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Styx (band)

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File:Styx.jpg
The earliest lineup.

Styx is the first musical act to ever have four consecutive triple platinum albums, thay remain one of the most popular musical acts in music history.

The group originally formed in the Chicago, Illinois, area in 1961 as "The Tradewinds". This earliest line-up of the group included singer, keyboardist, and accordion player Dennis DeYoung, and a rhythm section comprising brothers Chuck and John Panozzo on bass and drums, respectively. Changing their name briefly to "TW4", the band added guitarists/vocalists James "J. Y." Young and John Curulewski. The bandmembers decided to choose a new name when they signed to Wooden Nickel Records; several suggestions were made and, says DeYoung, Styx was chosen because it was "the only one that none of us hated." [1]

1970s

The band's Wooden Nickel recordings, Styx (1972), Styx II (1973), The Serpent Is Rising (also 1973) and Man of Miracles (1974) were a mixture of straight-ahead rock with some dramatic prog-rock flourishes and art-rock aspirations. On the strength of these releases and constant playing in local clubs and schools, the band established a fan base in the Chicago area, but was unable to break into the mainstream until an early song, the power ballad "Lady" (from Styx II) began to earn some radio time, first on WLS in Chicago and then nationwide. In the spring of 1975, nearly two years after the album had been released, "Lady" hit the top ten, and Styx II went gold soon after.

On the heels of its belated hit single, Styx signed with A&M Records and released Equinox (1975), which sold well and yielded minor hits in "Lorelei" and "Light Up". Recently, on Dennis DeYoung's official website [2], he notes that "Suite Madame Blue" is the third most popular song in the province of Quebec, Canada (where Styx first became a headliner), after the songs "Stairway to Heaven" and "Hotel California". Following the move to A&M, Curulewski suddenly left the band just before they were to embark on a nationwide tour, and was replaced by singer and guitarist Tommy Shaw after a frantic search to find a last-minute replacement. The first album with Shaw, Crystal Ball (1976), was moderately successful (the band performs the Shaw-penned title track to this day) and also includes Shaw's "Mademoiselle" and "Shooz". Its follow-up, The Grand Illusion (1977) became the group's breakthrough album, reaching platinum certification and spawning a top-ten hit and AOR radio staple in the DeYoung-penned "Come Sail Away," as well as a second radio hit, Shaw's "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)." The album also includes its title track, and "Miss America", J. Y.'s only songwriting contribution to receive significant airplay.

Through the late 1970s the band enjoyed its greatest success, with the album releases Pieces of Eight (1978) finding the group moving in a more straight-ahead pop-rock direction and spawning the hit singles "Renegade" and "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)", and Cornerstone (1979) yielding the group's first number one hit, the DeYoung ballad "Babe" (which hit #6 in the United Kingdom, Jan 1980 [3]), as well as their biggest international hit, "Boat on the River".

1980s

By 1980, Styx had (over the course of several albums) established themselves as a positive band in terms of lyrics, criticizing unemployment ("Blue Collar Man"), consumerism ("The Grand Illusion"), and materialism ("Pieces of Eight"). As teen idols, Styx also topped magazine polls for "Most Popular Rock Band." In particular, Tommy Shaw's Southern charm and boyish looks appealed to female fans across America, while mainstream rock fans admired his fluent songwriting. However, at their height of fame, Styx never actually broke out in Europe, despite Shaw's "Boat on the River."

In 1980, Styx released Paradise Theater, a loose concept album that became their biggest hit, reaching number one on the Billboard pop albums chart and yielding five singles, including the top 10 hits "The Best of Times" and "Too Much Time on My Hands". The band was accused of backmasking Satanic messages in the song "Snowblind", which J.Y. denies being true to this day. Throughout the 1990s, the band would use the album's opening track, "Rockin' the Paradise" to open their shows. The album closes with J.Y.'s "Half-Penny, Two Penny". Critics would simply dismiss them as slick and pretentious, but the tour proved extremely lucrative. Paradise Theater is still an enduring favorite with fans.

During this period of greatest success, the band, particularly DeYoung and Shaw, began to be affected by interpersonal tensions. Tommy Shaw later went on record as saying "I was always the 'new guy' in Styx." On the successes of the ballad "Babe" and the Paradise Theater album, Styx founder DeYoung began pushing for a more theatrical and progressive rock direction, while Shaw and Young favored a harder-edged approach. The band followed DeYoung's lead with their next project, Kilroy Was Here: another, more fully-realized concept album. Set in a future where music itself has been outlawed, Dennis DeYoung portrayed Kilroy, an unjustly imprisoned rock star. Representing the "younger" rock generation, Tommy Shaw played Jonathan Chance, who fights for Kilroy's freedom.

Critics said that the concept behind Kilroy Was Here was still very murky. Whilst band members themselves admitted to not really understanding the concept, it must be noted that guitarist/vocalist James Young relished playing the "heavy", starring as Dr. Everett Righteous in the 20-minute "Kilroy" feature. The Panozzo brothers played his henchmen, Col. Hyde and Lt. Vanish.

Sailing high on the Styx name, Kilroy went platinum in 1983, boasting two Top 10 hits, the synthesizer-based "Mr. Roboto" and DeYoung's power ballad "Don't Let It End." Straying away from the pop theme of the album, J.Y.'s "Heavy Metal Poisoning" reverts the listener back to the old Styx funk-jazz style rock and roll, the driving force of the song being the backing vocals by Dennis DeYoung and Tommy Shaw. On the Kilroy Was Here tour of 1983, the band had the instrumental version played with J.Y. singing and the Panozzo brothers acting as his henchmen on stage. Following this song, they would play Tommy Shaw's pop song "Cold War." Ironically, the best performance on the album was probably his wistful "Haven't We Been Here Before," featuring a duet between DeYoung and himself.

"Kilroy" formed the centerpiece of an overly ambitious stage show; however, this aspect met with fan indifference, critical derision, finally bringing tensions within the band to a breaking point. In 1984, the band debuted its first live album, Caught in the Act. Taken from both the "Paradise Theater" and "Kilroy Was Here" tours, the somewhat uneven project featured one studio track, the pedestrian "Music Time," a modest radio hit that only briefly cracked the top 40. This weak single would be the last gasp of Styx's most popular line-up.

Solo careers

Dennis DeYoung and Tommy Shaw released a string of solo albums, beginning with DeYoung's Desert Moon and Shaw's Girls With Guns in 1984. Both Shaw and DeYoung generated a moderate amount of interest with their first solo albums. DeYoung, in particular, scored a Top 10 hit with the title track, "Desert Moon," a ballad superior to most of his Styx repertoire. Shaw also cracked the Top-40 with "Girls With Guns" and "Lonely School," with a cameo on the NBC television series, Miami Vice. Shaw's What If (1985) and DeYoung's Back to the World (1986) also charted with singles from film soundtracks. Shaw's "What If (Remo's Theme)" from Remo Williams: the Adventure Begins entered the Billboard Hot 100, while DeYoung's "This Is The Time" from Karate Kid II featured for a short while on MTV. However, by the late 1980s, both Styx members' solo careers gradually simmered down to a modest but loyal fanbase. Neither DeYoung's Boomchild nor Shaw's Ambition achieved nearly the same levels of earlier albums, although Shaw's cover of Jimi Peterik's "Ever Since the World Began" charted briefly. Shaw also recorded sessions with Peterik's group, Survivor, on 1986's When Seconds Count.

Meanwhile, James Young collaborated with Jan Hammer and recorded his own solo album under The James Young Band (briefly involving the Panozzo brothers). In 1988, Tommy Shaw formed Damn Yankees with Ted Nugent, Jack Blades and Michael Cartellone. Meanwhile, Styx made plans for a comeback in the new decade...

1990s and present day

File:Styx2.jpg
Standing: James Young, Chuck Panozzo, Ricky Philips, Todd Sucherman. Sitting: Lawrence Gowan, Tommy Shaw.

In 1990, with Shaw achieving some success with Damn Yankees, the remaining elements of Styx reformed with Glen Burtnik replacing Shaw. The new line-up released one album, Edge of the Century, featuring the Dennis DeYoung ballad "Show Me The Way," which received an additional boost just prior to the first Persian Gulf War. Some radio stations edited the Top 5 smash to include the voices of children whose parents were deployed in Saudi Arabia between 1990-91. Burtnik's songwriting also helped buoy "Edge of the Century" to gold album status, contributing to the minor hits "Love at First Sight" and "Love is the Ritual." Styx toured across the U.S. with somewhat mixed reviews, before once again disbanding after A&M dropped the band. In 1994, DeYoung recorded "10 on Broadway," revealing his unexpected talent for singing popular showtunes.

The band reunited in 1995 to re-record "Lady" for Styx Greatest Hits (1995) and a 1996 tour, but John Panozzo was unable to participate due to declining health caused by problems with alcohol that killed him soon after. Continuing with Todd Sucherman replacing Panozzo, Styx's 1996 Return to Paradise tour was also a success. They documented the reunion tour with a 2-disc live set, 1997's Return to Paradise, which featured three new studio tracks; "On My Way," "Paradise" (a soft rock hit that also appears on Dennis DeYoung's Hunchback of Notre Dame solo album), and "Dear John," a beautiful acoustic tribute to the late Styx drummer John Panozzo that has become a cult favorite among Styx fans. Two years later, the band released its first new studio album in almost a decade, Brave New World (1999). The album received a lukewarm reception and the single, "Everything Is Cool," failed to chart. Once again, personality conflicts drove the band members apart. While Tommy Shaw and James Young's material followed a hard rock vein, Dennis DeYoung's penchant for Broadway styles infuriated his bandmates, and the dramatic differences in styles were all too evident on Brave New World. DeYoung was further hindered due to a viral illness which made him excessively sensitive to light.

In 1999, before he had a chance to return to the group DeYoung found himself replaced by Lawrence Gowan on the record company's insistence that the band begin touring again as soon as possible. Chuck Panozzo also left at this time and later revealed that he was battling HIV. Glen Burtnik returned to fill Chuck's bass duties. In 2004, Burtnik left Styx to spend more time at home, and was replaced by Ricky Philips, formerly of The Babys and Bad English. Chuck Panozzo still sits in with the band occasionally.

Meanwhile, DeYoung continued his solo career by re-arranging his Styx hits and performing with a symphony orchestra, and also filed a lawsuit against his former band members charging that they had used the band's name without his consent. The suit was eventually settled on the grounds that DeYoung could bill himself as "performing the music of Styx" or "formerly of Styx," but not "the voice of Styx". A new version of Styx featuring Shaw, Gowan, and sole remaining original member James Young released Cyclorama in February 2003. This edition of the band also toured extensively through the first half of the decade. In 2005, DeYoung released a CD of re-recorded Styx hits from a solo concert with a symphony orchestra (titled "Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx"), while the remaining members of Styx recorded a new album made entirely of rock covers. The new CD, "Big Bang Theory", was released on May 10, 2005, and reached #46, Styx's highest chart position on Billboard's Top 200 in 14 years. Ten tracks from the album charted in the Media Base Classic Rock Chart's Top 75, with "I Don't Need No Doctor" leading the way at #6. June 2005 brought the band to Europe, touring in support of Big Bang Theory, for their first visit in 24 years. Tommy Shaw said, "We have found our audience still there for us, and there for us with bells on. There is daily discussion as to when, how, where, and every other aspect of returning as soon as we can."

  • Styx's "Mr. Roboto" was the song Buster was dancing to in Arrested Development, when he got his hook stuck in the car. This scene is itself an homage to a TV commercial where "Mr. Roboto" was used, which stars the same actor: Tony Hale.
  • Styx was featured on an episode of That '70s Show.
  • Styx's "Come Sail Away" was featured on an episode of Las Vegas where a transvestite sings the song at a funeral.
  • Styx's "Come Sail Away" was featured in the movie The Virgin Suicides.
  • Styx's "Come Sail Away" was featured on an episode of Freaks and Geeks.
  • Styx's "Come Sail Away" was parodied on an episode of South Park, and the character Eric Cartman, upon hearing the first few lyrics, cannot stand to do so unless he hears the rest of the song; he usually finishes it himself.
  • Adam Sandler has stated that Styx is his favorite band, so he frequently features their songs in his movies. Many references are made to the band and its music in his film Big Daddy.
  • Mr. Roboto is featured in the first episode of the Japanese drama series Densha Otoko.
  • Styx was featured on an episode of Family Guy in which Dennis DeYoung calls in to a hotline to bash KISS.
  • The group and its music have been referred to at least 3 times in The Simpsons. When looking through the 'Oldies' section in a record store (called Suicide Notes [formerly Good Vibrations]), Homer is surprised to see a Styx record, commenting that "I just heard them on the King Biscuit Flower Hour!". "Mr. Roboto" is used as the basis for an improvised song designed to encourage Otto's tenpin bowling efforts. Finally, when Homer travels down the River Styx in Hades, skeletons are on the shore playing "Lady" (prompting him to exclaim, "This really is Hell!").
  • Dennis DeYoung was featured in the Hillary Duff movie The Perfect Man (2005) playing a Dennis DeYoung impersonator in a Styx tribute band.
  • Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) featured a character aptly named Mr. Roboto (played by Nobu Matsuhisa) who is ridiculed by Austin by using the "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto" line over and over.
  • Styx DID NOT Compose and write the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers theme song
  • Jim Carrey performs the song "Mr. Roboto" in a hold-up scene in the 2005 film Fun with Dick and Jane.
  • Pinocchio croons "Mr. Roboto" on the Shrek 2 DVD. The bonus features on the DVD include an American Idol spoof, complete with Simon, Fiona, Shrek, and the cast who watch Pinocchio sing "Mr. Roboto".

Discography

Studio Albums

Live Albums

Compilations

Singles

  • "The Best Thing" (1972) #82 US
  • "Lady" (1975) #6 US
  • "You Need Love" (1975) #88 US
  • "Lorelei" (1976) #27 US
  • "Mademoiselle" (1976) #36 US
  • "Come Sail Away" (1978) #8 US
  • "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" (1978) #29 US
  • "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" (1978) #21 US
  • "Renegade" (1979) #16 US
  • "Sing For The Day" (1979) #41 US
  • "Babe" (1979) #1 US; #6 UK
  • "Why Me" (1980) #26 US
  • "Borrowed Time" (1980) #64 US
  • "The Best Of Times" (1981) #3 US
  • "Too Much Time On My Hands" (1981) #9 US
  • "Nothing Ever Goes As Planned" (1981) #54 US
  • "Mr. Roboto" (1983) #3 US
  • "Don't Let It End" (1983) #6 US
  • "High Time" (1984) #48 US
  • "Music Time" (1984) #40 US
  • "Love Is The Ritual" (1990) #80 US
  • "Show Me The Way" (1990) #3 US
  • "Love At First Sight" (1991) #25 US

See also

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