Kansas

Kansas merged intricate British progressive rock structures with a roots-oriented American style that mirrored the band's own identity, establishing the multi-platinum act as one of the leading groups throughout the final years of the 1970s. Songs from that stretch, among them "Dust in the Wind," "Carry on Wayward Son," and the group's version of J.J. Cale's "Bringing It Back," became fixtures on AOR playlists and maintain regular rotation on classic rock stations. Tens of millions of units moved during the decade, with the strong sales of Leftoverture (1976), Point of Know Return (1977), and Monolith (1979) lifting Kansas to arena-headlining prominence and drawing packed houses throughout the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia. Although mainstream visibility faded in the 1990s, the group kept issuing recordings and maintaining an active touring schedule. Lineup shifts, such as the exit of founding guitarist Kerry Livgren and the eventual departure of lead singer Steve Walsh, did not halt international performances or regular releases. Studio activity paused for fifteen years after 2000's Somewhere to Elsewhere, an album that brought together every original Kansas member and contained only songs written by Livgren. New recordings resumed with the 2016 release The Prelude Implicit, which introduced Ronnie Platt as vocalist and keyboardist. The project secured prominent chart positions in fourteen countries, among them the Billboard 200 and Top Rock Albums listings in the United States.

The ensemble originated in Topeka during 1970 when guitarist Kerry Livgren, bassist Dave Hope, and drummer Phil Ehart first collaborated while still attending high school. After classically trained violinist Robbie Steinhardt joined in 1971 they briefly operated under the name White Clover, then restored the Kansas designation for good once vocalist/keyboardist Steve Walsh and guitarist Richard Williams arrived in 1972. Exhaustive road work and limited recognition marked the early portion of the decade; the fusion of boogie rhythms and progressive arrangements initially confused club audiences, yet steady grassroots support eventually secured a contract with Kirshner Records.

Kansas delivered its self-titled debut album in 1974. Modest initial returns did not deter relentless touring that expanded the audience sufficiently for the third LP, 1975's Masque, to move a quarter-million copies. Leftoverture truly launched the band into major stardom in 1976. Powered by the breakout single "Carry on Wayward Son," the record climbed into the Top Five and surpassed three million units sold. Point of Know Return, issued the next year, proved even more commercially potent and yielded the massive hit "Dust in the Wind." Although the 1978 concert set Two for the Show peaked outside the Top 40, its studio successor Monolith, the first Kansas album produced internally, reached the Top Ten. Walsh also issued his solo outing Schemer-Dreamer that same year.

Following 1980's Audio-Visions the group began to fracture. Hope and Livgren both embraced born-again Christianity, with the latter releasing the solo album Seeds of Change, and these spiritual developments created internal tensions. Walsh soon departed to form Streets, leaving the remaining members to recruit vocalist John Elefante. Vinyl Confessions, the first Kansas album without Walsh, appeared in 1982 and contained the hit "Play the Game Tonight," yet only one further release, 1983's Drastic Measures, preceded a breakup.

Kansas reassembled in 1986 around Ehart, Williams, and Walsh. With the addition of guitarist Steve Morse and bassist Billy Greer the reconstituted lineup debuted via Power, which scored a Top 20 single with "All I Wanted." The follow-up, 1988's In the Spirit of Things, underperformed, and seven years elapsed before Freaks of Nature arrived. The London Symphony-assisted Always Never the Same surfaced in 1998, after which Kansas issued its fourteenth studio album, Somewhere to Elsewhere, in 2000, marking the return of founding songwriter Kerry Livgren. Throughout the ensuing decade the band sustained heavy touring while issuing compilations and live sets, highlighted by simultaneous inductions into the Kansas Hall of Fame and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2014 that aligned with the group's fortieth anniversary. Early 2015 brought the career retrospective Miracles Out of Nowhere on DVD and CD. After signing with Century Media's InsideOut imprint, Kansas delivered The Prelude Implicit in 2016. The fifteenth studio album overall emphasized progressive elements and ended a sixteen-year gap between new releases. Leftoverture Live & Beyond, drawn from performances on the fortieth-anniversary tour, followed the next year.

In March 2020 Kansas unveiled a three-and-a-half-minute video trailer presented by Platt to herald the June arrival of The Absence of Presence. Co-produced by drummer Phil Ehart, guitarist Rich Williams, and guitarist Zak Rizvi, the album introduced keyboardist Tom Brislin (Yes, Camel, Debbie Harry), who had joined in late 2018. After three advance singles—"Throwing Mountains," "Memories Down the Line," and "Jets Overhead"—production setbacks pushed the release date to July. Violinist Robbie Steinhardt passed away on July 17, 2021, in Tampa, Florida, at age 71 following complications from pancreatitis.