REO Speedwagon · 1978 · Behind the Songs
“Roll with the Changes” is REO Speedwagon’s anthem for resilience.
“Roll with the Changes” is REO Speedwagon’s anthem for resilience. It is a song that says, plainly and loudly, that life will change whether you want it to or not, so you might as well learn to move with it — and maybe even enjoy the ride.
Released in 1978 on the album You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tuna Fish and as a single that year, the song was written by Kevin Cronin. It became a concert favorite, with its driving piano, its powerful chorus, and a vocal that sounds like a band playing for its life. On stage, it became a moment of communion, with audiences shouting the title back at the band as if it were advice they had already decided to take.
The song’s message is simple, but it is not shallow. Change is hard, and the record does not pretend otherwise. What it offers instead is energy: the feeling that if you keep moving, keep singing, and keep showing up, you will find your way through. That spirit made it a favorite long after its chart run ended.
Turn it up and roll with it. That is the whole point, and it still feels as good as it did in 1978.