Is there a story behind REO speedwagon's song Ridin' the Storm Out?

Answer 1

yes. There is.

"If you've ever been in the Rocky Mountains when the sun goes down and the wind comes up, you can find yourself in a whole lot of trouble people...but what you gotta do is keep it together, keep everybody warm, and always remember keep ridin the storm out."

That sums it up. They were doing a concert in Boulder in the early 70s. They had some time and wanted to get up in the mountains. They didn't know what they were doing, and got caught out in the usual afternoon storm with no place to go. They survived, and like for everybody, never forgot. I keep hoping to find out exactly what trail they were on. I once got into range of a classic rock station that popped in on the otherwise-forgotten radio, exactly on the opening organ-slide, just as I reached the top of Mt. Antero as a storm was hitting. I sat there in the rain, wind, and lightning rocking out despite really really wanting to get down out of the lightning, because I didn't want to lose the signal until the song was over.