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Rich Williams
Turn on a classic-rock radio station anywhere in the country, any time of day and chances are very good you will hear “Carry on Wayward Son” before too long. With “Dust in the Wind” and “Point of No Return” also in their catalog, it’s a good bet that you will hear at least one Kansas song within a couple of hours.
“Those songs have become bigger than us,” said guitarist Rich Williams. “We just play them.”
Williams and bandmates Phil Ehart, Billy Greer, Dave Ragsdale and Steve Walsh have been playing the Kansas hits for decades. They will be joined in concert Saturday by fellow veterans The Edgar Winter Band and longtime local favorites Overland Express, who will reunite for a rare performance.
The show at First Tennessee Pavilion is a fundraiser for veterans outreach programs.
“Carry on Wayward Son” ranks No. 11 on the list of the 50 most played rock songs of all time, according to a news release. Winter is best known for his No. 1 hits “Frankenstein” and “Free Ride.”
The Kansas story began in 1970, but the band as most people know it formed in 1972 when Walsh and Williams joined Ehart, Dave Hope and Kerry Livgren.
They had some early success with their self-titled debut in 1974 and 1975’s “Masque,” but they became rock-radio heroes in 1976 with “Leftoverture,” which contained “Carry on Wayward Son.”
Playing a mixture of American rock and British prog-rock, Kansas became known for their big sound and big stage shows. Over the years, they’ve performed with full orchestras and last month released “There’s No Place Like Home,” a full-blown high-definition concert DVD filmed earlier this year in Topeka, Kan.
The show featured a full symphony and guest appearances by Livgren and former member Steve Morse. Filming the DVD has been on the band’s wish list for years, Williams said, but it had been on hold because of costs.
“Technology caught up,” he said.
“To be able to use 10 HD cameras in the shoot was no longer a crazy expense. Everything was just right.”
Integrating a symphony into the music was not a problem, Williams said, because “Kansas music is always by nature already symphonic. It’s not shoehorning it in.”
If You Go
* What: Kansas, The Edgar Winter Band, Overland Express
* When: 7 p.m. Saturday
* Where: First Tennessee Pavilion, 1826 Carter St.
* Admission: $27.50
* Phone: 266-6627
Barry Courter is associate features editor, entertainment editor and books editor for the Times Free Press. He started his journalism career at the Chattanooga News-Free Press in 1987. He covers primarily entertainment and events for fyiWeekend and edits the Sunday books page. Born in Lafayette, Ind., Barry has lived in Chattanooga since 1968. He graduated from Notre Dame High School and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in broadcast journalism. He previously ...
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