Scott's Spotlight #38- Kansas
Originally posted to Facebook on July 5, 2025
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While I normally cover “lesser-known” prog bands, this time, I am going to do one that most fans of classic rock will know: Kansas, the great American prog band. The thing is most people only know a few songs, at the most, some may know only 2: “Carry on Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind”. But truly, Kansas’ catalog is deep and full of amazing music.
The roots of Kansas go back to 1969, when Kerry Livgren (Guitars/Keyboards) left the local Topeka, Kansas band the Reasons Why, to form a band called Saratoga with his fellow Reasons Why bandmate Don Montre, to perform Livgren’s original material. In 1970, that band merged with another Topeka band called White Clover, which featured Phil Ehart on drums and Dave Hope on bass among others. This lineup is sometimes now referred to as Kansas I. However by 1971, Ehart, Hope and others decided to reform White Clover. Livgren recruited some new members to form what is now referred to as Kansas II, and later resurrected by Livgren as Proto-Kaw. Meanwhile, Phil Ehart had spent some time in England to pursue musical opportunities, but returned to Topeka in 1972. Upon his return, he and Hope put together a new version of White Clover which included Robbie Steinhardt on violin and vocals, Steve Walsh on vocals and Keyboards and Rich Williams on guitars. Ehart had the idea of getting Livgren involved because, as he later put it: “Those songs [Livgren’s] with that voice [Walsh’s] would be just amazing.” So while the original line-up of Kansas as we know it was born by 1973, they didn’t change the name from White Clover to Kansas until they were signed by Don Kirshner (of “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert” fame) on his namesake label. One of Kirshner’s assistants, Wally Gold, heard one of their demos, then came to see them play a gig in Topeka, and recommended that Kirshner sign them.
While they recorded their eponymous debut album in New York soon after being signed in the spring of 1973, it wasn’t released until March of 1974. The album and subsequent touring helped Kansas build a dedicated following. Many considered the album to be a mix of “boogie” rock and progressive rock. While “Bringing it Back” fell more on the boogie side, Steinhardt’s amazing violin solo helped set it apart. The opening track and first single was “Can I Tell You?” which was followed by “Lonely Wind” but neither made a major impact on the charts. However, there are some prog masterpieces on the album, such as “Journey From Mariabronn”, “Aperçu” and “Death of Mother Nature Suite” The album cover is also notable for its use of a portion of a mural painted in the Kansas state capitol, depicting abolitionist John Brown.
1975 would be a busy year for Kansas, releasing 2 albums that year. First up is the wonderful “Song for America”, released in February 1975. The cover is one of my favorites, and is the first one that featured what would become their most recognisable logo. The album was produced by Wally Gold and a former White Clover bandmate, Jeff Glixman, who would produce most of their remaining 1970s albums. The 10 minute title track alone is enough to make the album a classic. But there is so much more. “Lamplight Symphony”, and “Incomudro - Hymn to the Atman” are also extended prog classics, and the shorter, yet incredible “The Devil Game” is one of my favorite Kansas tracks.
The second release of 1975 was “Masque” which hit shelves that October. The cover uses a more standard font for the band’s name, and features a reproduction of Water, a painting by Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. It appears that the record company wanted a “hit single”, so the band wrote and recorded the album opener “It Takes a Woman’s Love”. Interestingly, this album and the next were recorded in Louisiana at a studio called Studio in the Country, out in the “bayous” where armadillos and alligators wandered into the studio during recording. The album is full of classic Kansas-style prog. “Icarus- Borne on Wings of Steel”, “Child of Innocence”, “Mysteries and Mayhem”, and “The Pinnacle” are all amazing songs.
The next year, however, was when they released the album that would make them superstars. “Leftoverture” is absolutely brilliant from the a cappella opening of “Carry on Wayward Son”, through to the symphonic ending of “Magnum Opus”. The album has sold more than 5 million copies. For whatever reason, this is the only Kansas album that made Prog Magazine’s 100 Greatest Prog albums list. As many of you know, I began writing reviews while I challenged myself to listen to and discuss all 100 on Facebook. I will post a link to my review following the article. I love every track on this album, but “The Wall”, “Miracles out of Nowhere”, “Cheyenne Anthem”, and the aforementioned “Magnum Opus”. As far as “Carry on Wayward Son” goes, it may be one of the most played songs on rock radio of all time, but I never get tired of it. The song gained a new audience in the 2000s as it became the unofficial theme song of the hit tv show “Supernatural”. This album also resumed the logo from “Song for America”, and has iconic cover art.
It can be difficult to follow up a megahit album like “Leftoverture”, but Kansas was up to the task! “Point of Know Return” was released in late 1977 and further cemented them as superstars. However, it seems that Steve Walsh temporarily quit the band as he was acting, by his own later admission, like a prima donna and was interested in a solo career, which would happen later. Thankfully he returned, and wrote, with Robbie Steinhardt, the album’s title track, one of the band’s better known songs. However, Kerry Livgren wrote the album’s best known song, “Dust In the Wind”, which began as an acoustic fingerpicking exercise, and developed into a song after his wife heard him playing it. “Dust in the Wind” was referenced in the movie “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (“All we are is Dust in the Wind, Dude!”) when the two title characters decide to philosophize with Socrates (“so-crates”). To me, this album is on par with “Leftoverture” and I might even like it better overall. Other standout tracks are the instrumental “The Spider”, “Portrait (He Knew)”, “Closet Chronicles”, “Nobody’s Home” and “Hopelessly Human”. The album didn’t match “Leftoverture”’s numbers, but it’s close at quadruple platinum. They followed up POKR with their first live album, 1978’s double live “Two For the Show”.
Up next for Kansas was 1979’s “Monolith”. While perhaps not as strong as its predecessors, there are some good songs here. I can remember when the lead off single “People of the South Wind” first hit the airwaves when I was around 10 and really starting to get into AOR music. Of course, I already had heard “Carry on Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind” before that and knew that Kansas was an important band, but this was my first “new” Kansas song at the time. Interestingly, though, it didn’t make the “Best of Kansas” album a few years later. Other tracks from “Monolith” that I love are “The Other Side” and “Angels Have Fallen”. This would be the final Kansas album to attain Platinum Certification. During the subsequent world tour, however, something would happen that would have a ripple effect on the band–Kerry Livgren, the band’s primary composer, became a “born-again Christian”.
[Note: While I have my own feelings about Christianity, I know there are many good people out there who identify as such, and I have no problem with them, so long as they don’t force their beliefs on others, and don’t use their beliefs to justify harmful behavior to others. I want to be clear that I believe that Mr. Livgren’s beliefs are his own, and work for him, and I don’t believe he uses it against others. So far as I can tell, he is a good man. His religion is only relevant as it applies to the history of Kansas from this point on.]
The next album, their seventh, marks the end of an era for Kansas. “Audio Visions” was released in 1980, and would be the final album that exclusively featured the original line-up of Livgren, Walsh, Ehart, Steinhardt, Hope and Williams. (All of them would appear on an album 20 years later, but not the full album.) One of the best known songs from the album is “Hold On”, which I absolutely love, even though it is an appeal to Livgren’s wife to convert to Christianity. One of my other favorites on the album was a holdover from “Monolith”, titled “No One Together”. It was left off of that album as a compromise between Walsh and Livgren to give Walsh one more of his songs on it (“How My Soul Cries Out to You”). “Hold On” was released as a single, and barely made the top 40, while the second single “Got to Rock On” did not crack the top 40 at all. This would be the last Kansas album to reach Gold status. The late 70s and early 80s were lean times for prog bands as disco and the new wave bands that came in the wake of the punk era (The Cars, Blondie, The Police, etc) took over rock radio playlists. Not long afterward, bassist Dave Hope also converted to Christianity.
As the band began writing the next album in 1981, the first major line-up change for Kansas happened as Steve Walsh quit over the songwriting direction of the album. Walsh would form a band called Streets. Walsh had already released a solo album in 1980, called “Schemer-Dreamer” which included guitar virtuoso Steve Morse (as well as guest appearances from some of his then bandmates in Kansas) who will play into the story later. Streets included bassist Billy Greer, who is another name to remember.
Meanwhile, Kansas set about finding a replacement for Walsh, and auditioned around 200 candidates. Some notable auditioners include Sammy Hagar, and Doug Pinnick (later dUg Pinnick of King’s X). However, they found the guy they were looking for in vocalist/keyboardist John Elefante. Unbeknownst to Livgren and Hope at the time of his selection, Elefante was also a Christian. The new line-up would release “Vinyl Confessions” in 1982, which would garner the band a major hit single in “Play the Game Tonight”. Despite the success of the single (reaching #4 on the new Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart) the album failed to achieve gold status. While I am not very familiar with the rest of this album or its follow up, I have liked some of the other tracks on my Apple Music library, including, “Diamonds and Pearls” and “Play On.” It seems that with half of the band now considering themselves to be devout Christians, that theme became a strong element of the lyrical content and even gave them airplay on Christian Contemporary radio stations. Steinhardt left the band following the tour, as he did not feel that he fit with the direction the band were taking.
The next album, “Drastic Measures” (1983) sold even less, despite having another major mainstream rock hit in “Fight Fire with Fire”, which hit #3 on that chart. John Elefante, who with his brother Dino, became the band’s primary songwriters, with Livgren only contributing 3 songs. I have also liked some other tracks on Apple Music such as “Going Through the Motions” and “End of the Age”. It seems that those two song titles seem to have been more appropriate than they realized, as Kansas would officially break up following the end of the tour in 1983. As a footnote, Elefante, Ehart, and Williams recorded the song “Perfect Lover” for inclusion on 1984’s “Best of Kansas”. That compilation would help introduce me to tracks beyond the big radio hits I knew well. Livgren and Hope started the Christian band A.D., while John Elefante beacame a popular Christian Contemporary singer.
So that’s it! Kansas broke up, end of story…..Prog on!
Wait, what’s that you say…there’s more? Yep, sure is!
Surprisingly enough, the seeds of a Kansas reunion were sown by the USO (United Services Organization, who provide services and entertainment for active members of the US Armed Forces). Elefante, Ehart and Williams were among a number of well-known rockers who participated in a USO tour in 1984, not long after the demise of Kansas. Also in the “supergroup” (among others) were Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, and Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers. Things got even more interesting the following year, when Steve Walsh, instead of Elefante, took part in the next USO tour. Walsh had played as a touring keyboardist with Cheap Trick earlier that year, after Streets broke up. The three original Kansas-men must have reconnected on that USO tour, as they decided to re-form Kansas, adding the previously mentioned Steve Morse and Billy Greer. Livgren, Hope, and Steinhardt were not included. (Not sure why Steinhart was not included.) This new Kansas line-up also performed on a USO tour, before going into the studio.
The resulting album, “Power” was released in 1986. The band got a top 40 single out of the ballad “All I Wanted” which made it to #19, but it would prove to be their last. The album is less prog and more straight AOR arena rock than the original Kansas line-up. While the title track got a lot of airplay, it only made it to #100. Another single, ballad “I Can’t Cry Anymore” didn’t chart at all, despite having one of my favorite Walsh vocal performances. The album did reasonably well, selling over 400,000 copies, but falling short of gold. Between albums, Kansas added an additional keyboardist, Greg Robert, in 1987.
This line-up would record an album that seems to be a bit polarizing to Kansas fans; either love it or hate it. I fall into the love it category. “In the Spirit of Things” dropped in 1988. It is a full-on concept album, produced by Bob Ezrin (who produced Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” in 1989, among many others). The concept revolves around the story of the city of Neosho Falls, Kansas, which flooded in 1951. Rich Williams had read about the event in a book that he read called “Ghost Towns of Kansas, II”, and he felt it would make a great concept for an album. The album did not produce any hit singles (the first time since “Masque” in 1975). I do remember “Stand Beside Me”, and “Inside of Me” getting radio airplay, however. The band’s label, MCA, gave the album little promotion, and the album is considered a commercial failure. MCA was, at the time, dropping “older” artists from the label, and Kansas soon was without a recording contract. The tour for the album was a joint headline tour with a labelmate about to suffer the same fate, Night Ranger. This was to be the first time I saw Kansas live, and I was hooked even deeper as a fan. Other great tracks on the album include “Rainmaker”, “The Preacher”, and “The Bells of St. James”. Morse would “temporarily” leave Kansas at this time.
After a period of occasional appearances in various iterations of the line up, a German concert promoter got Kansas to agree to a tour with the original line-up (except Steinhardt) along with Greer and Greg Robert. Following the tour Hope departed again, but Livgren stayed, at least temporarily. In 1991, they added violinist David Ragsdale, who had sent Ehart a tape years earlier. Apparently, Livgren did some dates in 1991 with Ragsdale in the line up, but left soon after, to be replaced by Morse again. After helping Kansas complete the tour, Morse would leave Kansas permanently. Over the next few years, there were various compilations, including a box-set, and a live album from the “Spirit of Things” tour released (“Live at the Whiskey”)
In 1995, a new Kansas studio album finally appeared, called “Freaks of Nature”. They worked with producer Jeff Glixman, and with Ragsdale in the lineup, Kansas began to sound like “Kansas” again. For the first time Rich Williams was the sole guitarist, and handled the role quite nicely. Released by small labels in different parts of the world, the album didn’t bother the charts at all, but I love it! While he didn’t appear on the album, Livgren wrote a song for it called “Cold Grey Morning”. I love the opener “I Can Fly,” “Under the Knife”, and “Hope Once Again”, in particular, but really love the whole album.
In 1997, without much explanation, Ragsdale and Robert left the line-up, but a major player returned–Robbie Steinhardt was back! While I do not know everything he did in the 15 years he was away from the band, I do recommend checking out “Steinhardt-Moon” on YouTube, which was his partnership with a local Tampa band called Stormbringer. I nearly met Mr. Steinhardt then, but I was an idiot and he left the place before I realized it was him, but I digress. I saw Kansas on a double bill with ELP, with Steinhardt in the line-up soon after he returned to the line-up in 1997. I didn’t know he would be there until I saw the show. In 1998, they recorded “Always Never the Same” with the London Symphony Orchestra, which was mostly re-worked Kansas classics, and a cover of “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles. There are three new Walsh-penned songs on the album: "In Your Eyes", "The Sky Is Falling", "Need to Know".
In the year 2000, something amazing happened, all six original Kansas members participated in the recording of an album (although Dave Hope only played on 2 tracks, with Greer playing the rest). The album “Somewhere to Elsewhere” featured Livgren as the sole composer. The album was recorded in Livgren’s own studio, but not all of the members were involved at the same time. The music however is pure 100% classic Kansas. Standout tracks include “Icarus II”, “Myriad”, “Disappearing Skin Tight Blues”, and “Grand Fun Alley”. Walsh, Steinhart and Greer all provide lead vocals, as does Livgren surprisingly on the closing, hidden, track “(I Want to Live in a) Geodesic Dome”--the only time Livgren would sing lead on a Kansas track. Despite all of the promise this album had, it would be the last Kansas album with Walsh, Steinhardt, or Livgren. In fact, it is the last Kansas album for 16 years.
In the early 2000s Livgren got the “Kansas II” line-up back together and released music as Proto-Kaw until 2011. In 2002, Kansas recorded the DVD “Device-Voice-Drum” at a small venue in Atlanta, which had become the band’s home base. During this era, Livgren would sometimes make guest appearances with the band, but never joined full-time. It seems that Walsh was willing to tour with the band, but did not want to record new material. In the meantime, the other 4 members recorded as Native Window. Walsh would retire in 2014. Steinhardt left again in 2006, and Ragsdale returned. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2021.
Walsh’s retirement seems to be a blessing in disguise however, as a new Kansas line-up was born after Ronnie Plaitt of fellow midwestern band Shooting Star was recruited as the new vocalist. Keyboardist David Manion and guitarist/producer Zack Rizvi were added to the line-up and released the amazing “The Prelude Implicit” in 2016. They would follow that up in 2020 with “The Absence of Presence” which I reviewed (link below). The only line up change is that one-time Yes touring keyboardist Tom Bradley took over for Manion on keys. Both albums are brilliant and retrurned the band to full prog form.
Kansas continues to perform, however, Phil Ehart has had health issues in recent years and rarely plays live, as his longtime drum-tech Eric Holmquist fills in. Rizvi, has left and returned to the line-up as well. In 2023, Ragsdale was replaced by Joe Denzion of prog band Stratospheerius.
Wow! I thank anyone who made it through this! Let’s hear it for Kansas–The Great American Prog Band!
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