The members of REO Speedwagon have announced their replacement for Neal Doughty, who left last month after 55 years with the band.
Derek Hilland — who’s played with such acts as Iron Butterfly, Whitesnake, Foreigner and Rick Springfield — has taken over Doughty’s seat behind the keyboards, the band has revealed. “When I contacted my old buddy Rick for a reference, he said of Derek, ‘He is the sweetest, most gifted keyboard player since Keith Emerson, a great harmony singer and a really decent human,’” says lead singer Kevin Cronin. “And Rick was right.”
Doughty, the only member of REO to appear on all of the band’s albums, left the group last month, saying he’d had enough of touring.