Shortly after the dawn of the '80s, it appeared that the best days for the band Kansas were behind the group. After becoming favorites on rock radio during the '70s for their distinctive style of progressive rock and notching hits with songs like "Carry On My Wayward Son," "Point Of Know Return," and "Dust In The Wind," the band was splintering.

The final straw appeared to be the defection of vocalist Steve Walsh after 1980's Audio-Visions set. However, Kansas regrouped and recruited John Elefante into the fold as lead singer. His debut arrived with the release of Vinyl Confessions in June of 1982. Kansas' name still held cachet at rock radio and Vinyl Confessions' first single, "Play The Game Tonight," quickly garnered airplay when it was released prior to the album.

Dramatic and dynamic, "Play The Game Tonight" helped Kansas regain momentum - at least temporarily. At album rock radio, the song bounded to #4. Meanwhile, airplay on mainstream pop stations helped the song become Kansas' sixth US Top 40 hit in June. It peaked at #17 for three weeks in late July and dropped from the charts.

Kansas would fail to deliver a follow-up hit and would continue to go through numerous line-up changes over the next two decades. Although they would continue to release albums and draw decent crowds on the concert circuit, they would only have one more Top 40 hit when they reached #19 in 1987 with the power ballad "All I Wanted."

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