Kerry Livgren (b. 1949) - Kansas

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]

Ric Ocasek (b. 1949) - The Cars

Ric Ocasek (b. Richard T. Otcasek, March 23, 1949, Baltimore, MD) is an American of Czechoslovakian heritage, and is a musician, and music producer. He is best known to the public as the former lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist for the new wave band, The Cars. Ric lived in Baltimore until he was 16, at which time his father, a computer analyst for NASA, was transferred to Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating high school in Cleveland, Ric then attended Bowling Green State University near Toledo, Ohio.

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The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970's. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson. The band originated from Boston, Massachusetts, and were signed to Elektra Records in 1977.

The Cars were at the forefront in merging 1970's guitar-oriented rock with the new synth-oriented pop that was then becoming popular and which would flower in the early 1980s. Robert Palmer, music critic for The New York Times and Rolling Stone, described The Cars' musical style by saying: "they have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends—punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the '50s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop—and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend."

Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine commented on their style saying "the Cars were nevertheless inspired by proto-punk, garage rock, and bubblegum pop."

The band broke up in 1988, and Ocasek has always discouraged talk of a reunion since then, telling one interviewer in 1997 "I'm saying never and you can count on that."

In 2005, Easton and Hawkes joined with Todd Rundgren to form a spin-off band, The New Cars, which performed classic Cars and Rundgren songs alongside new material. On October 21, 2010, the Cars confirmed that they have reunited and are recording their first album in 23 years. Greg Hawkes will fill in on bass for Benjamin Orr, who died in 2000.

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My Best Friend's Girl is a song by American rock band The Cars from their 1978 self-titled debut album on Elektra Records. Written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the song was released as the album's second single. It peaked at number 35 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, and reached number three in the UK. My Best Friend's Girl was included on the soundtrack to the 1979 film Over the Edge, and the song appears on numerous compilation albums, such as the band's 1985 Greatest Hits, 1995's Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology, and 2002's Complete Greatest Hits. A live version of the song by The New Cars appears on their 2006 debut album, It's Alive!.



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Panorama is the third studio album by American new wave band The Cars, released in 1980. It represented a change from the upbeat, hook-based pop rock of previous albums to a more aggressive and cynical sound. Panorama hit the #5 spot on the Billboard 200 chart.

All songs written by Ric Ocasek (Copyright Lido Music).

Side One



"Panorama" – 5:42
"Touch and Go" – 4:55
"Gimme Some Slack" – 3:32
"Don't Tell Me No" – 4:00
"Getting Through" – 2:35

Side Two

"Misfit Kid" – 4:30
"Down Boys" – 3:09
"You Wear Those Eyes" – 4:55
"Running to You" – 3:22
"Up and Down" – 3:31

Ric Ocasek – rhythm guitar, lead vocals on 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10
Elliot Easton – lead guitar, backing vocals
Greg Hawkes – keyboards, backing vocals
Benjamin Orr – bass, lead vocals on 4, 7, 8, 9
David Robinson – drums, percussion

[8949 Livgren / 8949 Ocasek / 8948 Paice]