Richard John Williams (born February 1, 1950) is an American guitarist, primarily known for being one of the only consistent original members of the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

alongside drummer

Phil Ehart Phillip W. Ehart (born February 4, 1951) is the drummer in the progressive rock band Kansas. He and Rich Williams are the only two members who have appeared on every Kansas album. Though his songwriting contributions to the group were few, he co ...

. Both have appeared on every Kansas album to date.

Career

Williams shared guitar duties with keyboardist/guitarist

Kerry Livgren Kerry Allen Livgren (born September 18, 1949) is an American musician, best known as one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the American rock band Kansas. Livgren, raised in Topeka, Kansas, developed an early interest in musi ...

until 1984 when Kansas first broke up, and later from 1990 to 1991 and 1999 to 2000. From 1985 to 1991, he shared guitar-playing with

Steve Morse Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist and songwriter. A seven-time Grammy nominee, he is best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the longest serving guitarist for Deep Purple. Morse also enjoyed a successful ...

, and later with Zak Rizvi from 2016 to 2021. Since April 2021, Williams has served as the band's only dedicated guitarist, as he also did from 1991 to 1999, and 2000 to 2016. In live performances, violinist Joe Deninzon serves as a second guitarist when the song being played contains little or no violin, as did his predecessor,

David Ragsdale David Lasater Ragsdale (born April 3, 1958) is an American musician. He is best known as the violinist and guitarist for the rock band Kansas (band), Kansas from 1991 to 1997 and from 2006 to 2023. He toured for four years with Louise Mandrell be ...

. Williams and

are the only two founding members of Kansas who have never left the band and have played on all Kansas albums. Among the songs Williams co-wrote with the band are "Can I Tell You", "No Room for a Stranger", and the hit "

Play the Game Tonight "Play the Game Tonight" is a progressive rock single recorded by Kansas for their 1982 album '' Vinyl Confessions''. It managed to chart at No. 17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, becoming the 15th single, 10th top 100 hit, sixth top 40 hit, ...

". In 2009, Williams, along with fellow Kansas members Ehart,

Billy Greer Billy Greer (born January 26, 1952) is an American musician who was the bass guitarist for the rock band Kansas from 1985 to 2024. He joined the band when they reformed, making his debut appearance on 1986's '' Power''. He had previously worked ...

, and

, formed a group called

Native Window Native Window was an American progressive rock spin-off band of the popular rock group Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the ...

that released one album.

Discography

Kansas

Native Window

* ''

(''2009)

As a guest

* Steve Walsh – ''

Schemer-Dreamer ''Schemer-Dreamer'' is the first solo album by Steve Walsh, the original keyboardist/vocalist of the progressive rock band Kansas. It was released in 1980. Although this is his solo album, it features other members of Kansas including Kerry Livg ...

'' (1980) (on "Schemer-Dreamer/That's All Right") *

Seventh Key Seventh Key is an American rock band formed by Mike Slamer of City Boy and Streets and Billy Greer of Streets and Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United S ...

– ''Seventh Key'' (2001) (on "Missy", "Every Time It Rains" and "No Man's Land") *

John Elefante John Elefante (born March 18, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. From 1981-1984, he was lead vocalist of the rock group Kansas and is currently touring with several groups that have featured members from clas ...

– ''On My Way to The Sun'' (2013) (on "This Is How The Story Goes")

Personal life

Williams lost his right eye in a childhood fireworks accident. He wore a prosthetic eye for many years but now wears an

eye patch An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...

instead. As a child, Williams began playing a

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

but quickly transitioned to guitar. His early influences included

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and the overall

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

. In 2020, Williams and his wife, Debbie, relocated to

Linville, North Carolina Linville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Avery County, North Carolina, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 283. Centered just south of US 221 and NC ...

. Williams is also a fan of the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

References

External links

Richard Williams fan site
* * 1950 births Living people Musicians from Topeka, Kansas American rock guitarists American male guitarists American musicians with disabilities Kansas (band) members Progressive rock guitarists Guitarists from Kansas 20th-century American guitarists Eyepatch wearers {{US-rock-guitarist-stub