Time for Me to Fly

Lead singer Kevin Cronin wrote this song, which finds him ready to move on from a relationship, even though it's going to hurt. In a Songfacts interview, he told the story behind the song: "I had been in love with my first love - a girl that I met in high school. But there was a point where I knew that I had to move on, but didn't want to, because I was attached to her. I knew that it wasn't working, so I went to Colorado to put some distance between me and her, even though that wasn't what I consciously did. When I got there, a friend of mine had a guitar sitting on his porch. I went to play it, and it sounded horrible. I realized that it was in some kind of different tuning, so I just messed around with it. I remembered Richie Havens at Woodstock. When he played, he wrapped his thumb around the top of the neck, and I thought, 'I'll try that.' I did, and sure enough, it sounded good. A lot of times, that's what happens: you find something on the guitar that you like, and then the things that you're feeling become attached to that music, and that's what the songs are hatched from."

A track from the seventh REO Speedwagon album, "Time for Me to Fly" was their biggest hit at the time, and helped the album, You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish, sell over 2 million copies. Two albums later, they broke through to a new level with Hi Infidelity, released in 1980. That one made them stadium-fillers, thanks to the huge hits "Keep On Loving You" and "Take It On The Run."

When MTV went on the air August 1, 1981, REO Speedwagon was one of the biggest acts in America. Most music videos came from European acts at the time, so the network was desperate for American rockers. Even though the song was three years old, MTV put a live video (directed by Jay Dubin) of REO performing this song at McNichols Arena in Denver on April 25, 1981 in rotation. When American bands realized the power of MTV, many began making concept videos.