"Carry On Wayward Son" is a progressive rock single recorded by Kansas and written by Kerry Livgren for their 1976 album Leftoverture. In 1977, the song peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard pop singles chart, becoming their first Top 40 hit.[citation needed] The song is in chromatic-minor and features the Neapolitan chord.[1]
The 7" single has been certified Gold by the RIAA. This version was a much shorter version of the song, edited down to 3:26, a version that was also the band's only single to chart in the UK, reaching number 51 there.[2] It was also the first 12" single released by the band[citation needed] when it was released in the UK in that format, though it was the edited version. All initial releases of the single had a B-side of "Questions of My Childhood". The song was later re-released on the Kansas compilation albums The Best of Kansas, On the Other Side, The Kansas Boxed Set, The Ultimate Kansas, and Sail On: The 30th Anniversary Collection. It was also included on the live Kansas albums Two for the Show, Live at the Whisky, King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Kansas, Dust in the Wind, Device, Voice, Drum, and There's Know Place Like Home, along with the DVD companions to Device, Voice, Drum and There's Know Place Like Home.
This song is 96th on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.[3]
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (1976) |
Peak
position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 |
11 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles |
5 |
| United Kingdom Singles Chart |
51 |
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