Birth name Neal Doughty Role Keyboardist Name Neal Doughty | Associated acts REO Speedwagon Years active 1967–present | |
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Born July 29, 1946 (age 77)
Evansville, Indiana, U.S.A. ( 1946-07-29 ) Genres Hard rock, rock, soft rock Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter, producer Instruments Keyboards, organ, piano, synthesizer, bass, vocals Education University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Music group REO Speedwagon (Since 1967) Similar People Bruce Hall, Dave Amato, Bryan Hitt, Kevin Cronin, Alan Gratzer | ||
REO Speedwagon - Ridin' the Storm Out
Neal Allan Doughty (born July 29, 1946, Evansville, Indiana) is an American keyboardist, best known as a founding member of the rock band REO Speedwagon. As of 2017, Doughty is the last original member still playing with the band. He formed the band in the fall of 1967, with original drummer Alan Gratzer.
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Although he has never been one of REO Speedwagon's primary songwriters, Doughty has written or co-written several of the band's songs. Songs for which he is the sole composer include "Sky Blues" from 1974, "One Lonely Night" from 1984 and "Variety Tonight" from 1987. The latter two songs charted as Billboard singles, with "One Lonely Night" cracking the top 20.
His most notable playing includes the Hammond Organ solo on "Roll With The Changes" and the honky-tonk piano work on "157 Riverside Avenue". He notes the beginning to "Can't Fight This Feeling" is the most difficult and rewarding to play. He was an early adopter of the Moog Synthesizer, which can be heard on the opening swoop of "Ridin' The Storm Out." Currently he is using synths made by Korg and Yamaha and tours with a Hammond B3 Organ routed through Leslie speaker cabinets.
Past keyboard instruments
