Rock band Kansas violinist/co-lead vocalist Robby Steinhardt died on Saturday, July 17, at the age of 71.
Steinhardt’s wife, Cindy Steinhardt confirmed the news of his death in a Facebook post. According to the post, Steinhardt was admitted to the hospital due to acute pancreatitis in May. He was on life support after he went into acute septic shock, but he managed to recover.
However, as he was about to be discharged from hospital and moved to a rehab center, Steinhardt suffered another sepsis.
“It is with an extremely heavy broken heart that I have to announce to the world, we have lost one of the most incredible people of our time.. Robby Steinhardt has passed away,” she wrote on Facebook.
“We are beyond devastated as our lives were about to start a new adventure,” Cindy said. “Robby just recorded his first solo album with the talented music producer Michael Franklin at Solar Studios. A tour to start in August, Robby was so looking forward to being back on stage doing what he loved.”
“I’ve always tried to share our lives with you but I ask you to please respect this heavy time of grief,” she added. “I encourage you to share your stories and pictures of Robby on his page. My only regret is that I can’t share them with him to show him how much he is loved.”
Kansas also issued a statement, saying, “The members of the band Kansas, past and present, wish to express our deepest sorrow over the death of our bandmate and friend, Robby Steinhardt. Robby will always be in our souls, in our minds, and in our music. What he brought to us as bandmates, to the fans who attended our concerts, and to the sound of Kansas, will always be heartfelt.”
Steinhardt was originally a member of another progressive rock band called White Clover, which eventually reformed into Kansas. The original group also included Steve Walsh, Rich Williams and Kerry Livgren.
In 1982, Steinhardt left the band and formed Steinhardt-Moon in Florida before rejoining Kansas in 1997. Steinhardt retired from the band in 2006. At the time of his death, he was working on a solo record.
(Photo: Kirshner Records)
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