Editing REO Speedwagon (section)

===Changes in the 1990s===
By the late 1980s, the band's popularity was starting to decline.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> Gratzer left in September 1988 after he decided to retire from music to open a restaurant. In early 1989, Richrath left the band after tensions between him and Cronin boiled over.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6700404/reo-speedwagon-gary-richrath-kevin-cronin-interview|title=REO Speedwagon Will Dedicate Every Show to Late Guitarist Gary Richrath 'Probably Forever'|magazine=Billboard|access-date=October 3, 2019}}</ref> Cronin had been playing in The Strolling Dudes, a jazz ensemble that included jazz trumpet player [[Rick Braun]] (who had co-written "Here with Me" with Cronin), Miles Joseph on lead guitar, and [[Graham Lear]] on drums. Lear had already been invited to join REO in September 1988 as Gratzer's successor and Joseph was brought in as a temporary stand-in for Richrath. Backup singers Carla Day and Melanie Jackson were also added. This lineup did only one show, on January 7, 1989, in [[Viña del Mar]], [[Chile]], where it won the award for best group at the city's annual International Song Festival. After that, Joseph and the backup singers were dropped in favor of former [[Ted Nugent]] guitarist [[Dave Amato]] (brought aboard in May 1989) and keyboardist/songwriter/producer [[Jesse Harms]].

The 1990 release ''[[The Earth, a Small Man, His Dog and a Chicken]]'', with [[Bryan Hitt]] (formerly of [[Wang Chung (band)|Wang Chung]]) on drums, was a commercial disappointment.<ref name="Larkin"/> The album produced only one [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] single, to date the band's last, "[[Love Is a Rock]]", which peaked at No. 65. Disenchanted by the album's failure, Harms left the group in early 1991.

Shortly after his departure, Richrath assembled former members of the Midwestern band Vancouver to form a namesake band, Richrath. After touring for several years, Richrath (the band) released ''Only the Strong Survive'' in 1992 on the [[GNP Crescendo Record Co.|GNP Crescendo]] label. Richrath continued to perform for several years before disbanding in the late 1990s. In September 1998, Gary Richrath briefly joined REO onstage at the County Fair in Los Angeles to play on the band's encore song, "157 Riverside Avenue". He rejoined REO in Los Angeles in May 2000 for the same encore, but no serious plans for a reunion ever materialized.

Having lost its recording contract with Epic, REO Speedwagon released ''[[Building the Bridge]]'' (July 1996) on the Priority/Rhythm Safari label. When that label went bankrupt, the album was released on [[Sanctuary Records|Castle Records]], which also experienced financial troubles. REO ultimately self-financed this effort, which failed to chart, though the title track made R&R's AC Top 30 chart.