Ronnie Platt, frontman for veteran rock band Kansas, has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
“[I’ll] go through some rehab time and be right back in the saddle,” Platt, 64, promised via Facebook on Sunday, February 16.
The singer shared with his fans that he has a treatment plan in place and a positive prognosis, vowing to put cancer behind him soon.
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“For all of you asking, Tuesday I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer but before everyone gets all excited, it has a 99% survival rate, it has not spread. It’s contained to my thyroid,” he wrote. “I just have to have my thyroid removed … I have some absolutely amazing people going to bat for me!! As it has been put to me, this is just a bump in the road and will be behind me very soon! so everyone please CARRY ON!”
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Kansas announced via Instagram on Wednesday, February 19, that they were canceling scheduled shows in New Orleans on Friday, February 21 and in Lake Charles on Saturday, March 1 due to “band illness and doctor advisement.”
“The band apologizes for the inconvenience and hopes to be back on the road soon,” Kansas’ social media statement concluded.
The group’s manager J.R. Rees subsequently told Ultimate Classic Rock that Kansas will be pausing all concert plans for the foreseeable future in order to support Platt.
“Our goal is to be back on the road as soon as possible. Right now, we’re all focused on supporting Ronnie through this,” Rees said.
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Platt joined Kansas as its new frontman in 2014, following the retirement of original vocalist Steve Walsh. Walsh sang the recorded versions of Kansas’ timeless hits “Carry On Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind.”
In 2014, Platt described himself as a Kansas fan “first and foremost” and resisted being called the legendary Walsh’s “replacement.”
“I’m a blue collar guy that rides a Harley and I’ve spent most of my adult life earning a living by driving a truck. I’m a long time fan of the music and have always looked up to Steve Walsh,” he said in a statement. “My goal is not to replace Steve; no one can do that. It is my goal and responsibility to sustain the integrity that is Kansas.”
Platt continued: “This is a lifelong dream and I would like to thank [band members] Phil [Ehart], Rich [Williams], Billy [Greer], and David [Ragsdale] for the opportunity. Yes, I’ve got the job, but now it’s time to earn it….and I take nothing for granted that has been given to me. My performance in Kansas will be how I’ve always performed, with passion and enthusiasm.”
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After signing on as Kansas’s new frontman, Platt made his album debut on 2016’s The Prelude Implicit and also sang lead on their 2020 record The Absence of Presence.
Platt worked as a truck driver before joining a latter-day incarnation of the Kansas City, Missouri-based rock band Shooting Star. When Walsh stepped back from Kansas, Platt sent the band’s lead guitarist Williams a Facebook message asking for “some consideration.”
“It was all a matter of four or five days [before they hired me]. After they revived me, put the paddles on my chest, I got to work,” he jokingly told PBS Panhandle in 2017.
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