Kansas has a documentary coming out called Miracles Out Of Nowhere that chronicles the band's unlikely success as one of the top Rock & Roll bands of the 1970's. This makes me wonder once again why they are not even considered for a Hall Of Fame induction. This is a band that has had huge hits in their career and has continued to tour almost every year since their first album in 1974...
It's not really a surprise that a band like Kansas or Styx or even REO Speedwagon doesn't get a nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. These bands sold out arena after arena in their heyday, sold millions of records and were actually good musicians. Frankly, it's difficult to figure out how some acts get nominated that are nowhere near the genre of Rock & Roll, while these bands are ignored.
Kansas has been around for over 40 years now, and the band spent a few years honing their craft before they got a record deal. There are several good reasons for this band to be considered worthy of being in the Hall Of Fame. Lets take a look at some of them.
Kansas was pure American Progressive Rock. Some dispute that, but you can't seriously listen to their first five albums and not hear it. They had a distinct sound. They didn't have a breakout star in the six piece band, but together, they made incredible music filled with the guitars of Rich Williams and Kerry Livgren, the keyboards of Steve Walsh and Livgren, the bass of Dave Hope and the drums of Phil Ehart.
Let's not forget the violin of Roby Steinhardt. There weren't a lot of rock bands that featured a violin prominently, and Kansas was at the top of that list. Plus, Robby could sing. Walsh became the voice of the band, but Robby sang lead on some catchy tunes as well. Together, the two had some great harmonies.
The obvious reason is the two major hits. Carry On Wayward Son makes the top ten and even top five of some people's lists of American Rock Anthems. Then, there's Dust In The Wind. A beautiful and philosophical song that has made it into pop culture. Many bands go without even one hit, and this band had two mega hits.
Plus, the band has had staying power. There may be three years since 1974 in which the band did no shows. There have been lineup changes, but they continued on. Even after Walsh left, the band hit the charts with Play The Game Tonight. When only two originals remained, Walsh returned and they hit the charts with All I Wanted. The band endures today.
I know the idea of being popular is somehow frowned upon by the people who make the decisions on who to induct into The Hall. The fact that people still want to hear their songs and the idea that they had five platinum or multi platinum albums seems to be ignored. The fact that their lyrics had meaning beyond what a lot of rock music has is dismissed as self indulgent.
It's just that they are looking to induct disco acts into The Hall and have done so already. Yet, Kansas and so many other bands from the 1970's are dismissed as arena rock and unworthy. Since when was selling millions of records and packing arenas a bad thing? I would rather not belittle bands that I think are unworthy and yet are in The Hall, but I will say Kansas belongs there with them.
