Songoftheday - You think that somethings happening, and it's bigger than your life..

Kansas - "Play The Game Tonight"

from the album Vinyl Confessions (1982)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #17 (three weeks)

weeks in the top-40: 9

Tonight's Song of the Day is by the arena-rock band Kansas, named for the state they hail from. They cemented their most successful lineup in the mid-70s, and in 1976 had their first top-40 pop hit with the classic rock standard "Carry On My Wayward Son". Two years later they had their biggest hit, the top-10 pop "Dust In The Wind".

However, by the end of the decade creative tensions in the band led to the departure of lead singer Steve Walsh, and after auditioning new leads (including Sammy Hagar), the band recruited John Elefante. At the same time, founding members Kerry Livgren and Dave Hope pointed the band's music in more of a subtle Christian-rock direction. Vinyl Confessions was the first album released with Elefante in the lead vocal role. "Play The Game Tonight" was released as the first single, and it became the groups third-biggest hit (after the two mentionned above). Roger Taylor of Queen sings background vocals...

The band would continue to record one more studio album with Elefante, before shuffling again with Livgren and Hope leaving the band and original vocalist Walsh coming back in the late 80's, where they had their final top-20 hit, "All I Wanted". The two came back to reunite with the group in the 90's, and have appeared off and on with them since, but still under Walsh, playing the oldies rock circuit.

Up tomorrow: A Jersey Cowboy has his final solo top-40 hit.