Robby Steinhardt, a former violinist, and vocalist with Kansas have died at the age of 71.
Robby Steinhardt, a co-founder and former member of the Topeka-based progressive rock band Kansas, will live on in the minds, spirits, and music of the band's current and past members, according to a statement released Monday.
Steinhardt, whose classically inspired violin playing set Kansas apart from other rock bands, died of pancreatitis complications at the age of 71 on Saturday in a Tampa, Fla., hospital.
During his 18 years with Kansas, Steinhardt acted as emcee and shared lead vocal responsibilities with Steve Walsh. In a statement posted on the band's Facebook page on Monday, current and former members expressed their sadness.
"What he gave us as bandmates, the people that came to our shows, and the sound of Kansas will always be heartfelt," they added. "We adore him and will always miss him."
Steinhardt's death was revealed by his wife, Cindy Steinhardt, on her personal Facebook page on Monday.
“We are beyond devastated,” she added, “as our lives were about to embark on a new adventure.”
Cindy Steinhardt stated on Facebook that Robby Steinhardt had just finished recording his debut solo album with music producer Michael Franklin at Orlando, Fla.-based Solar Studio and intended to go on tour in August.
Her spouse was sent to the hospital in May with severe pancreatitis, then fell into septic shock and was put on life support, she claimed.
Steinhardt healed but got another sepsis just as he was ready to be released from the hospital following a 65-day stay, according to Cindy Steinhardt.
Robby Steinhardt, 1967 Topeka West High School graduate Kerry Livgren, 1968 Topeka West grads Rich Williams, Phil Ehart, and Dave Hope, and Walsh, who grew up in St. Joseph, Mo., were among the founding members of Kansas. With the exception of Steinhardt, everyone survives.
Robby Steinhardt was born and raised in Lawrence, Kansas, as the son of Milton Steinhardt, a music professor at the University of Kansas.
Despite this, Steinhardt considered himself a Topekan because of the time he spent here whipping Kansas "into shape," as he remarked in July 2016 at an event in the NOTO Arts District in North Topeka.
"I think nobody truly recognized there was an inspiration here," he added. "Kerry did it first, and the rest of us followed suit."
Robby Steinhardt was a founding member of White Clover, a Topeka-based progressive rock band that morphed into Kansas in 1973.
Kansas' distinctive symphonic sound made its members rock stars.
They had seven top 40 singles, including "Dust in the Wind" and "Carry on Wayward Son." They sold more than 15 million albums and had seven top 40 hits.
Steinhardt departed Kansas in 1982 for personal reasons, later fronting his own band, Steinhardt-Moon, and then being a member of the Stormbringer Band.
In 1997, Steinhardt returned to Kansas.
"Welcome, Kansas, and welcome to Kansas," he declared at the start of the band's performance at the Topeka Performing Arts Center in 2002, which drew a standing-room-only crowd.
According to The Capital-Journal, Kansas and its viewers "raised above the clamor and chaos" that day to share a shared experience.
Steinhardt left the band again in 2006 due to the band's hectic traveling schedule.
Kansas is still performing, with Williams and Ehart as the sole original members. Kansas has relocated to Atlanta.
In 2013, Steinhardt died after a heart attack.
He joined Kansas for one song during the band's final show in Topeka in July 2016, not playing violin but exchanging lead vocal duties with current Kansas vocalist Ronnie Platt on the band's 1977 classic "Sparks of the Tempest."
On his own Facebook page, Cindy Steinhardt urged followers to share their recollections of his spouse.
"When I first heard Kansas at the age of 14, your skill on the violin was the first thing that leaped out at me," remarked Dutch Dehnert of Middletown, Pennsylvania. "You were a wonderful vocalist and the best Master of Ceremonies in rock music history, the Grand Poobah, twirling your violin and whirling your enormous mane of hair beneath the limelight that shone on your center stage," says the Grand Poobah.
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