Brian Hyland

pop charts. 1967 and the so-called "Summer of Love" radically altered the musical climate for short, cutesy pop songs and Hyland would not have any song chart again with the notable exception being "Gypsy Woman", a song he wrote in 1970 that was produced by Del Shannon. The 1990s saw a string of barely noticed releases, and Kansas has continued to tour year after year, but the band has never been able to regain any mass popularity or critical notice. From 1963 through 1966, Hyland failed to repeat his earlier success, with several minor hits but none reaching higher than #20 ("The Joker Went Wild") on the U.S. In spite of a successful 1982 album called Vinyl Confessions, the group split in 1983, only to reform in 1986 with the album Power. Hyland's other well-known hit was 1962's "Sealed With A Kiss", an eventual oldies radio standard that reached #3 on the American charts and remained on the charts for 11 weeks. Hope and Livgren became born-again Christians and Walsh formed a new band, replaced by John Elefante. The song was a smash hit as it managed to hit #1 on the American charts for one week and remained on the charts a total of 13 weeks. After a few more albums, Kansas began to fall apart in the early 1980s.

In 1960, Hyland scored his first and biggest hit, "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini", a song that was as much about the 60s beach and surf culture as it was about scantier female swimwear and the males who appreciated it. By the time the band's fourth album, Leftoverture (1976) was released, Kansas was popular enough for the album to be a smash hit and a constant presence on the burgeoning AOR radio format, as was the followup Point of Know Return (1977). Although not known as a major force in the history of rock and roll, Hyland did record two notable songs before his pop music success declined in the late 1960s. Relentless promotion by Kirshner and touring behind the debut album and its two followups slowly brought Kansas' name to households across America. Brian Hyland (born November 12, 1943) was a moderately successful pop artist from Queens, New York during the 1960s. A somewhat successful debut album, Kansas, was released in 1974, and showcased Kansas' signature mix of guitars, keyboards, vocals, and Steinhardt's ever-present violin submerging American-style boogie-rock in complex arrangements and changing time signatures. Upon the arrival of Kerry Livgren (keyboards, guitar) the band's name was changed to Kansas and the group soon won a record deal with Don Kirshner's eponymous label.

Dave Hope (bass), Phil Ehart (drums), Robby Steinhardt (violin), Steve Walsh (keyboards, vocals) and Rich Williams (guitar) had formed a group called White Clover in their hometown of Topeka, Kansas. In spite of a harsh critical reception then and now, Kansas has remained a classic rock radio staple. Kansas is a 1970s American rock and roll band, specializing in progressive rock with a distinctly American flavor. 2003 From The Front Row...Live!.

2002 Device, Voice, Drum. 2000 Somewhere to Elsewhere. 1998 King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents. 1998 Always Never the Same.

1995 Freaks of Nature. 1992 Live at the Whisky. 1988 In the Spirit of Things. 1986 Power.

1983 Drastic Measures. 1982 Vinyl Confessions. 1980 Audio-Visions. 1979 Monolith.

1978 Two for the Show. 1977 Point of Know Return. 1976 Leftoverture. 1975 Masque.

1974 Song for America. 1974 Kansas.