Kansas

The roots of Kansas date back to 1969 when guitarist Kerry Livgren formed The Reasons Why , which also included vocalist Lynn Meredith, keyboardists Don Motre ( Don Montre ) and Dan Wright ( Dan Wright ) . In 1970, the group was renamed Saratoga ; it included bassist Scott Kessler and drummer Zeke Lowe, who was later replaced by Brad Schulz. In the same year, the group returned ^{[ clarify ]} the name Kansas , teamed up with another local White Clover group. Now, bass player Dave Hope , drummer Phil Ehart and classical-trained violinist Robbie Steinhardt also played here.

The line-up (sometimes called Kansas I ) temporarily broke up in 1971 (Ehart and Hope reformed the White Clover ), but reunited a year later when it included singing keyboard player Steve Walsh and guitarist Richard Williams. ^[1] The intermediate composition (with Rod Mikinski instead of Hope and saxophonist John Bolton) is sometimes called Kansas II ; thirty years later he reunited under the name Proto-Kaw .

In 1973, after a continuous tour, Kansas signed to Kirshner Records ^[1] . The debut album, recorded in early 1974, was released in March and rose to # 174 on the Billboard 200 . The sound of the record already contained all the elements of the corporate identity of the group: complex symphonic prog arrangements with tempo changes, in many respects consonant with the things of Genesis and ELP , and a powerful guitar drive that created the atmosphere of a purely American boogie / pub rock . Long tours and good promotion of the album label led to the fact that the next two works of the group, Song for America (# 57) and sold over 250 thousand copies ^[1] Masque (# 70), made it quite famous in the USA and for their the limits.

The group's star status (according to Allmusic) was provided by Leftoverture's 1976 album: in the wake of the success of the hit single "Carry On Wayward Son", the album entered the top five of Billboard and sold more than 3 million copies. Point of Know Return (1977) turned out to be even more successful, from which the single, “Dust in the Wind”, also became a hit. The concert Two for the Show (1978) sold slightly worse, but the studio Monolith that followed (the band’s first release, produced by its members on their own) re-entered the American Top 10. In the same year, Walsh released his first solo album Schemer-Dreamer . ^[one]

After the release of Audio-Visions ( 1980 ), disagreements arose in the group: Hope and Livgren became “ born again Christians ”, the second of them debuted solo with the album Seeds of Change . Following him, Walsh withdrew from the Streets; he was replaced by new vocalist John Elephant, with whom Kansas recorded the album Vinyl Confessions ( 1982 ). The single "Play the Game Tonight" released from it was a hit, but after Drastic Measures ( 1983 ) Kansas split up.

In 1986, the group reunited: the core of the new group was Ehart, Williams and Walsh, which joined the famous guitarist Steve Morse and bassist Billy Greer ( born Billy Greer ); the new line-up released the Power album, with the single "All I Wanted" (# 19 Billboard Hot 100). In the Spirit of Things ( 1988 ) was significantly less successful, and seven years passed before the group recorded and released the album Freaks of Nature ( 1995 ), followed by Always Never the Same ( 1998 ) and recorded with Kerry Livgren returning Somewhere to Elsewhere ( 2000 ). Since then, the group has hardly been recorded, but annually goes on big touring tours.

In July 2014 , Kansas left permanent singer and keyboardist Steve Walsh. Ronnie Platt took his place, the first performance of which took place on September 12. In addition, the main keyboard parts on the stage were undertaken by David Manion, the band’s many-year-old illuminator, who is also a keyboard player in the Kansas bassist Billy Greer Seventh Key .

In 2016, Kansas released the first studio album The Prelude Implicit in the new millennium, which was favorably received by critics.

Current squad

• Phil Ehart - drums (1973-1984, 1985 — today)
• Rich Williams - guitar (1973-1984, 1985 — present)
• Billy Greer - bass, vocals (1985 — present)
• David Ragsdale - violin, guitar, vocals (1991-1997, 2006 — today)
• Ronnie Platt - vocals, keyboards (2014 — today)
• Zach Rizvi - guitar, vocals (2016-present)
• Tom Brieslin - keyboards (2018-present)

Former members

• Kerry Livgren - guitar, keyboards, vocals (1973-1983, 1990-1991, 1999-2000)
• David Hope - bass, vocals (1973-1983, 1990, 2000)
• Robbie Steinhardt - violin, vocals (1973-1983, 1997-2006)
• Steve Walsh - keyboards, percussion, vocals (1973-1981, 1985-2014)
• John Elephante - keyboards, vocals (1981-1984)
• Steve Morse - guitar, vocals (1985-1989, 1991)
• Greg Robert - keyboards, vocals (1990-1997)
• David Manion - keyboards, vocals (2014-2018)

Timeline

Studio Albums

• Kansas (1974)
• Song for America (1975)
• Masque (1975)
• Leftoverture (1976)
• Point of Know Return (1977)
• Monolith (1979)
• Audio-Visions (1980)
• Vinyl Confessions (1982)
• Drastic Measures (1983)
• Power (1986)
• In the Spirit of Things (1988)
• Freaks of Nature (1995)
• Always Never the Same (1998)
• Somewhere to Elsewhere (2000)
• The Prelude Implicit (2016)

Singles

• Official website of the group
• Kansas at the Progre Museum
• Interview with Lynn Meredith (Proto-Kaw)