Dust in the Wind
"Dust in the Wind" is a song recorded by American progressive rock band Kansas and written by band member Kerry Livgren, first released on their 1977 album Point of Know Return.
The song peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of April 22, 1978, making it Kansas's only top ten Billboard Hot 100 charting single. The 45-rpm single was certified Gold for sales of one million units by the RIAA shortly after the height of its popularity as a hit single. More than 25 years later, the RIAA certified Gold the digital download format of the song, Kansas' only single to do so certified as of September 17, 2008.
Kansas version
Inspiration
The title of the song is a Bible reference, paraphrasing Ecclesiastes:A meditation on mortality and the inevitability of death, the lyrical theme bears a striking resemblance to the well-known biblical passages Genesis 3:19 and Ecclesiastes 3:20 as well as to the famous opening lines of the Japanese war epic The Tale of the Heike and from a book of Native American poetry, which includes the line "for all we are is dust in the wind."
Writing/ recording/ impact
| 'Kansas band members comment on the Top Ten success of "Dust in the Wind" |
| Steve Walsh : "I thought would be a hit from the very first. It the basic formulas - the Boston, Foreigner, Heart formula - that most groups try to follow. They don't realize that it's not the formula , it's the song." Phil Ehart : "We're a hard rock band that's known mostly for a ballad we did ten years ago. We're an album band & it's a fluke of our songs was a hit single." Rich Williams : "Our hits are hits by accident. 'Dust in the Wind' & ' Wayward Son' aren't formula songs. They were flukes." |
Kerry Livgren devised what would be the guitar line for "Dust in the Wind" as a finger exercise for learning fingerpicking. His wife, Vicci, heard what he was doing, remarked that the melody was nice, and encouraged him to write lyrics for it. Livgren was unsure whether his fellow band members would like it, since it was a departure from their signature style. After Kansas had rehearsed all the songs intended for the band's recording sessions of June and July 1976, Livgren played "Dust in the Wind" for his bandmates, who after a moment's "stunned silence" asked: "Kerry, where has this been?" Kansas guitarist Rich Williams would recall that Livgren played his bandmates "a real rough recording of him playing on an old reel to reel. just kind of mumbl the lyrics, even in that bare form...we said: 'That’s our next single.'"
Recorded at Woodland Studios in Nashville, "Dust in the Wind" featured electric guitar maestro Livgren playing a Martin D-28 acoustic guitar borrowed from Williams : highlighted by the electric violin work of Robby Steinhardt, the track featured Steve Walsh as lead vocalist despite being recorded after Walsh had given his immediately effective resignation to his bandmates.
In fact passed-over as lead single choice in favor of its parent album's title cut, "Dust in the Wind" began receiving radio airplay as an album track, factoring into the underperformance of the "Point of No Return" single which dropped out of the Top 40 from its Billboard Hot 100 peak of No. 29 the week the rush-released single of "Dust in the Wind" debuted at No. 81 on the Hot 100 dated January 21, 1978. On the Hot 100 dated April 1, 1978 "Dust in the Wind" reached No. 10—besting the No. 11 peak of the 1977 Kansas breakout hit "Carry on Wayward Son"—rising to a Hot 100 peak of No. 6 with a total Top Ten tenure of seven weeks. "Dust in the Wind" would remain the all-time highest charting single for Kansas: of the group's five subsequent Top 40 hits, only two would reach the Top 20, "Play the Game Tonight" and "All I Wanted" having respective Hot 100 peaks of No. 17 and No. 19.
Billboard praised the song's "evocative lyrics", "catchy melody" as well as the lead vocal performance and how the string instruments evoke the mood.
Kansas also released a live version of the "Dust in the Wind" on their album Two for the Show and a symphonic version on Always Never the Same''.
Personnel
- Steve Walsh – lead vocals
- Kerry Livgren – acoustic guitar
- Rich Williams – acoustic guitar
- Robby Steinhardt – violin, viola, backing and harmony vocals
Chart performance