Editing Kansas (band) (section)

===1974–1979: rise to national prominence===
[[File:1976 - Ag Hall Concert Poster - Allentown Fair - Allentown PA.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Promotional poster for Kansas' 1976 concert in [[Allentown, Pennsylvania]]]]
Their 1974 [[Kansas (Kansas album)|self-titled debut album]], produced by Gold, was released in March 1974, nearly a year after it was recorded in New York.<ref name="Larkin"/> It defined the band's signature sound, a mix of American-style [[boogie rock]] and complex, symphonic arrangements with changing time signatures. Steinhardt's violin was a distinctive element of the group's sound, being defined more by [[heartland rock]] than the jazz and classical influences which most progressive rock violinists followed.

The band slowly developed a cult following due to promotion by Kirshner and extensive touring for the debut album and its two follow-ups, ''[[Song for America]]'' (February 1975) and ''[[Masque (Kansas album)|Masque]]'' (October 1975). ''Song for America'' was co-produced by Wally Gold and their former White Clover bandmate [[Jeff Glixman]], who would go on to produce all of their albums from ''Masque'' to ''[[Two for the Show (Kansas album)|Two for the Show]]'' (October 1978) on his own, returning to the helm for 1995's ''Freaks of Nature''. Both ''Masque'' and their next release, ''Leftoverture'', were recorded at a studio in the middle of the Louisiana [[Bayou]] named [[Studio in the Country]].

Kansas released its fourth album, ''[[Leftoverture]]'', in October 1976, which produced a hit single, "[[Carry On Wayward Son]]", in 1977. The follow-up, ''[[Point of Know Return]]'', recorded at [[Studio in the Country]] in [[Bogalusa, Louisiana]] and [[Woodland Sound Studios]] in [[Nashville]] and released in October 1977, featured [[Point of Know Return (song)|the title track]] and "[[Dust in the Wind]]", both hit singles. ''Leftoverture'' was a breakthrough for the band, hitting No. 5 on ''Billboard''{{'}}s pop album chart. ''Point of Know Return'' peaked even higher, at No. 4. Both albums sold over four million copies in the U.S. Both "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind" were certified [[music recording sales certification|gold singles]], selling over one million units each. "Dust in the Wind" was certified gold as a digital download by the [[RIAA]] in 2005, almost 30 years after selling one million copies as a single. ''Leftoverture'' was eventually certified five-times platinum by the RIAA in 2001.

During this period, Kansas became a major headlining act and sold out the largest venues available to rock bands at the time, including [[New York City|New York]]'s [[Madison Square Garden]]. The band documented this era in 1978 with ''[[Two for the Show (Kansas album)|Two for the Show]]'', a [[double album|double]] [[live album]] of recordings from various performances from its 1977 and 1978 tours. The band gained a solid reputation for faithful live reproduction of their studio recordings.

In March 1978 Kansas was brought over to tour Europe for the very first time and later on that same year, they were named [[UNICEF]] Deputy [[UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador|Ambassadors of Goodwill]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nehrecords.com/shop/KansasPoint.html |title=Kansas - Point Of No Return |publisher=Nehrecords.com |date=June 27, 1978 |access-date=April 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309115828/http://www.nehrecords.com/shop/KansasPoint.html |archive-date=March 9, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The follow-up studio album to ''Point of Know Return'' was ''[[Monolith (Kansas album)|Monolith]]'' (May 1979), which was self-produced. The album generated a [[Top 40]] single in "[[People of the South Wind]]", whose title refers to the meaning of the 'Kanza' ([[Kaw people|Kaw]]) Native American people, after whom the state and the band are named. The album failed to garner the sales and radio airplay of its two predecessors. Nevertheless, the album eventually went platinum. Livgren's platinum award for the album is on display at the [[Kansas Museum of History]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kshs.org/cool3/record.htm |title=Cool Things, Kansas Platinum Record, Kansas Historical Society |publisher=Kshs.org |access-date=April 18, 2011}}</ref> The band toured the US for ''Monolith'' during the summer and fall of 1979 then went over to tour Japan for the first time in January 1980.