Steve Walsh (born June 15, 1951) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work as a longtime member of the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...

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 ...

; he retired from the band in 2014. He sings lead on four of Kansas' best-known hits: " Carry On Wayward Son," " Dust in the Wind", " Point of Know Return", and " All I Wanted", the last two of which he co-wrote.

Career

Walsh was in a number of local groups prior to his joining Kansas, most notably the group White Clover that later merged with another band to form Kansas. White Clover toured frequently and developed their sound. They merged with another local band, also called Kansas, and were signed to

Don Kirshner Donald Kirshner (April 17, 1934 – January 17, 2011) was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by ''Time'' magazine, he was best known ...

's label with the name Kansas. During Walsh's time with the band, Kansas recorded two commercially successful albums, 1976's '' Leftoverture'' and 1977's '' Point of Know Return''. With Kansas, Walsh has released 12 studio albums, six live albums, and numerous singles. He has released three solo albums thus far. In 1978 he was invited, along with Kansas drummer Phil Ehart, to play on

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...

's second solo album '' Please Don't Touch''. He sang on two of the LP's songs, "Narnia" and "Racing in A". Hackett released "Narnia" as a single, but not before Walsh's management insisted that Hackett re-cut the track with another vocalist so as not to confuse Kansas fans into believing the track was a new Kansas release. John Perry sang the "Narnia" vocal for the single release version. Walsh left Kansas after 1980's '' Audio-Visions'' due to creative differences with the band's primary songwriter Kerry Livgren. Earlier in 1980, he released his first solo album, '' Schemer-Dreamer'', which included bandmates Livgren, Rich Williams and Phil Ehart, as well as guitarist

Steve Morse Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...

(who in 1985 joined the revamped Kansas). It contains the song "Every Step of the Way". In 1982 he formed a rock band called

Streets Streets is the plural of street, a type of road. Streets or The Streets may also refer to: Music * Streets (band), a rock band fronted by Kansas vocalist Steve Walsh * ''Streets'' (punk album), a 1977 compilation album of various early UK punk ba ...

with guitarist Mike Slamer, which released the albums ''

1st First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

'' in 1983 and '' Crimes in Mind'' in 1985 before disbanding. As a guest vocalist, Walsh has appeared on numerous other artists' recordings. Kansas replaced Walsh with vocalist with

John Elefante John Elefante (born March 18, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and record producer. From 1981-1984, he was lead vocalist of the rock group Kansas and is currently touring with several groups that have featured members fro ...

until their split in 1984, but reformed in 1986 with Walsh as lead singer. He remained with the band until his retirement in 2014. Walsh released his second solo album ''

Glossolalia Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...

'' in 2000. In 2003 he and Daniele Liverani formed the band Khymera. Walsh sang lead vocals on their first self-titled album. Adding to this album were Billy Greer and former Streets bandmate Mike Slamer. His third solo album '' Shadowman'' followed in 2005 (reissued in 2007 with bonus tracks), with the collaboration of Joe Franco on drums,

Joel Kosche Joel Sefton Kosche ( ; born September 20, 1969) is an American musician. He is best known for his thirteen-year tenure as the lead guitarist of the rock band Collective Soul. He is also a solo artist, and tours with his backing band, Joel Kosch ...

on guitars and bass, and David Ragsdale on the re-issued version of the album's bonus tracks. On June 30, 2014, Walsh announced he would retire from Kansas after 41 years. In 2015 Walsh contributed vocals to the Radioactive album ''F4UR'', which was released on April 7, and he sings lead on the song "The Piper". In November 2017 Walsh released a collaborative "solo" album between Walsh and Tommy Denander on the Escape Music label, entitled ''Black Butterfly''.

Discography

Solo * (1980) '' Schemer-Dreamer'' * (2000) ''

'' * (2005) '' Shadowman'' * (2007) '' Dark Day & Faule Dr Roane'' (single releases available only via MP3 download) * (2017) ''Black Butterfly''

* (1983) ''

'' * (1985) '' Crimes in Mind'' * (1997) '' King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Streets'' or ''

Live-Shakedown ''King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Streets'' is a 1983 recording of a Streets concert. The album features Streets live on their first tour, which was in support of the debut album on Atlantic Records. While the band featured the familiar voice ...

'' Contributions * (1978)

– '' Please Don't Touch'' * (1980) Kerry Livgren – '' Seeds of Change'' * (1983) Paul Barrére – ''

On My Own Two Feet ''On My Own Two Feet'' is the 1983 debut album by Paul Barrére. It features Steve Walsh from Kansas, Bill Payne from Little Feat and Keith Knudsen from The Doobie Brothers. Track listing # "Sweet Coquette" # "High Roller" # "Fool For You" # ...

'' * (1990)

Blonz Blonz was a glam metal band from Atlanta, GA that formed in 1986. They were signed by Lenny Petze (Cheap Trick/Boston) in the wake of glam metal's explosive popularity, recorded one album for Epic Records, and then disappeared. The album was re ...

– ''Blonz'' * (1993) Jeff Watson – ''

Around the Sun ''Around the Sun'' is the 13th studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on October 5, 2004 on Warner Bros. Records. Description The album was released in three editions: Cassette (the band's final release on the medium), ...

'' * (2000) Vince DiCola – '' In-Vince-ible!'' * (2000)

Christmas Collection with Father Rodgers Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

– ''

Remember the One Remember may refer to: Film and television * ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson * ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film * ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...

'' * (2001)

Seventh Key Seventh Key is an American rock band formed by Mike Slamer of City Boy and Streets and Billy Greer of Streets and Kansas. They record and perform live during Greer's downtime from Kansas. The current lineup consists of Greer on bass and lead ...

– ''

'' * (2001) Trent Gardner – ''

Leonardo - The Absolut Man Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scient ...

'' * (2001)

The December People ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

– ''

Sounds Like Christmas In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

'' * (2002)

Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

– '' Raising the Mammoth'' * (2002)

Daniele Liverani Daniele is an Hebrew male given name, the cognate of the English name Daniel. Danièle is a French female given name, an alternative spelling of Danielle. Men with the given name Daniele * Daniele Bracciali (born 1978), Italian tennis player * ...

– ''

Genius - A Rock Opera Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

'' * (2003) Saint James Parish – ''

Come Home for Christmas Come may refer to: *Comè, a city and commune in Benin *Come (Tenos), an ancient town on Tenos island, Greece Music *Come (American band), an American indie rock band formed in 1990 *Come (UK band), a British noise project founded in 1979 **Come ...

'' * (2003) Khymera – '' Khymera'' * (2006) Moonstone Project - ''

Time to Take a Stand Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' * (2010)

– ''

Fight Years Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, o ...

'' * (2010)

Roswell Six Roswell may refer to: * Roswell incident Places in the United States * Roswell, Colorado, a former settlement now part of Colorado Springs * Roswell, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta * Roswell, Idaho * Roswell, New Mexico, known for the purported 1 ...

– '' Terra Incognita: A Line in the Sand'' * (2014) Radioactive – ''F4UR'' * (2022) LALU – ''Paint the Sky''

Studio Albums * (1974) ''

'' * (1975) '' Song for America'' * (1975) ''

Masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masq ...

'' * (1976) '' Leftoverture'' * (1977) '' Point of Know Return'' * (1979) ''

Monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often ma ...

'' * (1980) '' Audio-Visions'' * (1986) '' Power'' * (1988) '' In the Spirit of Things'' * (1995) '' Freaks of Nature'' * (1998) '' Always Never the Same'' * (2000) ''

Somewhere to Elsewhere ''Somewhere to Elsewhere'' is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band Kansas, released in 2000. It is Kansas' first album to feature the band's original lineup since 1980's '' Audio-Visions'', along with Billy Greer, who joined the ban ...

'' Live Albums * (1978) '' Two for the Show'' * (1992) '' Live at the Whisky'' * (1998) ''

King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Kansas ''King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Kansas'' is the third live album from American rock band Kansas, released in 1998 (see 1998 in music). In the UK it was released as ''Live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour'', and in 2003 it was re-released as ' ...

'' * (2002) '' Device, Voice, Drum'' (CD/DVD) * (2009) '' There's Know Place Like Home'' (CD/DVD) Compilations * (1984) '' The Best of Kansas'' * (1992) '' Carry On'' * (1994) '' The Kansas Boxed Set'' * (1999) '' The Best of Kansas'' xpanded* (1999) '' Definitive Collection'' * (2002) ''

The Ultimate Kansas ''The Ultimate Kansas'' is the fourth compilation from the band Kansas. It was originally released in 2002, and focuses solely on their Kirshner period from their debut album ''Kansas'' in 1974, up to and including '' Drastic Measures'' in 1983. ...

'' * (2004) '' Sail On: The 30th Anniversary Collection'' * (2006) '' Works in Progress''

References

External links

Official website for Kansas

Steve Walsh official website

ProgRock Records press release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Steve 1951 births American rock musicians Kansas (band) members American tenors Living people People from St. Joseph, Missouri Singers from Kansas American adoptees American rock keyboardists American rock pianists American male pianists American rock singers American rock percussionists 20th-century American pianists American organists American harmonica players Explorers Club (band) members 20th-century American keyboardists