Two lineups of Kansas performing live in 2008 (top) and 2017 (bottom).

Kansas is an American progressive rock band from Topeka, Kansas. The band's current lineup features constant members Rich Williams (currently as lead guitarist) and Phil Ehart, alongside bassist and vocalist Billy Greer (since 1985, co-lead vocalist since 2006), vocalist and keyboardist Ronnie Platt (since 2014), keyboardist Tom Brislin (since 2018), and violinist and rhythm guitarist Joe Deninzon (since 2023)

History

1970–1984

In 1969, Don Montre and Kerry Livgren (guitars, keyboards, synthesizers) were performing in a band called the Reasons Why in their hometown of Topeka, Kansas. After leaving to form the band Saratoga with Lynn Meredith and Dan Wright, they started playing Livgren's original material, with Scott Kessler playing bass and Zeke Lowe coming in on drums.

In 1970, they changed the band's name to Kansas and merged with members of rival Topeka progressive rock group White Clover. ^[1] White Clover members Dave Hope (bass) and Phil Ehart (drums, percussion) joined with Livgren, vocalists Meredith and Greg Allen, keyboardists Montre and Wright and saxophonist Larry Baker. ^[2] This early Kansas group, sometimes called Kansas I, lasted until early 1971 when Ehart, Hope and some of the others left to re-form White Clover.^{[ citation needed]}

Ehart was replaced by Zeke Lowe and later Brad Schulz, Hope was replaced by Rod Mikinski on bass and Baker was replaced by John Bolton on saxophone and flute. This line-up is sometimes referred to as Kansas II, and 30 years later would re-form under the name Proto-Kaw.

In 1972, after Ehart returned from England (where he had gone to look for other musicians), he and Hope once again re-formed White Clover with Robby Steinhardt (vocals, violin, viola, cello), Steve Walsh (vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion) and Rich Williams (guitars). In early 1973, they recruited Livgren from the second Kansas group, which then folded. ^[3] Eventually they received a recording contract with Don Kirshner's eponymous label, after Kirshner's assistant, Wally Gold, heard one of their demo tapes and came out to check out the band at one of their local gigs in March 1973 in Ellinwood, Kansas. After signing with Kirshner, the group decided to return to using the name "Kansas".

The group's next lineup change came in October 1981, when frontman Walsh left the band during the early stages of writing for their eighth studio album Vinyl Confessions. ^[4] Speaking in a 2015 interview, Ehart recalled that "Things were hurtling so fast that there was no way to avoid hitting a breaking point," agreeing that Livgren's lyrical content influenced Walsh's departure, but adding that "that was one of many things going on that was making it difficult to be a band." ^[5]

Both lead vocalists, Steve Walsh (top) and Robby Steinhardt (bottom), left Kansas within a year of one another in the early 1980s.

Before the end of the year, Walsh was replaced by John Elefante, who performed on Vinyl Confessions and wrote several songs for the album. ^[6] After the subsequent concert tour later in 1982, however, Steinhardt followed Walsh in leaving Kansas. ^[7] Citing Steinhardt's ongoing problems with substance abuse, Ehart has since recalled that "We'd been trying for ages to persuade Robby to clean up. In the end, we told him that he needed to go away for a while." ^[8] His role was not replaced – the band was reduced to a five-piece for Drastic Measures. ^[9] Livgren, the band's main songwriter to that point, contributed only three compositions to the 1983 release. ^[10]

Six months after the release of Drastic Measures, both Livgren and Hope left Kansas to form AD, a Christian rock outfit. ^[11] In 1984, the remaining trio of Elefante, Williams and Ehart recorded one song, "Perfect Lover", for the compilation album The Best of Kansas issued that year. ^[12] During a tour of military bases organized by the United Service Organizations (USO) in March 1984, Elefante decided that he would leave Kansas to focus on his own Christian music. The singer claimed that the band's management threatened to take legal action against him if he left, recalling that "I remember having lunch ... with Kansas' management and attorney. They were working me over, giving me a real brow beating, and threatening to sue if I left the band. I finally said, 'Guys, I'm gone. This isn't the place for me anymore.' And that was it." ^[6]

1985–1999

After around a year later, it was announced in July 1985 that Kansas had reformed with original vocalist Steve Walsh, who was then touring with Cheap Trick as their live keyboardist. ^[13] Alongside returning members Rich Williams and Phil Ehart, the group replaced lead guitarist Kerry Livgren with Steve Morse of Dixie Dregs and his own eponymous band, and bassist Dave Hope with Billy Greer, a former bandmate of Walsh's from his post-Kansas group Streets. ^{[14] [15]} Morse recorded two albums with the group – Power and In the Spirit of Things – before leaving in 1989 to promote his third solo effort (the first under just his name) High Tension Wires. ^[16]

Following Morse's departure, Kansas parted ways with MCA Records and went on a temporary hiatus, as the remaining members focused on other projects. ^[17] The following fall, the group embarked on a European tour which featured the return of Livgren and Hope to the lineup. ^[18] The tour also featured keyboardist Greg Robert, who had joined three years earlier and performed on In the Spirit of Things. ^[19] A second leg in North America was scheduled for the following year, with Hope bowing out after the first, before Livgren left again and Morse returned to complete the dates. ^[20] The 1991 touring cycle also saw the Kansas debut of David Ragsdale, the band's first violinist since Robby Steinhardt left in 1982, who joined in April. ^[21]

Kansas settled in the early 1990s with the lineup of Walsh, Williams, Greer, Ehart, Robert and Ragsdale, releasing Live at the Whisky in 1992 and Freaks of Nature, their first studio album in seven years, in 1995. ^[22] In 1997, Steinhardt returned as both Ragsdale and Robert departed. ^{[23] [24]} Walsh returned later in the year for an orchestral tour, which led to the recording and release of Always Never the Same with the London Symphony Orchestra. ^{[17] [25]}

From 1999

In 1999, Kansas reunited with original lead guitarist Kerry Livgren, who had written and produced demos for several new songs described by drummer Phil Ehart as sounding "like classic Kansas". ^[26] Recording started in early 2000 for a new album, Somewhere to Elsewhere, at the guitarist's own Grandyzine Studios in Topeka, where the group had originally formed. ^[27] The album was released in July and also featured original bassist Dave Hope on two tracks, marking the first time the band's original lineup had featured together on a recording since 1980. ^[28] Livgren remained only for the recording, with the previous lineup of the group returning to tour later in the year. ^[29]

After several more years touring, Kansas parted ways with violinist and vocalist Robby Steinhardt for a second time in March 2006, which Steve Walsh described as "one of the most difficult things we've ever had to do". ^[8] He was replaced the following month by his previous replacement David Ragsdale. ^[30] Speaking about the lineup change, Ehart explained that "Robby just got to the end of the road. He was very honest when he talked to me. He said that he had just lost the desire to do this anymore." ^[31]

On June 30, 2014 it was announced that Walsh would be leaving Kansas, with his final performance scheduled for August 16. ^[32] After Walsh initially only stated that "it's time for me to go", it was later revealed that the singer was experiencing vocal problems and had lost interest in the band, with guitarist Rich Williams explaining later that "Steve was really struggling ... [he] had been struggling for years with his voice, but besides that, he just wasn't enjoying it any more." ^[33] In July, Walsh's impending replacement on lead vocals was announced to be Ronnie Platt, ^[34] while David Manion – a bandmate of Billy Greer's in Seventh Key – was added as the group's new main keyboardist. ^[35]

Kansas released The Prelude Implicit, its first studio album in 16 years, in September 2016. ^[36] The album marked the debut of new guitarist Zak Rizvi, who had originally been brought in as a co-producer but was later made a full member of the group. ^[37] After another live album recorded on a tour to mark the 40th anniversary of Leftoverture, ^[38] Manion left Kansas "to pursue other musical endeavors" in December 2018, with Tom Brislin taking his place. ^[39]

In April 2021, Kansas announced Zak Rizvi has resigned from the band and that he "looks forward to pursuing new projects". As of now, Kansas will continue as a 6 person band.

In May 2023, Dave Ragsdale was replaced by Stratospheerius frontman Joe Deninzon. ^{[40] [41]}

Members

Current

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Phil Ehart	1973–1984 1985–present	drums percussion manager (not currently touring [42])	all Kansas releases except for Early Recordings from Kansas 1971–1973
	Rich Williams		guitars (lead 1984, 1989–90, 1991–99, 2000-2016, 2021-present, rhythm otherwise) occasional backing vocals
	Billy Greer	1985–present	bass acoustic guitar lead and backing vocals (backing until 2006, co-lead since)	all Kansas releases from Power (1986) onwards
	Ronnie Platt	2014–present	lead and backing vocals keyboards	The Prelude Implicit (2016) Leftoverture: Live and Beyond (2017) The Absence of Presence (2020) Point of Know Return: Live and Beyond (2021)
	Zak Rizvi	2016–2021, 2024–present	lead and rhythm guitars backing vocals	The Prelude Implicit (2016) Leftoverture: Live and Beyond (2017) The Absence of Presence (2020) Point of Know Return: Live and Beyond (2021)
	Tom Brislin	2018–present	keyboards backing and lead vocals	The Absence of Presence (2020) Point of Know Return: Live and Beyond (2021)
	Joe Deninzon	2023–present	violin rhythm guitar vocals	none to date

Former

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Kerry Livgren	1973–1983 1990–1991 1999–2000 (guest 2023)	lead and rhythm guitars keyboards synthesizers backing vocals	all Kansas releases from Kansas (1974) to Drastic Measures (1983) Live at the Whisky (1992) – guest appearance on three tracks only Somewhere to Elsewhere (2000) There's Know Place Like Home (2009) – guest appearance on four tracks only
	Dave Hope	1973–1983 1990 2000 (guest 2023)	bass backing vocals	all Kansas releases from Kansas (1974) to Drastic Measures (1983) Live at the Whisky (1992) – guest appearance on one bonus track only Somewhere to Elsewhere (2000) – two tracks only
	Robby Steinhardt	1973–1983 1997–2006 (died 2021)	violin viola cello lead and backing vocals	all Kansas releases from Kansas (1974) to Vinyl Confessions (1982) Always Never the Same (1998) Somewhere to Elsewhere (2000) Device – Voice – Drum (2002)
	Steve Walsh	1973–1981 1985–2014	lead and backing vocals keyboards synthesizers vibraphone percussion	all Kansas releases from Kansas (1974) to Audio-Visions (1980), and from Power (1986) to There's Know Place Like Home (2009)
	John Elefante	1982–1984	lead and backing vocals keyboards guitar	Vinyl Confessions (1982) Drastic Measures (1983) The Best of Kansas (1984) – new song "Perfect Lover"
	Steve Morse	1985–1989 1991	lead and rhythm guitars backing vocals	Power (1986) In the Spirit of Things (1988) King Biscuit Flower Hour (1998) There's Know Place Like Home (2009) – guest appearance on three tracks only
	Greg Robert	1987–1997	keyboards backing vocals	all Kansas releases from In the Spirit of Things (1988) to Freaks of Nature (1995)
	David Ragsdale	1991–1997 2006–2023	violin backing vocals rhythm guitar	Live at the Whisky (1992) The Kansas Boxed Set (1994) – new song "Wheels" Freaks of Nature (1995) all Kansas releases from There's Know Place Like Home (2009) onwards
	David Manion	2014–2018	keyboards backing vocals	The Prelude Implicit (2016) Leftoverture: Live and Beyond (2017)

Touring

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions and notes
	Warren Ham	1982	saxophone flute harmonica backing vocals keyboards	Vinyl Confessions (1982), Ham was a candidate to replace Walsh before Elefante was hired, [43] he stayed with the band as session woodwind player. [44]
	Michael Gleason	1983	keyboards backing vocals guitar	Gleason replaced Ham on keyboards and guitars. [45]
	Eric Holmquist	2016 2018 2022–present	drums percussion	Phil Ehart's drum tech has filled in for him various times since 2016. [46] [47]

Timeline

Lineups

References

External links

• Kansas official website