Kansas formed in 1970, originally under the name The Reasons Why, and toured extensively throughout the 70's and 80's. The members have included: Steve Morse, Kerry Livgren, Steve Walsh, Phil Ehart, John Elefante, Billy Greer, Dave Ragsdale, Robbie Steinhardt, and Rich Williams, with the current members highlighted in green. The self-titled album released in '74 and the group released their two biggest songs, "Carry on Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind," in 1976 and 1977. This success led to constantly sold-out concerts.
Unfortunately the group's unity did not last... in the 80's, some of the group became born-again Christians, which produced controversy over how religious the music should be. Since then, different group members rotate in and out, but they are still together and touring (although the members have changed some and four members broke off to form their own group, Native Window, which released their first cd last year). "Carry on Wayward Son" is still very popular, and apparently Will Ferrell likes Kansas because their songs have appeared in his movies Old School and Blades of Glory.
A full band biography, along with pictures, is available here
Information for the biography above was also found here
Another group that earned its fame in the 70's and today is Aerosmith. Their first gig together was in 1970, but they primarily played outside Boston University's student center, never receiving press or recognition.
All six of them shared an apartment together in Boston and were packed in it. They had two of them living in the kitchen even. It was the epitome of "starving artist" living situation. In 1971, they were making about $300, nearly getting kicked out of their apartment because they can't pay the rent and are stealing food from stores to survive. Eventually, their luck improved. They were able to practice in The Fenway Theater for free and their potential began to be recognized.
In the summer of 1972 Columbia signed them for a record deal for $125,000 after a New York show. They had recorded and mixed their debut cd within just two weeks. The cd released in January of 1973 and they began touring. The Boston area gave the album rave reviews, yet other press still wasn't picking up on it. That June they released "Dream On" and it won Song of The Year at two Boston radio stations.
They released the single "Same Old Song and Dance" in 1974 and Circle Magazine ran an article on them. The public responded, writing to the Editor saying they wanted more articles on Aerosmith. Finally they were discovered by more than just the Boston area. The album Get Your Wings is released in 1975 and it went gold. They released various new songs, some of which broke the Top 20 or score a place on The Billboard's Top 40.
This pushed the band into becoming a headlining act, ranking with ZZ Top and KISS as one of the "top concert attractions in the country." Their fourth album went platinum almost immediately and they made the cover of Rolling Stones magazine with a six-page article inside. Creem Magazine voted them #1 Favorite Band of the Year.
The band toured almost non-stop for seven years. From 1977-1979 they had their "Draw The Line" tour then began working on their seventh album right after touring ended. Since then, they have released even more music and are still releasing music and touring today. They released "Jaded" in 2000, have performed on various shows, and tour the country, still attracting fans. Last year they became the first band to have their own edition of Guitar Hero (Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, 2008). Eventually, the guys may settle down and retire for good but as of right now, they started up over 30 years ago and don't seem to be stopping any time soon.
A full Aerosmith biography is available here
Aerosmith logo came from here
