"Carry On Wayward Son" is a song by American rock band
Kansas
Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...
, released from the band's fourth studio album ''
Leftoverture'' (1976). Written by guitarist
Kerry Livgren, the song became the band's first Top 40 single, reaching No. 11 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 1977.
The song has since remained a
classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
radio staple and a signature song for the band.
Background
While Kansas' previous three albums had split songwriting duties between lead vocalist
Steve Walsh and band member Kerry Livgren, the latter essentially provided all the material for the band's fourth album release, ''Leftoverture''. According to Livgren, "On the very first day of rehearsals, Steve
...said that he had nothing – not a single song. I don't relish that kind of pressure, but with hindsight it really brought out the best in me."
Although based in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, Kansas had returned to their
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...
hometown to work up material for what would be the ''Leftoverture'' album, the band rehearsing in a vacant store in a strip mall the material Livgren was working up on a
Lowrey organ
The Lowrey organ is an electronic organ named for its developer, Frederick C. Lowrey (1871–1955), a Chicago-based industrialist and entrepreneur. Lowrey's first commercially successful full-sized electronic organ, the Model S Spinet or '' ...
at the parental home where he was staying. "Carry On Wayward Son" was written after the band had completed rehearsals. Livgren, who perceived the song as being "beamed down" to him ''in toto'', in 2004 stated: "It's an autobiographical song. Parallel to my musical career I've always been on a spiritual sojourn, looking for truth and meaning. It was a song of self-encouragement. I was telling myself to keep on looking and I would find what I sought."
Livgren was
born again
Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and se ...
on July 25, 1979, and since 1980 recorded primarily as a
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly C ...
artist.
Drummer
Phil Ehart recalled that Livgren mentioned a new song as Kansas was packing up to leave Topeka for
Studio in the Country, the
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
facility where ''Leftoverture'' was recorded from December 1975, with Livgren presenting "Carry On Wayward Son" to his bandmates only after they had reached the studio. In 2004, Ehart recalled, "It was the last, last
ongto be submitted for
...'Leftoverture'
...I can't even remember if we dropped something else to get
ton there
... henwe recorded it, we didn't really think it would be a hit
sit was about six minutes long
...We were on the road
n December 1976 whenour manager
...said: 'Well, you're not gonna believe this, but we actually have a hit song.' We said, 'What?' He said, 'Yeah. "Carry On Wayward Son" is shooting up the charts.' And it barely made it on the album!"
Kansas other guitarist
Rich Williams indicated in 2004 that the success of "Carry On Wayward Son" was not a total surprise to the band: "As far as knowing what a hit was, we didn't have any idea. But we knew there was something special about
Carry On Wayward Son' It was very easy to listen to but still very different."
Release and impact
Subsequent to the October 21, 1976, release of the ''Leftoverture'' album, the track "Carry On Wayward Son" became an
FM radio
FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
favorite,
causing the November 23 single release of a 3:26 edit of the 5:26 album track (itself trimmed from 7:30 minutes). Many
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...
stations aired the full album cut rather than the single edit.
Debuting at No. 86 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 dated December 25, 1976, "Carry On Wayward Son" reached the Top at seven weeks later, the single in its first months of release typically garnering attention in what could be termed secondary markets being "added" by major market radio stations such as
WABC-AM (NYC) and
KHJ-AM (LA) only in March 1977. Ultimately "Carry On Wayward Son" reached a chart peak of No. 11 on the Hot 100 dated April 2, 1977: Internationally the single reached No. 6 in Canada, No. 51 in the UK and No. 58 in Australia All initial releases of the single had a
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
of "Questions of My Childhood".
"Carry on Wayward Son" was later included on all Kansas compilation albums (except for ''
Works in Progress'') and was heard on all Kansas live albums. It was certified Gold by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
for sales of 500,000 units on December 18, 1990, and reached quadruple platinum, or 4 million, on November 26, 2019.
"Carry On Wayward Son" is 96th on
VH1's ''100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs''.
''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Eduardo Rivadavia rated "Carry On Wayward Son" as Kansas' greatest song, saying it "combines their progressive and commercial instincts" and "fluidly shifts between studied technique and an infectious melody, culminating in a soaring chorus."
Personnel
*
Steve Walsh – lead vocals, keyboards, organ
*
Robby Steinhardt – backing vocals
*
Kerry Livgren – guitar, piano
*
Rich Williams – acoustic and electric guitar
*
Dave Hope – bass
*
Phil Ehart – drums
Charts
Certifications
In other media
* "Carry On Wayward Son" is considered the unofficial theme song for the television series ''
Supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
''.
It is heard in the final episode of almost every season of the show, in "The Road So Far"
synopses of previous episodes.
* It is used by the professional wrestling faction
The Elite members
The Young Bucks
The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team and promoters, consisting of brothers Matthew and Nicholas Massie, who are known by their ring names Matt and Nick Jackson, respectively. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...
and
Kenny Omega
Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-ti ...
as their ring entrance music as of November 19, 2022 in
All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE.
AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, ...
’s
Full Gear (2022) Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...
during their return challenging for the
AEW World Trios Championship
The AEW World Trios Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a specialized tag team championship, being contested by teams of three wrestl ...
holders
Death Triangle
Death Triangle is a professional wrestling stable in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) consisting of Pac and The Lucha Brothers ( Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fénix), alongside their manager Alex Abrahantes. The trio are the current AEW World Trios ...
members
PAC Pac or PAC may refer to:
Military
* Rapid Deployment Force (Malaysia), an armed forces unit
* Patriot Advanced Capability, of the MIM-104 Patriot missile
* Civil Defense Patrols (''Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil''), Guatemalan militia and paramil ...
,
Pentagón Jr
Pentagón is a lucha libre, or professional wrestling, persona also referred to as a gimmick that has been portrayed by a number of different people over the years. The gimmick was created as an Evil twin of professional wrestler Octagón and is ...
, and
Fénix to a title match.
[ ]
Note
References
{{authority control
1976 singles
Gwar songs
Kansas (band) songs
Song recordings produced by Jeff Glixman
Songs written by Kerry Livgren
1975 songs