Richard John Williams (born February 1, 1950) is an American guitarist, primarily known for being one of the only consistent original members of the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

alongside drummer

Phil Ehart Phillip W. Ehart (born February 4, 1950) is the drummer in the progressive rock band Kansas. He and Rich Williams are the only two members who have appeared on every Kansas album. Though his songwriting contributions to the group were few, he co ...

. Both have appeared on every Kansas album to date.

Career

Williams shared guitar duties with keyboardist/guitarist

Kerry Livgren Kerry Allen Livgren (born September 18, 1949) is an American musician, best known as one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the American rock band Kansas. Biography Livgren was raised in Topeka, Kansas, by his father Allen ...

until 1984 when Kansas first broke up, and later from 1990 to 1991 as well as 1999–2000. From 1985 to 1991, he shared guitar-playing with

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 ...

, and later with Zak Rizvi from 2016 to 2021. Since April 2021, Williams has served as the bands only dedicated guitarist, as he also did from 1991 to 1999, and 2000–2016.

David Ragsdale David Lasater Ragsdale (born April 3, 1958) is an American musician. He is best known as the violinist for the rock band Kansas from 1991 to 1997 and from 2006 to the present. He toured for four years with Louise Mandrell before joining Kansas, a ...

will sometimes serve as a second guitarist when the band plays songs with little or no violin, such as "

Portrait (He Knew) "Portrait (He Knew)" is a song by the United States, American progressive rock band Kansas (band), Kansas. It was written by Kerry Livgren and Steve Walsh (musician), Steve Walsh and was recorded for the band's fifth album, ''Point of Know Return ...

", "

Fight Fire With Fire Fight Fire with Fire may refer to: *"Fight Fire With Fire", a single by Mai Tai (band) 1987 * "Fight Fire with Fire" (Kansas song) * "Fight Fire with Fire" (Metallica song) * "Fight Fire with Fire" (The Prodigy song) Fighting Fire with Fire ...

", and "

Carry On Wayward Son "Carry On Wayward Son" is a song by American rock band Kansas, 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 ...

". Williams and

are the only two founding members of Kansas who have never left the band and have played on all Kansas albums. Among the songs he co-wrote with the band are "Can I Tell You", "No Room for a Stranger", and the hit " Play the Game Tonight". In 2009, Williams, along with fellow Kansas members Ehart,

Billy Greer Billy Greer (born January 26, 1952) is an American musician, singer and songwriter known as the current bass guitarist for the band Kansas. He joined the band in their 1985 reformation, making his debut appearance on ''Power''. He had previously ...

, and

formed a group called

Native Window Native Window was an American progressive rock spin-off band of the popular rock group Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, a ...

. As of 2022, they have only released one album, which was released the same year the band was formed.

Discography

Kansas

Native Window

(2009)

As a guest

* Steve Walsh –

Schemer-Dreamer ''Schemer-Dreamer'' is the first solo album by Steve Walsh, the original keyboardist/vocalist of the progressive rock band Kansas. It was released in 1980. Although this is his solo album, it features other members of Kansas including Kerry Livgr ...

(1980) (on "Schemer-Dreamer/That's All Right") *

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 vo ...

–

(2001) (on "Missy", "Every Time It Rains" and "No Man's Land") *

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 ...

– On My Way To The Sun (2013) (on "This Is How The Story Goes")

Personal life

Williams lost his right eye in a childhood fireworks accident. He wore a prosthetic eye for many years but now wears an

eye patch An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...

instead. As a child, Williams began playing on a

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

but quickly transitioned to guitar. His early influences included

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and the overall

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 ...

. In 2020, Williams and his wife, Debbie, relocated to Linville, North Carolina. Williams is also a fan of the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

External links

Richard Williams fan site

References

1951 births Living people Musicians from Topeka, Kansas American rock guitarists American male guitarists American people with disabilities Kansas (band) members Progressive rock guitarists Guitarists from Kansas 20th-century American guitarists {{US-rock-guitarist-stub