Many of his earlier Kansas songs reveal a man who was searching for meaning and truth. He spent much of his spare time reading books on history, philosophy and religion. He was a philosopher, a thinker and an avid reader. Kansas songs were soon among the most popular on all the FM Rock stations in the US and his band were considered the best rock act of the era.Ī genuine, gifted artist and a family man, Kerry never took drugs and was not interested in the sleeping with ‘groupies’. He had all the wealth and success that a young man could want in this world, along with a good marriage. On the back of this one song alone, Livgren had become a megastar musician and songwriter almost overnight. ‘Carry on Wayward Son’ was a huge worldwide hit at the time, but, moreover, it has been a rock staple ever since. Kansas were already a popular rock act across the USA when, in 1976, Kerry wrote an all-time classic rock song that took the band on to global success. In retrospect, I am very glad I did have a church background because it gave me a structured background to come back to.” I’m not saying my family was not Christian. “ I see many who were raised up in a church-going family as opposed to a Christian family. Referring to the famous quote by Billy Graham, he said that he had received just enough cultural Christian teaching to inoculate him against the real thing Livgren describes his family participation in faith as “ typical cultural American Christianity”. “ A Christian was either a hypocrite who went to church on Sundays as a social manoeuvre, or a wild-eyed Jesus freak who fanatically threw tracts at people on the street and told them they were going to fry in hell.” In his autobiography ‘Seeds of Change’ he wrote, But he explains that popular faith at the time was more cultural than spiritual, and heavily mingled with US politics. His family were consistent church members and he absorbed the foundations of Christianity as he grew up. The following year they were signed to Kirschner records and soon emerged as one of the best rock groups in North America.Īs a baby, Kerry had been confirmed into the Christian faith of the Lutheran church. In 1973, Livgren was one of the two founding members of rock group ‘Kansas’. Kerry Livgren lived in Topeka, Kansas, and started playing in local rock groups while he was still a teenager. Decades after release it is still one of the most requested rock singles on classic rock radio stations. While the latter song spent nearly four years on the Billboard singles chart, ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ is arguably the best known.
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