorded1980
GenrePop rock
Length3:14
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Gary Richrath
Producer(s)Kevin Beamish
Kevin Cronin
Gary Richrath
REO Speedwagon singles chronology
"Don't Let Him Go"
(1981) 		"In Your Letter"
(1981) 		"Keep the Fire Burnin'"
(1982)
Music video
"In Your Letter" on YouTube

"In Your Letter" is a song written by Gary Richrath that was first released on REO Speedwagon's 1980 album Hi Infidelity. It was released as the fourth single from the album and just made the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #20.[1] It also reached #26 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. It also had some chart success in Canada, reaching #34.

Lyrics and music

Richrath was inspired to write the song based on a real life incident. According to band member Kevin Cronin, at the end of a tour fellow band member Neal Doughty came home to find a letter from his wife on the kitchen table informing him that she had left him for another man.[2][3][4] The other man turned out to be the person who supplied the band with their "illegal substances."[2][3] According to Cronin, Doughty's response to the letter was "I’m really gonna miss that guy."[2] Casandra Armour of vintagerock.com says that lyrics contain "cutting accusations with cruel alliteration like 'But you hid behind your poison pen and his pride' and 'You could have left him only for an evening let him be lonely.'"[5]

Cronin has stated that the original version of the song very simple, very almost like ‘50s doo-wop melody and chord structure.[6] The original chord structure was G Major, E Minor, C Major, D Major, similar to the Beatles' "This Boy" among many other songs.[6]

The music of "In Your Letter" is a throwback to songs of the 1950s and 1960s. Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine describes it as a "sun-kissed '60s homage."[7] Billboard described it as having "the spunky charm of a 1960s pop song."[8] Philippa Hawker of The Age describes it as "a grimly uptempo 60s style whinge."[9] Leslie Michele Derrough of Glide Magazine describes it as sounding like a "1950s sock hop."[3] Gerald Martineez described the song as "an uptempo tune about an angry lover complaining of the way he was dumped."[10] Armour described the music as having a "dizzying doo-wop feel."[5] Hawkins also noted a stylistic similarity with the Pointer Sisters' song "Should I Do It" from their 1981 Black & White album.[9] In a demo version released on the 30th anniversary version of Hi Infidelity the guitar part has some rockabilly feel.[11]

Reception

Billboard said that "In Your Letter" is "filled with melody and solid hooks."[12] Record World said that "a fluffy pop ditty straight from the early sixties."[13] Erlewine calls "In Your Letter" a "great album track."[7] KRTH program director Bob Hamilton felt that "In Your Letter" was "the most mass appeal cut" on Hi Infidelity and "the strongest cut on the album."[14] Epic Records had originally wanted "In Your Letter" to be the follow-up single to the #1 "Keep on Loving You" until the band insisted that "Take It On The Run" should be the 2nd single from Hi Infidelity.[6] Upon Richrath's death in 2015, Guitar Aficionado included "In Your Letter" as one of his top 10 finest moments with the band.[15] Several of Richrath's obituaries acknowledged the song as one of REO Speedwagon's biggest hits.[16][17] But Hawker complains that the song "is only bearable if you find the phrase 'In your letter, ooh ooh, in your letter' so filled with significance that you are happy to hear it repeated many, many times."[9]

In Your Letter was included on several of REO Speedwagon's compilation albums, including The Essential REO Speedwagon.[18] It has also been included on multi-artist compilations such as Spring Chant – 14 Songs for First Love in 1995.[10]

Randy & the Rainbows covered "In Your Letter" on their 1995 compilation album You're Only Young Twice: Ambient Sound.[19]

This song also later appeared on Gary Richrath's 1992 album Only the Strong Survive

Personnel

REO Speedwagon[20]

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (1981–82) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report][21] 100
Canadian RPM Singles Chart[22] 34
US Billboard Hot 100[23] 20
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[24] 26
US Cash Box[25] 28
US Record World[26] 28
US Radio & Records (R&R)[27][28] 17

Cover versions

In 1982 the doo-wop group Randy and the Rainbows covered the song. It was featured on their album C'mon Let's Go.

In 1989 the Japanese idol group Wink released a Japanese cover on their album Twin Memories.

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Top Pop Singles 1955–2012. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, Inc. p. 703. ISBN 978-0-89820-205-2.
  2. ^ a b c Finn, Timothy (November 6, 2015). "REO gives Midland crowd another chance to celebrate the Royals". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  3. ^ a b c Derrough, Leslie Michelle (March 31, 2016). "REO Speedwagon on the Run Close to 50 Years in Biloxi". Glide Magazine. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  4. ^ Wood, James (March 14, 2013). "Interview: REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin Discusses Latest Tour, Guitars and 'Hi Infidelity'". Guitar World. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  5. ^ a b Armour, Casandra. "Hi Infidelity (30th Anniversary Edition)". vintagerock.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  6. ^ a b c Wardlaw, Matt (November 21, 2017). "The History of REO Speedwagon's 'Hi Infidelity': Interview". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
  7. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Hi Infidelity". Allmusic. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  8. ^ "Top Album Picks". Billboard. December 6, 1980. p. 45. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  9. ^ a b c Hawker, Philippa (January 21, 1981). "Singles: It's a rondo a la conga". The Age. p. 11. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  10. ^ a b Martinez, Gerald (March 5, 1995). "Romance Is in the Air". New Straits Times. p. 10. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  11. ^ Popke, Michael (July 10, 2011). "Review of REO Speedwagon's 'Hi Infidelity' 30th anniversary edition". Goldmine. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  12. ^ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. August 8, 1981. p. 67. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  13. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. August 8, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  14. ^ "Out of the Box". Billboard Magazine. August 8, 1981. p. 28. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  15. ^ "Gary Richrath's Top 10 Greatest REO Speedwagon Tracks". September 16, 2015. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  16. ^ "Gary Richrath, REO Speedwagon writer/guitarist, dies at 65". CNN. September 14, 2015. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  17. ^ The Associated Press (September 14, 2015). "Gary Richrath, Guitarist and Songwriter for REO Speedwagon, Dies at 65". New York Times. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  18. ^ "In Your Letter". Allmusic. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  19. ^ "You're Only Young Twice: Ambient Sound". Allmusic. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  20. ^ REO Speedwagon, Hi Infidelity. Sony Music Entertainment. 1980. p. 5.
  21. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 250. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  22. ^ "RPM 50 Singles". Library and Archives Canada. October 17, 1981. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  23. ^ "Billboard: Hot 100 REO Speedwagon". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  24. ^ "Billboard Adult Contemporarty REO Speedwagon". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
  25. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending MARCH 23, 1985". Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 2014-06-05.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  26. ^ "Song artist 607 - REO Speedwagon". TsorT. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  27. ^ REO Speedwagon
  28. ^ "Charts!". Archived from the original on 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
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