Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on album-oriented rock charts, and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind". They currently tour in North America and Europe. Dave Hope , Phil Ehart , and Kerry Livgren formed a progressive rock group in 1970 in their hometown of Topeka, Kansas, along with vocalists Lynn Meredith and Joel Warne, and keyboardist Don Montre, keyboardist Dan Wright, and saxophonist Larry Baker. A year earlier, Meredith, Montre, Wright and Livgren were performing in a band called The Reasons Why. After... changing the band's name to Saratoga, they started playing Livgren's original material with Scott Kessler playing bass and Zeke Lowe on drums. In 1970, they changed the band's name again to Kansas and merged with members of rival Topeka progressive rock outfit White Clover. This early Kansas group, which lasted until 1971 when Ehart, Hope, and some of the others left to reform White Clover, is sometimes referred to as Kansas I.
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| Career began: | 1970 |
| Members: | Steve Morse, Dave Hope, Rich Williams, John Elefante, Kerry Livgren, Steve Walsh, David Ragsdale, Robby Steinhardt, Warren Ham, Phil Ehart, Richard Williams, Billy Greer |
| Hometown: | Topeka |
| Also known as: | Kansas |