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'{{Infobox single <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Songs --> | Name = Don't Let Him Go | Cover = Don't_Let_Him_Go_cover.jpg | Cover size = | Border = | Caption = | Artist = [[REO Speedwagon]] | Album = [[Hi Infidelity]] | A-side = | B-side = Follow My Heart | Released = 1981 | Format = Vinyl | Recorded = | Genre = [[Rock music|Rock]] | Length = 3:47 | Label = [[Epic Records|Epic]] | Writer = [[Kevin Cronin]] | Producer = [[Kevin Beamish]]<br>[[Kevin Cronin]]<br>[[Alan Gratzer]]<br>[[Gary Richrath]] | Audio sample? = | Certification = | Last single = "[[Take It on the Run]]" <br/ >(1980) | This single = "'''Don't Let Him Go'''" <br/ >(1981) | Next single = "[[In Your Letter]]" <br/ >(1981) | Misc = }} '''"Don't Let Him Go"''' is a song written by [[Kevin Cronin]]. It was originally released as the opening song for [[REO Speedwagon]]'s #1 album ''[[Hi Infidelity]]''. It was also released as a single, reaching #24 on the [[Billboard Hot 100]] and #11 on Billboard's [[Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks]] chart.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hi Infidelity Awards|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/hi-infidelity-mw0000191545/awards|publisher=[[Allmusic]]|accessdate=2012-06-13}}</ref> It also reached #22 in the Netherlands and #15 in the [[Canada RPM Top 100 Singles]] chart.<ref>{{cite web|title=Don't Let Him Go|url=http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=REO+Speedwagon&titel=Don%27t+Let+Him+Go&cat=s|publisher=Hung Medien|accessdate=2012-06-13}}</ref> Like the #1 single from ''[[Hi Infidelity]]'', "[[Keep on Loving You (song)|Keep on Loving You]]," the lyrics of "Don't Let Him Go" are about breaking up with a longtime girlfriend.<ref>{{cite news|title=REO Speedwagon: Barometer for Performers|author=Takiff, J.|page=26|newspaper=[[Boca Raton News]]|date=November 14, 1982}}</ref> According to Joseph Timmons of ''[[Seattle Post Intelligencer]]'', the song is a "warning to not take the man you love for granted."<ref>{{cite web|title=Music Review: REO Speedwagon - Hi Infidelity [30th Anniversary Edition]|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Music-Review-REO-Speedwagon-Hi-Infidelity-1456845.php#ixzz1xhBNJ2UZ|author=Timmons, J.|date=July 7, 2011|publisher=Hearst Communications|accessdate=2012-06-13}}</ref> [[Allmusic]] critic [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] remarked on the song's "insistent beat."<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|title=Hi Infidelity|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/hi-infidelity-mw0000191545|author=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|publisher=[[Allmusic]]|accessdate=2012-06-13}}</ref> He and other critics have also pointed out that the song was influenced by [[Bo Diddley]].<ref name=allmusic/><ref name=eddy/><ref>{{cite book|title=The Year in rock, 1981-82|author=Swenson, J.|page=254|year=1981|publisher=Delilah Books}}</ref> Author Chuck Eddy described it as a "Bo Diddleyed [[do-si-do]]."<ref name=eddy>{{cite book|title=The Accidental Evolution of Rock'N'Roll: A Misguided Tour Through Popular Music|author=Eddy, C.|page=23|year=1997|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=9780306807411}}</ref> "Don't Let Him Go" was also included on the compilation albums ''[[The Hits (REO Speedwagon album)|The Hits]]'' and ''[[The Essential REO Speedwagon]]''. A live version was included on ''The Second Decade of Rock and Roll, 1981-1991'', ''[[Arch Allies: Live at Riverport]]'', and ''Setlist: The Very Best of REO Speedwagon Live''. In 1981, the band performed the song on the television show ''[[America's Top 10]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=[[TV Guide]]|year=1981|publisher=Triangle Publications|page=222}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} {{REO Speedwagon}} [[Category:REO Speedwagon songs]] [[Category:1980 songs]] [[Category:1981 singles]] [[Category:Songs written by Kevin Cronin]]'