Many rock n’ roll groups have come from the sleepy little towns across the Midwest although most have not named their group after these little towns, or in this case, states. Kansas has lit up the stage for decades upon decades as one of Americana’s  premiere folk rock groups,

Kansas

All we are is dust in the wind.

Middle America

Many rock n’ roll groups have come from the sleepy little towns across the Midwest although most have not named their group after these little towns, or in this case, states. Kansas has lit up the stage for decades upon decades as one of Americana’s  premiere folk rock groups, and still continues to be one of the most played bands on America’s radio airwaves even in the present. The band started with David Hope, Phil Ehart, Kerry Livgren, Lynn Meredith, Don Montre, Dan Wright, and Larry Baker.

Getting Their Start

The rock n’ roll group Kansas released their first album in March of 1974, which was self titled. The album got some local radio play, which was enough for them to release two more albums called Song For America and Masque. The band got their first hit single from the song Carry On Wayward Son, which was a progressive rock n’ roll feature off of the album Leftoverture. The song gained prominence as the ending music to the movie Heroes with Henry Winkler and Sally Field.

Their second hit came from the song Dust In the Wind, which is a song that still receives constant airplay on the radio waves of Southern Rock stations every day. During the release of these hit songs and albums, Kansas embarked on a major touring schedule across the country. Their fans delighted in the nights of music as the band lit up the stage in small towns as well as big cities all across the United States. With all of the new found success, the money was pouring in and fame and fortune were right at their finger tips. However, there were some rocky roads ahead.

Rocky Road

With so many members in one band, sometimes it becomes hard to please everyone. This turned out to be the case in the early 1980’s for the band Kansas. With some of the members turning to Christianity, others began to drift apart, which would eventually create a void in the sound of the rock ensemble. The entire band after about 1982 became completely Christian oriented and this led to a decline in sales of their records.

With the addition of some new mid 1980’s sounds, the band produced a single called Fight Fire with Fire that wouldn’t make it to the Top 40 Charts but would reach the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart at number three, which was the highest any single had ever reached of the band. However, this did little to quell the restlessness that had settled over the group and in 1983, one of the main members felt the band was not following it’s new Christian influence and decided to leave the band to pursue his own career.

Coming Back

In the mid 1980’s the band tried to come back together. While original members stumbled in it looked as if they may come back for some sort of a reunion; however, history would not have that in its books. The band was able to come together for the release of one last album called Power, in which they had one single to crack the Billboard Top 40 but this was pretty much the end. With the release of one last album after Power, the band was done as the album turned out to be mostly a failure.

The band took on new members and some of the old members floated in and out. They also began touring again, however, they were mostly for support. In 2000, the band toured with rock favorites Yes but again this was mostly for support. The group would embark on a few tours here and there but never really manage to pull it back together. There are many websites dedicated to the rock group Kansas and some may have material available as a free music download.

Did You Know

• Their song Dust in the Wind was featured on the hit comedy movie Old School.

• The band last recorded a DVD in 2009 in which they played will a full symphony orchestra.

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