Missouri Band
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Missouri is a rock band from
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, known primarily for the song "Movin' On".


History

From 1964 to 1974, Ron West (né Hodgden) was part of a well-remembered Kansas City band, The Chesmann/ Chesmann Square, with his two brothers Gary and Steve, accompanied by Dave Huffines and the late Jimmy McAllister on guitars. Heavily inspired by
British invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...
groups, the band played both live covers and recorded original studio material. Gary West was also a member of the band Shooting Star, which scored several modest AOR hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Led by singer and guitarist Ron West, the band's self-titled first album was released in 1977 on a label called Panama Records. Even though Panama was an independent label, the band garnered substantial airplay on American FM AOR radio stations, specifically with the track "Movin On". Missouri's first gig was opening for
Firefall Firefall is an American country rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement in Zephyr. The band ...
in
Emporia, Kansas Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 24,139. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 ...
. Missouri was the opening act for
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...
's Fourth of July Picnic at
Arrowhead Stadium Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium has been officially named GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stad ...
, Kansas City, Missouri, July 1, 1978. Missouri toured nationally with many major label acts such as
Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock an ...
and
Golden Earring Golden Earring (originally known as The Tornados) was a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Golden Earrings. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on th ...
, among many others. A second album, "Welcome Two Missouri", was released on the larger and international
Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
label in 1979, including a re-recorded version of "Movin' On" minus the original intro. By this time two of the original line up had dropped out. No further recordings were issued except a repackaging of recordings from the previous albums called ''The Best of Missouri''. Missouri songs are available on
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
. Ron West and Bill Larson reunited in 1994 with new members for tours in 1994 and 1995. In 2019 drummer Bill Larson and guitarist Lane Turner (both founding members) reformed the group with Ron West's blessing, adding Rusty Crewse (guitars, backing vocals), Dean Foltz (bass, backing vocals, keyboards) and lead vocalist Stephen Cambell Beckinger. The group began to play concerts in 2019 including an appearance at KSHE's classic rock Pig Roast in August. The pandemic slowed the concert business down to a halt in 2020, however the band has several appearances booked for 2021. Ron West passed away on May 2, 2020, after battling Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) for six years; the band announced his passing via their Facebook page. In the summer of 2022, Frank Drummond joined the band as their new lead singer. On Oct 1st, 2022 at a concert in Richmond MO, the band was joined on stage by original keyboardist Randall Platt for several songs. At another concert in Kansas City in early 2023, Randall Platt joined the band again. This time, playing the entire show.


Members

*Ron West - guitars, vocals (founding member; only ever-present band member) *Alan Cohen - bass (founding member) *Lane Turner - lead guitars (founding member) *Bill Larson - drums (founding member; returned for 1994-1995 reunion) *Randall Platt - keyboards (Randall joined the band near the completion of their first album) *Jeff Littrell - drums (replaced Bill Larson) *Webb Waterman - Lead Guitars (replaced Lane Turner) *Dan Billings - drums (replaced Jeff Littrell) *Rob Brennan - drums (replaced Dan Billings)


Discography

#''
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
'', Panama Records (1977) #''Welcome Two Missouri'',
Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
(1979) #''The Best of Missouri'', Cow Town Records (2003)


References


External links


Missouri's website
* {{Authority control American hard rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups disestablished in 1984 Musical groups reestablished in 1994 Musical groups from Kansas City, Missouri American southern rock musical groups