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.

Livgren, raised in Topeka, Kansas, developed an early interest in music and songwriting. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, he played in various bands, exploring spiritual themes in his lyrics. Livgren formed bands such as the Gimlets, Saratoga, and eventually Kansas. With Kansas, he achieved commercial success, writing hit songs like "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind". In 1979, Livgren converted to evangelical Christianity, which influenced his subsequent work. He continued to work with Kansas, formed a new band called AD, and pursued a solo career. Livgren later formed a band called Proto-Kaw, which released new material until 2011. As the primary songwriter for Kansas, Livgren contributed to the band's worldwide success, with numerous Gold and multi-Platinum albums and over 14 million recordings sold.

Livgren was raised in Topeka, Kansas, by his father Allen Leroy, an industrial engineer, and his mother Betty (née McElhiney). He was drawn to music at a young age, and his first musical interests developed with classical and jazz influences. His first equipment included an electric guitar he built using a cheap Stella guitar, a Sears amplifier and a low-quality Astatic microphone. Along with learning guitar, Livgren also focused on learning to write songs due to his desire for more creative expression and originality. He attended Washburn University for some time.

Livgren was a member of numerous bands in the late 1960s and early 1970s and developed a reputation for complex compositions and poetic lyrics that explored spiritual themes. His investigations into various religions are reflected in the lyrics of his songs on Kansas' first six albums.

Livgren formed his first band, the Gimlets, with several close friends in high school, including John Pribble, drums, Scott Kessler, bass, Tim Strauss, guitar, and Dan Wright on keyboards. They soon found themselves booked after school and on weekends throughout Kansas and neighboring Missouri, where they played their original compositions, a blend of pop, English and psychedelic rock. After graduating from Topeka West High School in 1967, Livgren continued to perform with the Gimlets while at Washburn University. He then joined a predominantly black mainstream rhythm-and-blues band named the Mellotones, in which he met keyboard player Don Montre in 1969.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.