{"id":568935,"date":"2026-07-26T12:47:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T12:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/568935\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T12:47:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T12:47:09","slug":"kansas-almost-missed-recording-what-became-their-first-big-hit-in-1976","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/568935\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas Almost Missed Recording What Became Their First Big Hit in 1976"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1976, Kansas released \u201cCarry On Wayward Son<\/a>\u201d. On their fourth studio album, Leftoverture, \u201cCarry On Wayward Son\u201d was written by band member Kerry Livgren. The song is the group\u2019s fifth single<\/a>, but their first to hit the Top 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarry On Wayward Son\u201d says in part, \u201cThough my eyes could see I still was a blind man \/ Though my mind could think I still was a mad man \/ I hear the voices when I\u2019m dreaming \/ I can hear them say \/ Carry on my wayward son \/ There\u2019ll be peace when you are done \/ Lay your weary head to rest \/ Don\u2019t you cry no more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\tVideos by American Songwriter\t\t<\/p>\n

Kansas was already putting the finishing touches on Leftoverture when Livgren brought them \u201cCarry On Wayward Son\u201d. They were not planning on adding any more songs, at least not until they heard what Livgren brought them. Band member Steve Walsh, who typically contributed some songs, admitted he had writer\u2019s block. Livgren felt compelled to write more, bringing this song to the band just two days before they were going to start recording.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got one more song that you might want to hear,\u201d Livgren told<\/a> the band. Fortunately, the other members liked it enough that it made it onto the record.<\/p>\n

The Story Behind \u201cCarry On Wayward Son\u201d by Kansas<\/p>\n

\t\t\tPlay video<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Play\"\/<\/p>\n

Livgren reveals that \u201cCarry On Wayward Son\u201d is a bit autobiographical for him and his personal journey at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt a profound urge to \u2018Carry On\u2019 and continue the search,\u201d Livgren says. \u201cI saw myself as the \u2018Wayward Son,\u2019 alienated from the ultimate reality, and yet striving to know it or him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in \u201cCarry On Wayward Son\u201d, the song says, \u201cCarry on \/ You will always remember \/ Carry on \/ Nothing equals the splendor \/ Now your life\u2019s no longer empty \/ Surely heaven waits for you.\u201d The lyric would later become deeply personal to Livgren, although he couldn\u2019t have predicted it at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe positive note at the end (\u2018surely heaven waits for you\u2019) seemed strange and premature, but I felt impelled to include it in the lyrics,\u201d Livgren says. \u201cIt proved to be prophetic.\u201d<\/p>\n

After \u201cCarry On Wayward Son\u201d, it took Kansas three more years until they had another hit single, with \u201cDust In The Wind\u201d. \u201cFight With Fire\u201d, out in 1983, became the band\u2019s final Top 5 single. <\/p>\n

\u201cCarry On Wayward Son\u201d was later recorded by the heavy metal band Anthrax in 2016 for their For All Kings album.<\/p>\n

Photo by Getty Images\/Bob Riha, Jr.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 1976, Kansas released \u201cCarry On Wayward Son\u201d. On their fourth studio album, Leftoverture, \u201cCarry On Wayward Son\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":568936,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[8291,93,61,60,28221,278],"class_list":["post-568935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-classic-rock","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kansas","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/568936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}