Take It on the Run

"Take It on the Run"
Single by REO Speedwagon
from the album Hi Infidelity
B-side "Someone Tonight"
Released January 1981
Format Vinyl
Recorded September 18, 1980
Genre Hard rock
Length 3:59
Label Epic
Writer(s) Gary Richrath
Producer(s) Kevin Beamish
Kevin Cronin
Alan Gratzer
Gary Richrath
REO Speedwagon singles chronology
"Keep on Loving You"
(1980)		 "Take It on the Run"
(1981)		 "Don't Let Him Go"
(1981)

"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 Hot 100 chart.[1] It also reached #19 in the UK Singles Chart.[2] The song was written by lead guitarist Gary Richrath. "Take It on the Run" was the follow-up single behind the group’s #1 hit, "Keep on Loving You". The single went gold on April 17, 1989. "Take It on the Run" has appeared on dozens of 'various artists' compilation albums, as well as several REO Speedwagon greatest hits albums.[3]

This is technically the ninth video played on MTV's first day, August 1, 1981. However, the video went to black just a few seconds into the song and did not finish.[4][5]

This song was released as a downloadable add-on for the Rock Band video game franchise on April 21, 2009. The cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes covered this song as a punk version 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.

The song was most recently sampled in "Messin' Around", released by American rapper Pitbull in 2016.[6]

Parody

Chicago radio personality Steve Dahl recorded a parody version called "Better Get a Gun", which made light of then Chicago mayor Jane Byrne moving into the Cabrini–Green public housing development.

Personnel

REO Speedwagon

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1981) Peak
Position
Australian Kent Music Report[7] 30
Canada (CHUM)[8] 2
Canadian RPM Singles Chart[9] 4
France Singles Chart[10] 4
Germany Media Control Charts[11] 55
Irish Singles Chart[12] 14
Radio Luxemburg Singles[13] 16
New Zealand Singles Chart[14] 44
UK Singles Chart[15] 19
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 5
US Top Rock Tracks[16] 6
US Cash Box[17] 4
US Record World[18] 3
US Radio & Records (R&R)[19][20] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (1981) Rank
Canada (RPM Top 100 Singles)[21] 35
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 32
US Cash Box[23] 29

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[24] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Sources

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Top Pop Singles 1955-2012. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, Inc. p. 703. ISBN 0-89820-205-1.
  2. ↑ "REO Speedwagon". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  3. ↑ "REO Speedwagon, Take It on the Run (Appears On)". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2015-02-18.
  4. ↑ "Random Facts: 1st Video to Ever Play on MTV". JMedinaLive.com. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Anonymous (1 May 2012). "The first fifty music videos ever played on MTV". Data Lounge. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Pitbull & Enrique Iglesias Reference "Take It On The Run" On Their New Track". reospeedwagon.com. April 15, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  7. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ↑ CHART NUMBER 1271 – Saturday, May 23, 1981 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 November 2006). CHUM. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 34, No. 26, June 6, 1981". RPM. RPM Music Publications Ltd. June 6, 1981. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Song artist 610 - REO Speedwagon". TsorT. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  11. ↑ "REO Speedwagon - Take It on the Run". officialcharts.de. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Irish Singles Chart". The Irish Charts. Retrieved February 18, 2015. Note: REO Speedwagon must be searched manually.
  13. ↑ "REO Speedwagon Singles". umdmusic.com. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Take It on the Run". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  15. ↑ "UK album and singles database". everyHit.com. Retrieved January 28, 2015. Note: REO Speedwagon must be searched manually.
  16. 1 2 "Artist Chart History – REO Speedwagon". Billboard charts. Retrieved 2016-10-01.
  17. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending MAY 30, 1981 at the Wayback Machine (archived 18 September 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  18. ↑ RECORD WORLD 1981 at the Wayback Machine (archived July 15, 2004). Record World. Geocities.com. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  19. ↑ REO Speedwagon
  20. ↑ Charts!
  21. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 35, No. 22, December 26, 1981". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  22. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1981". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  23. ↑ The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1981 at the Wayback Machine (archived 18 September 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  24. ↑ "American single certifications – R.E.O. Speedwagon – Take It on the Run". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 19, 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
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