Released November 19, 1976 Label Kirshner | Recorded December 1975 | |
B-side "Questions of My Childhood" Genre Progressive rock, hard rock Length 5:26 (album version), 3:26 (single edit) | ||
"Carry On Wayward Son" is a single recorded by Kansas and written by Kerry Livgren for their 1976 album Leftoverture. In 1977, the song peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their first Top 40 hit. The song was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 18, 1990, and has also sold over 2 million downloads in the digital era.
Contents
Overview
The 7" single has been certified gold by the RIAA. This version was a much shorter version of the song, edited down to 3:26, a version that was also the band's only single to chart in the UK, reaching No. 51 there. All initial releases of the single had a B-side of "Questions of My Childhood". The song was later re-released on all Kansas compilation albums (except for Works in Progress) and all Kansas live albums.
This song is 96th on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.
In popular culture
The song is played often on the season finale of The CW's Supernatural. The song was used in the twenty-first episode of the first season, "Salvation"; starting from the second season, it has been played at the beginnings of every finale episode. It was also performed in a musical in the fifth episode of the tenth season, "Fan Fiction".