Since its release in 1977, Kansas’s most notable song has inspired dozens of covers and adaptations. Musicians have transformed the hit “Dust in the Wind” into nearly every genre imaginable, including rap and electronica. While some bands wouldn’t find the constant rewriting of their music flattering, Kansas drummer Phil Ehart has a different opinion.
Phil Ehart shared his opinion on the covers of the Kansas song ‘Dust in the Wind’
Every kind of musician has covered “Dust in the Wind” at some point, from established artists to beginners and everyone in between. According to SecondHandSongs, over 100 bands and musicians have covered the song, starting with Irish singer Mary O’Hara in 1978. Other notable musicians to cover the Kansas hit include German opera singer Peter Hofmann, ’70s pop singer Melanie, German rock band Scorpions, English classical singer Sarah Brightman, and Scottish folk rock band Stealers Wheel.
For Kansas’s drummer, these covers are “very flattering.”
“You know, we’ve had a lot of covers over the years,” Ehart told UCR. “It’s always flattering. You know, I even got a rap version of ‘Dust in the Wind.’… I listened to it, and I thought, ‘Someone put in a lot of work to do that.’ We just always appreciate people thinking our music is worth covering. It’s very flattering, and it’s pretty cool.”
Not all “Dust in the Wind” adaptations were made by musicians, though.
In addition to covers, “Dust in the Wind” also inspired several comedic movie moments. The most memorable is Will Ferrell’s rendition of the song in the 2003 comedy Old School. His character, “Frank the Tank,” sang the song at the funeral of his fellow frat brother, played by Joseph Patrick Cranshaw. According to IMDb, the song even made it to the movie’s soundtrack.
References to the song go back even further. Keanu Reeves quoted the song in the 1989 film Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, saying, “All we are is dust in the wind, dude” to Socrates after traveling back in time. These are just a few examples. The song was used in several other movies, television shows, and commercials.
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‘Dust in the Wind’ almost never existed
Fans may be surprised to learn that Kansas’s most popular song started out as a chord pattern guitarist Kerry Livgren used to practice fingerpicking. It wasn’t until his wife overheard him playing it and encouraged him to turn it into a song that he showed it to the rest of the band.
Rich Williams shared Livgren’s experience with UCR, saying:
“He just came up with a little chord pattern and was practicing. His wife would come by and say, ‘That’s really nice – you ought to maybe write a song with that.’ He’s like, ‘No, no, we don’t do things like this. The guys wouldn’t really like it.’ But eventually, he did. He wrote a song, and he brought it to rehearsal as we were working up the album. He said, ‘I’ve got one more song. We probably wouldn’t do it, but anyway, here it is.’”
Livgren thought his bandmates would turn down the song as it was entirely acoustic. Turns out, he was wrong! Everyone knew it would be a hit, and they immediately began recording. The rest, as they say, is history!
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