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
Although these bands obviously formed and hit their fame in the 1970’s, I am lucky enough to have seen both bands perform live. I thought it was funny that you happened to choose these two bands to discuss groups who are still touring today.
ReplyDeleteIn 2005, I witnessed Aerosmith play at the Rosemont Theater in Chicago and was blown away by how well they performed. Although these guys are getting older, Joe Perry can still shred it on the guitar and Stephen Tyler still has the ability to send chills down your spine as he belts and screams in an ampitheatre. They performed so well that I could hardly find any difference between the show I was witnessing and the recordings that took place in a studio decades earlier. Check this video of “Toys In The Attic” from their tour in 2004 as the boys rock out and pump up the crowd. I'm not able to tag this address in a comment, so you need to plug in the URL below yourself. (Pay attention for the guitar solo half way in).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMVqWGtqy9c
This video proves that you are “only as old as you feel.
Throughout the years, I have attended many concerts held by bands that were formed during earlier generations. Some of these bands include: The 21st Century Doors, ZZ Top, Blue Oyster Cult, The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, and of course Aerosmith and Kansas. Some people criticize that the level of performance is lost as the members of bands age or become replaced by new musicians. However from my own experiences, this is nothing but incorrect. For the entire duration of each one of these shows, I was on my feet either air guitaring to the licks of ZZ Tops “Tush,” being blown away by Ray Manzarek’s keyboard solo during “Light My Fire”, or imitating Chuck Berry as he gracefully danced around stage with guitar in hand to “Johnny B. Goode.” My father, who happened to be dancing next to me during the Chuck Berry show mentioned later that night how similar Chuck had sounded to recordings of his songs in our juke box at home.
If anyone has any doubts as to purchasing tickets to witness one of your favorite pastime bands, you’re crazy. No band would still be touring if they performed like rubbish, because no one would attend their shows. I have never been let down and don’t plan on it. Keep the music alive!