Missouri (band)

For other uses, see Missouri (disambiguation).

Missouri
Origin	Kansas City, Missouri
Genres	Southern rock, blues rock, hard rock
Years active	1977–1984, 1994–1995
Labels	Panama Records, Polydor Records, Cow Town Records
Associated acts	Chesmann Square
Website	missouriband.com
Past members	Ron West Alan Cohen Lane Turner Bill Larson Randall Platt Jeff Littrell Dan Billings Webb Waterman Rob Brennan

Missouri is a rock band from Kansas City, Missouri, known primarily for the song "Movin' On".

History

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ron West was part of a well-remembered Kansas City band, The Chesmann, with his two brothers Gary and Steve. Heavily inspired by British invasion groups, the band played both live covers and recorded original studio material. Gary West was also a member of the band Shooting Star, which scored several modest AOR hits in the late 1970 and early 1980s.

Led by Ron West, the band's self-titled first album was released in 1977 on a label called Panama Records. Even though Panama was an independent label, the band garnered substantial airplay on American FM AOR radio stations, specifically with the track "Movin On". Missouri's first gig was opening for Firefall in Emporia, Kansas. Missouri toured nationally with many major label acts such as Ted Nugent, Golden Earring, among many others.

A second album, "Welcome Two Missouri", was released on the larger and international Polydor label in 1979, including a re-recorded version of "Movin On" minus the original intro. By this time two of the original line up had dropped out. No further recordings except a repackaging of recordings from the previous albums called the best of Missouri. Missouri songs are available on iTunes.

Ron West and Bill Larson reunited in 1994 with new members for tours in 1994 and 1995.

Missouri was announced as special guests for a September 2009 concert in Kansas City that featured Foghat, Shooting Star, and Brian Howe (ex-Bad Company), but later cancelled their appearance.

Members

• Ron West - guitars, vocals (founding member; only ever-present band member)
• Alan Cohen - bass (founding member)
• Lane Turner - Lead Guitars (Founding member)
• Bill Larson - drums (founding member; returned for 1994-1995 reunion)
• Randall Platt - keyboards (Randall joined the band near the completion of their first album)
• Jeff Littrell - drums (replaced Bill Larson)
• Dan Billings - drums (replaced Jeff Littrell)

• Rob Brennan - drums (replaced Dan Billings)

Discography

1. Missouri, Panama Records (1977)
2. Welcome Two Missouri, Polydor Records (1979)
3. The Best of Missouri, Cow Town Records (2003)

External links

• Missouri's website
• Missouri discography at Discogs