After 40 years with Kansas, Billy Greer has left the band.
In a new social media statement, the band thanked Greer for his many years of service.
“For 39 years, Billy has been a loyal, dedicated, and immensely talented bandmate. He’s travelled around the world with us including USO tours,” Phil Ehart said in the statement. Richard Williams added, “He stood shoulder to shoulder with us through both the ups and the downs. His voice, both singing and emceeing, has been a constant with us on stage. The entire KANSAS family will miss him.”
The band also stated that it wouldn’t affect their future shows and that they would soon announce the new bassist.
Even though Greer wasn’t one of the original members, he had the third longest run with Kansas, after Ehart and Williams. He joined in 1985 when the band came back with a new lineup after a short break. Greer played bass on seven of their studio albums: ‘Power,’ ‘In the Spirit of Things,’ ‘Freaks of Nature,’ ‘Always Never the Same,’ ‘Somewhere to Elsewhere,’ ‘The Prelude Implicit,’ and ‘The Absence of Presence.’ For the last 18 years, he’s also been a big part of their live shows.
Greer’s last show with Kansas was on September 1 in Windsor, Ontario. Their next performance is on September 7 in Spencer, Iowa.
