Kerry Allen Livgren (b. September 18, 1949) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the 1970s progressive rock band, Kansas.
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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 have remained a classic rock radio staple and a popular touring act in North America and Europe.
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Carry On Wayward Son is a progressive rock single recorded by Kansas and written by Kerry Livgren for their 1976 album Leftoverture. In 1977, the song peaked at #11 on the Billboard pop singles chart, becoming their first Top 40 hit.
The 7" single has been certified Gold by the RIAA. This version was a much shorter version of the song, edited down to 3:26, a version that was also the band's only single to chart in the UK, reaching the top 60 there.
It was also the first 12" single released anywhere by the band when it was released in the UK in that format, though it was the edited version. All initial releases of the single had a B-side of Questions of My Childhood, continuing the tradition of Kansas and many other bands with multiple songwriters of putting a song by the band's other primary writer on the B-side of any single.
This song is 96th on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.
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Dust in the Wind is a hit single released by the American progressive rock band Kansas in 1977. It peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of April 22, 1978, making it Kansas' only top ten Billboard Hot 100 charting single. The 45-rpm single was certified gold for sales of one million units by the RIAA shortly after the height of its popularity as a hit single. More than 25 years later, the RIAA certified gold the digital download format of the song, Kansas's only single so certified as of September 17, 2008.
Written by Kerry Livgren, it was one of the band's first acoustic tracks; its slow melody and melancholy lyrics differ from their other hits, such as Carry On Wayward Son and The Wall. The guitar part is played by two guitarists on six-string guitars, one in standard tuning and the other in Nashville tuning, in unison to create a chimy sound similar to a twelve-string guitar.
The song's instrumental bridge contains a distinctive and highly memorable melodic line and harmony for violin and viola played by Robby Steinhardt.
Kansas also released a live version of the song on their album Two for the Show.
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Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of Heartland rock infused with pop hooks, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey.
Springsteen's recordings have included commercially accessible rock albums and somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A., showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and 120 million worldwide[3] and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award.
[8950 Gabriel / 8949 Livgren / 8948 Paice]
