Artist · chart history
Head East
Band Illinois United States Formed 1969
Head East formed in 1969 in Illinois, United States. Head East has 44 chart appearances on 41 radio countdowns from 19 stations on RockLists, spanning 1994–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Never Been Any Reason”, which appears on 41 lists with a best position of #31. The station that charted Head East most often is KSHE 95 (St. Louis, MO), with 6 appearances.
Head East came together in Illinois in 1969, most of them students at the University of Illinois, with the drummer over at Eastern Illinois University: John Schlitt singing, Danny Piper on guitar, Roger Boyd on keyboards, Larry Boyd on bass and Steve Huston on drums. By the time the band hit its '70s stride, Mike Somerville had taken over the guitar and Dan Birney the bass, and that's the version of Head East that made its mark.
The mark was "Never Been Any Reason", released in 1975 off Flat as a Pancake on A&M, and it remains their biggest hit. It's Midwestern hard rock with a keyboard-heavy strut, a big swaggering riff and Schlitt hollering like he means to be heard in the back row.
The lineup never sat still for long. Schlitt left in 1980 and Huston in 1983, and the band has cycled through players ever since, with Mark Murtha among the guitarists carrying it on.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Head East on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Never Been Any Reason | 41 | #31 | – | – | |
| 2 | Love Me Tonight | 3 | #164 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
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