Still hard to find Classics I did not cover yet (please note: I try to choose only the ones I really like personally :-)! - my last one been the Romantics - but here we go -found an awesome one I hope i had not yet.
Kansas
While some know I come from AOR scene - m first real love been these rock sounds from the likes of Foreigner, Toto, Saga, Journey. Bit before that time other bands been famous - also during the AOR times I lived my rock music love sch as Boston, Styx and this band "from" Kansas.
Hang on, they still exist
Usually you have to doubt about bands famous in 70ies/80ies touring these days i this is just a money grab remake or real. Not sure on Kansas yet but Wikipedia tells me they are still active, being founded 1970 means something:
Kansas is an American rock band formed in Topeka, Kansas in 1973. They became popular during the 1970s initially on album-oriented rock charts and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind".The band has produced nine gold albums, three multi-platinum albums (Leftoverture 5x, Point of Know Return 4×, and The Best of Kansas 4×), one other platinum studio album (Monolith), one platinum live double album (Two for the Show), and a million-selling single, "Dust in the Wind". Kansas appeared on the US Billboard charts for over 200 weeks throughout the 1970s and 1980s and played to sold-out arenas and stadiums throughout North America, Europe and Japan. "Carry On Wayward Son" was the second-most-played track on US classic rock radio in 1995 and No. 1 in 1997 Jason Ankeny of AllMusic referred to Kansas as "staples" of classic rock radio.
Dust in the Wind
Probably the most famous song by Kansas - very old - but still with great message and guitar play for heaven - great produced - back in 1978 - a legendary song!
Kansas after 1990ies - the second life
By the early 1990s, Kansas could’ve slipped quietly into the nostalgia graveyard like so many of their 70s peers. One or two reunion tours, a half-hearted compilation, done. Instead, the band doubled down and started what basically became their second life.
Through the 1990s they kept touring, kept writing, and kept reshaping the lineup just enough to stay sharp without losing the core “Kansas” identity. Their older hits stayed alive on radio and MTV Classics, especially Dust in the Wind – released in January 1978 as a single from Point of Know Return – which had become a cross-generational anthem by then.
The 2000s didn’t slow them down. While other classic-rock acts retreated into cruise-ship festivals, Kansas kept performing relentlessly and built a surprisingly young fanbase by simply being better live than people expected.
In the 2010s, they did the thing almost nobody saw coming: they released genuinely strong new albums. The Prelude Implicit (2016) and The Absence of Presence (2020) weren’t legacy padding. They were real records with real ideas, proving the band wasn’t living off “Carry On Wayward Son” royalties alone.
And here we are in the 2020s. Kansas is still active, still touring, still updating its lineup. They even brought in a new guitarist in 2025. For a band founded in 1973, that level of longevity is ridiculous in the best possible way.
