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Styx is an American arena rock band that saw great success in the 1970s and 1980s, penning such hits as "Come Sail Away," "Babe," and "Mr. Roboto." They were the first musical act ever to have four consecutive multi-platinum albums.
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The group originally formed in the Chicago, Illinois, area in 1961 as "The Tradewinds" and played local bars while attending Chicago State University. This earliest line-up of the group included brothers Chuck and John Panozzo on guitar and drums, respectively; and vocalist, pianist, keyboardist, and accordion player Dennis DeYoung. Changing their name briefly to "TW4", Chuck switched to bass guitar and the band added guitarists/vocalists James "J.Y." Young and John Curulewski.
The band members 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. The Serpent Is Rising would foreshadow later endeavors by the group—the so-called concept album would be a medium upon which Styx would rely heavily by the 1980s.
"Krakatoa", a mostly-spoken-word track from Serpent, served as the inspiration from which filmmaker George Lucas created the THX audio logo, Deep Note [2].
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 Web site [3], 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 to save his marriage, and was replaced by singer, songwriter, 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 DeYoung's "This Old Man".
Its follow-up, The Grand Illusion (1977) became the group's breakthrough album, reaching triple 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)."
"Come Sail Away" is often cited as the ultimate Styx song, mixing balladry with the theatrical flair of art rock and lyrics which take the listener on a journey that combines dreams, science fiction imagery, and religious undertones.
The album also includes its progressive-flavored title track, "The Grand Illusion," which received significant airplay, though it warns, "Don't be fooled by radio, TV, or the magazines. They show you photographs of how your life should be, but they're just someone else's fantasy."
Finally, "Miss America" is also on the album and represents J.Y.'s only songwriting and singing contribution to receive significant radio airplay.
Through the late 1970s the band enjoyed its greatest success. The album Pieces of Eight (1978) found the group moving in a more straight-ahead pop-rock direction and spawned the hit singles "Renegade," and "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)."
Cornerstone (1979) yielded the group's first number one hit, the DeYoung ballad "Babe" (which hit #6 in the United Kingdom, Jan 1980 [4]), as well as becoming their biggest international hit. The album also included "Boat on the River" and DeYoung rockers "Why me" and "Borrowed Time."
Tension among band members was beginning to rear its ugly head; the planned second single, the DeYoung ballad "First Time," was scrapped after Shaw threatened to leave the band if it was released.
Stardom in the 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." However, at their height of fame, Styx never actually broke out in Europe.
In 1981, Styx released Paradise Theatre, 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 by a California religious right group and later Tipper Gore's P.M.R.C of backmasking Satanic messages in their anti-cocaine anthem, "Snowblind." J.Y. has often gone on the record, refuting this charge during his concert introduction for "Snowblind," with Dennis saying on In the Studio with Redbeard which devoted an entire episode to the making of Paradise Theatre that "we had enough trouble to make the music sound right forward. It was the name Styx which is the river that runs through the underground. Can you imagine attacking the band that made Babe, I mean please!"
Owing to its accessibility and quality production, this album helped win the band a People's Choice Award in 1981, and became the band's 4th consecutive multi-platinum album (the standard of four consecutive quad platinum albums was a record given, they were the first ever to accomplish that feat). A Gallup poll that year also touted them as the most popular band in North America.
Throughout the 1990s, the band would use the album's opening track, "Rockin' the Paradise," which hit #6 on the rock charts in 1981, to open their shows. The album closes with J.Y.'s "Half-Penny, Two Penny" which segued into Dennis' "A.D. 1958" and ending properly with "State Street Sadie".
Critics would simply dismiss them as slick and pretentious, but the tour proved extremely lucrative [citation needed]. Paradise Theatre is still an enduring favorite with fans.
During this period of greatest success, the band, particularly DeYoung and Shaw, continued 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 Theatre 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.
Part of the impetus for the Kilroy story, were the false accusations of backwards satanic messages leveled at the band in 1981.
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 in the concert version (although John Panozzo also played one of the prisoners in the Kilroy Was Here film, which preceded the shows, and was the one who uttered the tag-line, "Hey, Roboto, your mother was a Toyota!")
Sailing high on the Styx name, Kilroy went platinum in 1983, boasting two Top 10 hits, the synthesizer-based "Mr. Roboto" and power ballad "Don't Let It End."
Straying away from the pop-rock vein, J.Y.'s "Heavy Metal Poisoning" reverts the listener back to Styx's early funk-jazz style, taking a poke at religious critics. Its introduction included a backward message, the Latin phrase, "annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum," from the Great Seal of the United States. It is translated to "God has favored our undertakings. A new order for the ages."
On the Kilroy Was Here tour of 1983 for half of the Kilroy tracks, the band had the instrumental backing tracks of Mr. Roboto (with Dennis singing disguised as a roboto and Tommy Shaw as Jonathan Chance), "Heavy Metal Poisoning" (with J.Y. singing and the Panozzo brothers acting as his henchmen on stage) and lastly, the wistful "Haven't We Been Here Before," featuring a rare duet between DeYoung and Shaw. The songs that the group played live were Dennis' "Don't Let it End", with an extended ending, Tommy Shaw's bluntly naive "Cold War," featuring an extended guitar solo. "Don't Let It End Reprise" began as a soliloquy by Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung, but ended with the full band on a positive rock and roll note.
Despite this ambitious stage show, Kilroy brought 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 Theatre" and "Kilroy Was Here" tours, the project featured one studio track, "Music Time," a modest radio hit that cracked the top 40.
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," which was also heavily featured on MTV. Shaw also cracked the Top-40 with "Girls With Guns" and "Lonely School," with a cameo on the NBC television series, Miami Vice. DeYoung's follow up single "Don't Wait for Heroes" also featured a video that was heavily featured on MTV, but it failed to generate significant airplay at radio only peaking at #83. During the filming of the video, DeYoung injured his back, causing him to back out of opening a North American concert tour for Huey Lewis & the News.
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 was featured for a short while on MTV. The first single from DeYoung's Back To The World, "Call Me", peaked at #6 on AC and was a modest pop hit, peaking at #54.
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 Jim 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
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 3 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 hits "Love at First Sight" (#25 pop) and "Love is the Ritual" (#80 pop, #9 rock). On the strength of the singles, particularly "Show Me The Way", Edge of The Century peaked at #63 on the Billboard album chart and was certified gold.
Styx toured across the U.S. before once again disbanding. Despite the success of "Edge" with 2 top 40 singles and gold album certification, A&M Records dropped the band after the company was purchased by PolyGram Records.
In 1994, DeYoung recorded "10 on Broadway", an album of 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 tribute to the late Styx drummer John Panozzo that has become a cult favorite among Styx fans. "Return to Paradise" was a surprise hit in 1997, achieving gold status, with the single "Paradise" peaking at #27 on the AC chart. "Return to Paradise" was Styx's new record company's, CMC, first gold album.
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.
Arguments over which songs to release as singles, the album's artwork, the track sequencing, and the omission of DeYoung's vocals and keyboards from many of the Shaw/JY tracks fueled the fire that was now blazing. The band was further hindered by a viral illness contracted by Deyoung which made him sensitive to light. He asked his bandmates to delay touring.
Chuck Panozzo left the band in 1998 after revealing to his bandmates that he was gay and battling HIV. (His public explanation came in 2001 at the annual Human Rights Campaign banquet.)
Later that year, before DeYoung could return from his illness, he was replaced by Lawrence Gowan.
Glen Burtnik returned to fill Chuck's bass duties. Burtnik left Styx in 2004 to spend "more quality time with my family"[citation needed] and to record a solo album, Welcome to Hollywood. He was replaced by Ricky Phillips, formerly of The Babys and Bad English. Burtnik was also unhappy with his diminshed role within the band and the lack of interest by the band in releasing his song, "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye" as a single.
He would later reunite with Dennis DeYoung on his solo tour in 2006, performing songs from Edge Of The Century, as well as songs from the unreleased follow-up to that album. Chuck Panozzo still sits in with the band as his health permits.
Meanwhile, DeYoung continues his solo career by re-arranging his Styx hits and performing with a symphony orchestra. He 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. Cyclorama sold few copies and to date has only sold approximately 15,000 copies in the US, a far cry from the 3 million plus that the band routinely sold in the late 70s and early 80s. 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, but failing to garner much staying power, only staying on the charts for 2 weeks. It did feature a #2 hit in the remake of the Beatles "I Am The Walrus". DeYoung's CD became a modest hit in Canada, selling about 30,000 copies there.
As of April 21, 2006, according to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) which awards artists and groups gold/platinum status, Styx ranks #127 with 17.5 million[5] records sold within the United States. After they finish up their tour, they will take a few months off to record a new album due out next Spring.
DeYoung's keyboard techniques
Dennis DeYoung used a vintage Oberheim synthesizer (OB-8) during his tenure with Styx. He felt this is what contributed to the unique sound that people associated with Styx [6]. During later tours, he switched to the more modern OB-8A, which was almost identical to the original. Contributing to this, he would mix the sounds from the Oberheim synthesizer with a Yamaha grand piano (as he did with the keyboard work of "Come Sail Away"). A frequent trademark was to mix different keyboard sound like this (even adding accordion on many songs, i.e. "All in a Day's Work" and "Boat on the River"). Also, frequently the synthesizer mimics the guitar riff, adding an electronic element to Shaw and Young's guitar signatures (As in "Blue Collar Man").
Styx in popular culture
The band and its music have made a wide-ranging impact on music, television and films. Some of the more notable examples include:
- Styx was featured on an episode of Family Guy in which Dennis DeYoung calls in to a hotline to bash KISS, and is rebuffed by Peter Griffin as being a "high-voiced bastard."
- DeYoung was featured in The Perfect Man (2005) as a Dennis DeYoung impersonator in a Styx tribute band.
- "Come Sail Away" was used in an episode of South Park (Eric Cartman cannot stand to hear the first few bars and not the rest of the song; he usually finishes it himself, at a ridiculously high speed presumably in order to get it out of his head as quickly as possible).
- In Arrested Development, Buster danced to "Mr. Roboto" when he got his hook stuck in the car (the scene is an homage to a TV commercial featuring the same song and actor, Tony Hale).
- Adam Sandler has stated that Styx is his favorite band, and he frequently features their songs in his movies. For example, in the film Big Daddy, he makes up wild stories about meeting the band to impress a woman, and teaches his "son" to explain that Styx is "a great American rock band" but is dismissed by critics because "most critics are cynical assholes."
- The Simpsons has featured the group and its music at least 3 times; in one episode, Homer travels down the River Styx in Hades while skeletons are on the shore playing "Lady" (prompting him to exclaim, "Oh, this truly is Hell!").
- Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) featured a character named Mr. Roboto (Nobu Matsuhisa), whom Powers thanks by reciting "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto."
- The television show Freaks and Geeks used Styx on at least two notable occasions:
- In the pilot episode, Sam asks his long-time crush Cindy Sanders to dance with him during a slow song. The song is "Come Sail Away". They walk through the crowd and, as they begin to dance, the song shifts up-tempo, and Sam loses his chance to dance to a slow song with her.
- In the episode Girlfriends and Boyfriends, Nick (played by Jason Segel), sings Lady to his love interest, Lindsay Weir (played by Linda Cardellini).
- Notable references in Futurama:
- In "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings," the Robot Devil sings that he shall marry Leela and confine her to Hell, "where Styx is a river, and not just a band, though they'll play our reception if all goes as planned."
- In the episode The 30% Iron Chef, chairman Koji says "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto." to Bender, referencing the song "Mr. Roboto".
- In an episode of "Sex and The City" entitled "Hot Child in The City" (Season 3 Episode 15) Carrie Bradshaw was in the residence of newfound boy toy Wade Adams where she discovered his record collection. She came across "Cornerstone" and said, "Oh my God! Styx! I LOOOOVE Styx! I had this album."
- In That 70's Show, one of the thanksgiving episodes features Eric as the only one of the group who enjoys the band Styx, and stays overnight to get a ticket for a thanksgiving concert, even though no one else wanted one. He is forced by his parents to stay home, and throughout the episode Kelso, Fez, and Jackie all admit to enjoying Styx (Fez and Kelso by trying to steal Styx records, and Jackie by "rocking out" to it in Eric's basement).
- The song Lady was performed by singing cows in the Real California Cheese commercial, which may be viewed here: [7].
Members
Current line-up
- Tommy Shaw – Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Mandolin, Shamisen, Synthesizers and Vocals (1975–1983, 1995–present)
- James "J.Y." Young – Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Vocals and Synthesizers (1970–present)
- Todd Sucherman – Drums, Percussion and Vocals (1996–present)
- Lawrence Gowan – Keyboards, Synthesizers and Vocals (1999–present)
- Ricky Phillips – Bass Guitar and Vocals (2004–present)
- Chuck Panozzo – Bass Guitar, Bass Pedals and Vocals (1961–1998)
Former members
- Dennis DeYoung – Vocals, Keyboards, Synthesizers and Accordion (1961–1999)
- John Panozzo – Drums, Percussion, and Vocals (1961–1996)
- John Curulewski – Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Vocals and Synthesizers (1970–1975)
- Glen Burtnik – Acoustic and Electric Guitars and Vocals (1990–1991) / Bass Guitar and Vocals (1999–2004)
Discography
Studio albums
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Live albums
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Compilations
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Singles
Styx has had a total of 8 Billboard top 10 singles, 7 written and sung by Dennis DeYoung and 1 written and sung by Tommy Shaw. One of those singles, Babe, hit #1 for two weeks.
They have had a total of 16 Billboard top 40 singles and 23 Billboard top 100 singles.
Styx is one of a handful of acts that had Billboard top 10 singles in 3 different decades (70s, 80s, 90s) and under 4 different presidential administrations (Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush).
Styx has two (2) one-million selling singles: "Babe" and "Mr. Roboto", both by DeYoung.
Charts
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | US Mainstream Rock | UK singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | "Best Thing" | #82 | - | - | Styx |
| 1975 | "Lady" | #6 | - | - | Styx II |
| 1975 | "You Need Love" | #88 | - | - | Styx II |
| 1976 | "Lorelei" | #27 | - | - | Equinox |
| 1976 | "Mademoiselle" | #36 | - | - | Crystal Ball |
| 1977 | "Crystal Ball" | #109 | - | - | Crystal Ball |
| 1977 | "Come Sail Away" | #8 | - | - | The Grand Illusion |
| 1978 | "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" | #29 | - | - | The Grand Illusion |
| 1978 | "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" | #21 | - | - | Pieces Of Eight |
| 1979 | "Sing For The Day" | #41 | - | - | Pieces Of Eight |
| 1979 | "Renegade" | #16 | - | - | Pieces Of Eight |
| 1979 | "Babe" | #1 | - | #6 | Cornerstone |
| 1980 | "Why Me" | #26 | - | - | Cornerstone |
| 1980 | "Borrowed Time" | #64 | - | - | Cornerstone |
| 1981 | "The Best Of Times" | #3 | - | #42 | Paradise Theater |
| 1981 | "Too Much Time On My Hands" | #9 | #2 | - | Paradise Theater |
| 1981 | "Nothing Ever Goes As Planned" | #54 | - | - | Paradise Theater |
| 1983 | "Mr. Roboto" | #3 | #3 | #90 | Kilroy Was Here |
| 1983 | "Don't Let It End" | #6 | - | #56 | Kilroy Was Here |
| 1983 | "High Time" | #48 | - | - | Kilroy Was Here |
| 1984 | "Music Time" | #40 | - | - | Caught In The Act - Live |
| 1990 | "Love Is The Ritual" | #80 | #9 | - | Edge Of The Century |
| 1991 | "Show Me The Way" | #3 | - | - | Edge Of The Century |
| 1991 | "Love At First Sight" | #25 | - | - | Edge Of The Century |
See also
External links
- Official Website
- VH1:Behind The Music
- Links to major Styx web sites: http://www.styxnet.com/
- Styx career on A&M Records with gallery, international discography
- Styx Collector: http://www.styxcollector.com
- Styx Lyrics
- Links To Everything Styx: http://www.styxlynx.com/
- http://www.racerrecords.com/Styx/statement.html