Robert Eugene Steinhardt (May 25, 1950 – July 17, 2021), known as Robby Steinhardt, was an American rock violinist and singer best known for his work with the group Kansas, for which he was co-lead singer and frontman along with keyboardist Steve Walsh.
Robby Steinhardt was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1950 and grew up in Lawrence, Kansas and was the adopted son of Ilse and Milton Steinhardt, who was the director of music history at the University of Kansas.
Robby started violin lessons at age eight and was classically trained, attended Lawrence High School and was the concertmaster during his high school years.
Robby Steinhardt joined a band called White Clover in 1972, with the group adopting the name Kansas before their first album was released in 1974. He was with the group through their most successful period.
Kansas is an American rock band that became popular during the 1970s initially on album-oriented rock charts and later with hit singles such as “Carry On Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind”. Kansas produced nine gold albums, three multi-platinum albums, “Leftoverture”, “Point of Know Return” and “The Best of Kansas”, one platinum studio album, “Monolith”, one platinum live double album, “Two for the Show”, and a million-selling single, “Dust in the Wind”.
Kansas appeared on the US Billboard charts for over 200 weeks throughout the 1970s and 1980s and played to sold-out arenas and stadiums throughout North America, Europe and Japan.
“Carry On Wayward Son” was the second-most-played track on US classic rock radio in 1995 and Number 1 in 1997.
“Carry On Wayward Son” has been covered by many artists, including Anthrax, and was included on soundtracks for several movies and television shows including “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”, “Family Guy”, “Gentlemen Broncos”, “Happy Gilmore”, “Scrubs”, “South Park” (“Guitar Queer-o” episode), “King of the Hill” (“My Own Private Rodeo”) and “Strangers with Candy” (“Yes You Can’t”). It was also featured in the video games “Grand Theft Auto V”, “Guitar Hero II”, “Guitar Hero Smash Hits”, “Rock Band 2”, and “Rock Band Unplugged”.
“Carry On Wayward Son” is also frequently played throughout the TV show “Supernatural” and also appears in “Supernatural: The Anime Series” (as the ending for each episode), and is often hailed as the show’s unofficial theme song.
Robby Steinhardt’s violin sound, and its interplay with the guitar and keyboards, helped define the Kansas sound, and his lead vocals provided a contrast to the high tenor of singer Steve Walsh with the two singers often singing in harmony, with Steinhardt taking the lower voice.
In 1983, Robby Steinhardt did not show up to record the next Kansas album. His departure from the band after the “Vinyl Confessions” tour in 1982 was said to be for personal reasons.
Subsequently, Robby Steinhardt fronted his own band, Steinhardt-Moon and was a member of the Stormbringer Band from 1990 to 1996, recording two CDs with the group during his membership. He also contributed to a Jethro Tull tribute album, “To Cry You a Song: A Collection of Tull Tales” on Magna Carta Records.
Robby Steinhardt rejoined Kansas in 1997.
In early 2006, Robby Steinhardt once again left Kansas by mutual agreement due to the pace of touring. Since he rejoined the band in 1997, they had averaged almost 100 shows per year.
In 2018 Robby Steinhardt was asked by producer Michael T. Franklin to perform on the track “Activate” for Jon Anderson of Yes. The album “1000 Hands: Chapter One” had a large cast of classic rock, world music, and jazz performers.
In 2020, Robby Steinhardt and Franklin began to work on a solo project, including an album and tour set for 2021. The solo project’s resulting album, “Not In Kansas Anymore / A Prog Opera”, was released on October 25, 2021 after Robby had died.
Robby Steinhardt died at a hospital in Tampa, Florida, from complications of acute pancreatitis on July 17, 2021, at the age of 71.
