Carry On Wayward Son

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"Carry On Wayward Son"
Single by Kansas
from the album Leftoverture
A-side	"Carry On Wayward Son"
B-side	"Questions of My Childhood"
Released	October 1976
Recorded	December 1975
Genre	Progressive rock, hard rock
Length	5:26
Label	Kirshner Records
Writer(s)	Kerry Livgren
Producer	Jeff Glixman, Kansas
Kansas singles chronology
"It Takes a Woman's Love (To Make a Man)" (1976) "Carry On Wayward Son" (1976) "What's on My Mind" (1977)

"Carry On Wayward Son" is a hit progressive rock single recorded by Kansas and written by Kerry Livgren for their 1976 album Leftoverture. In 1977, the song peaked at #11 on the Billboard pop singles chart, becoming their first Top 40 hit. Because of its lyrics, the song is often misnamed as "Carry On My Wayward Son".

The 7" single has been certified Gold by the RIAA. This song was selected among the best 500 rock songs by Rolling Stone.

This song is 96^th on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.^[1]

Contents 1 Covers 2 Films 3 Television 4 Personnel 5 References

[edit] Covers

• "Carry On Wayward Son" was covered by the all-female Christian rock band Rachel Rachel on their 1991 debut album Way To My Heart, with legendary session guitarist Dann Huff playing the guitar solos. The band shot a video that showed them playing the song on stage with a mysterious stranger watching from the wings, who is then revealed to be none other than Kerry Livgren, the song's composer.
• It was covered by Canadian Christian rock band Critical Mass, garnering a nomination for Best Rock Song of the year in 2005 at the Canadian Gospel Music Association.
• It was covered by Yngwie Malmsteen on his 1996 album Inspiration.
• More recently, it was covered by The Oak Ridge Boys.
• Was adapted to "Carry On Joe Conason" on The Al Franken Show as a theme song for writer Joe Conason, a regular on the show.
• Riffs from this song are incorporated into "The Big Medley" by Dream Theater from their 1995 EP A Change of Seasons.
• Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, mash up DJ used "Carry On Wayward Son" for one of many of his sample-based remixes, "Warm It Up" on his 2006 album Night Ripper.
• Christian metal band, The Showdown, covered the song on their Temptation Come My Way album, and performed this song during the 2007 Ozzfest tour.
• A cover of the song is featured in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 music video game Guitar Hero II, while the master track is featured in Rock Band 2, Rock Band Unplugged and Guitar Hero: Smash Hits.
• The University of Colorado Golden Buffaloes Marching Band typically plays this song at the Coors Events Center during basketball games

[edit] Films

• "Carry On Wayward Son" was used in the film Heroes with Henry Winkler and Sally Field. It would normally appear in the last four minutes of the film where Winkler is running down the street, then to crouch down in shame and agony, after being told his friend from Vietnam was shot in the war. When MCA purchased the film, they removed that footage and the audio track, and replaced it with different footage of Winkler in fetal position being embraced by Field, and a different song.
• "Carry On Wayward Son" is played in the ending credits of the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. The song was also played in the film's theatrical trailer.
• The song appears in the film Happy Gilmore.
• It is played for a brief section in Joe Dirt as David Spade cruises in his 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona.
• It appears in the film The Odyssey.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Television

• "Carry On Wayward Son" has been used to promote the The CW Television Network television show Supernatural, and was used in the opening moments of "Salvation" (Season 1, Episode 21), "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 2" (Season 2, Episode 22), "No Rest For the Wicked" (Season 3, Episode 16), and "Lucifer Rising" (Season 4, Episode 22) when they recap the story so far. Fans commonly link the show to the song now, due to its use and lyrics (The lead characters are from Kansas as well). The song is used to recap the show on each seasons' finale.
• Stephen Colbert sings "Carry On Wayward Son" during the end credits of the episode "Yes You Can't" of the television series Strangers with Candy.
• On the "Cocktails" episode of the US version of The Office, the song is being played in the bar when Pam tells Roy about the kiss she and Jim had, and when Roy and his brother trash the bar.
• The U.S. television network PBS sometimes plays the song during advertisements for upcoming shows.
• The song is featured on the South Park episode "Guitar Queer-o". This episode also featured a cover of this song by Trey Parker, one of the show's creators and main voice actors, as he voices the character Randy Marsh.
• In the King of The Hill episode "My Own Private Rodeo", Dale flashes back to the reception of his and Nancy's wedding, as "Carry On Wayward Son" is played in the background.
• Amanda Overmyer performed "Carry On Wayward Son" on American Idol (season 7).
• A gifted student sings the song after being accidentally rendered stupid in the "Young, Gifted & Crude" episode of Beavis and Butt-head.
• On the "My Lawyer's In Love" episode of Scrubs, Ted and his crooner buddies sing the song to build Ted's confidence to talk to Stephanie Gooch, a woman he likes.
• The song was used in Drawn Together episode, "Dumb & Dumbers", when Wooldoor accidentally hits a song in a panic room.

[edit] Personnel

• Phil Ehart - drums
• Dave Hope - bass
• Kerry Livgren - Lead Guitar, Piano
• Robby Steinhardt - Backing Vocals, Tambourine
• Steve Walsh - Lead Vocals, Hammond organ
• Rich Williams - Rhythm Guitar

[edit] References