Biography
Born Joseph Michael Rynoski on June 8, 1955, in New Westminster, British Columbia, Mike Reno would eventually serve as frontman for the Canadian rock band Loverboy. Though recognized chiefly for his vocals, he first took up drums at age twelve and later instructed himself on guitar. After finishing high school he moved to Calgary, where he worked to sharpen both his singing and songwriting through performances with several local groups. In 1978 he stepped in as lead vocalist for the Toronto rock band Moxy on its fourth album, Under the Lights. Once that engagement concluded, Reno returned to Vancouver and auditioned for a new project headed by former Streetheart guitarist Paul Dean, initially presenting himself as a drummer before Dean selected him instead to handle lead vocals. The developing ensemble, soon named Loverboy, also welcomed keyboardist Doug Johnson, bassist Scott Smith, and drummer Matthew Frenette, the last of whom had previously performed alongside Dean in Streetheart. The band’s self-titled debut appeared in 1980 and achieved substantial commercial success throughout the United States and Canada, generating the single “Turn Me Loose,” which reached the U.S. Top 40, along with “The Kid Is Hot Tonight,” which fell just short of that mark. Over the following five years Loverboy ranked among the period’s highest-selling rock acts, while multiple songs co-written by Reno, among them “Working for the Weekend,” “When It’s Over,” and “This Could Be the Night,” became hits. In 1984 Reno recorded the duet “Almost Paradise” with Heart’s Ann Wilson for the Footloose soundtrack; the ballad rose to number seven on the U.S. pop charts, topped the adult-contemporary listing, and later served as an unofficial theme for many high-school proms. Loverboy’s popularity declined through the mid-1980s, and the group effectively disbanded after issuing Wildside in 1987, only to reunite a decade afterward for the album Loverboy VI.