Robby Steinhardt, the Kansas rock violinist, passed away last year on July 17 at the age of 71. This was profoundly saddening news for his fans, relatives, and, of course, bandmates. More than a year after his friend’s death, Phil Ehart spoke to Ultimate Classic Rock and shared his feelings about his late bandmate.
“When Robby passed, it was rough,” Ehart said, recalling his reaction to such a challenging experience. “He’ll always have a special meaning to all of us. And we were very proud to dedicate the album to him. We thought it was the right thing to do.”
To pay homage to the memory of their time with Robby, his bandmates dedicated their latest compilation album to their friend. ‘Another Fork In The Road’ was released earlier this month to celebrate Kansas’ 50th anniversary in 2023. Unfortunately, Steinhardt, who was an integral part of Kansas’ sound, couldn’t be with them at this celebration. However, his friends still keep his memory alive.
Steinhardt’s violin heavily influenced the sound of Kansas. In particular, the interaction of violin with guitar and keyboards was one of the most fundamental parts of Kansas’ music. In addition, the contrast that emerged when Steinhardt’s voice met with Steve Walsh’s high tenor put Kansas among the immortals.
