Styx

Styx biography

Styx () is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater.

The band is best known for the hit songs "Lady" (#6, 1975), "Come Sail Away" (#8, 1977), "Babe" (#1, 1979), "The Best of Times" (#3, 1981), "Too Much Time on My Hands" (#9, 1981), and "Mr. Roboto" (#3, 1983). Other hits by the band include "Show Me the Way" (#3, 1990), "Don't Let It End" (#6, 1983), and "Renegade" (#16, 1978). The band has four consecutive albums certified multi-platinum by the RIAA.

Early years

Twin brothers Chuck and John Panozzo first got together with their neighbor Dennis DeYoung in 1961 in the Roseland section of the south side of Chicago, eventually taking the band name "The Tradewinds". Chuck Panozzo left to attend seminary school for a year but returned to the group by 1964. Tom Nardini had been brought in to replace Chuck on guitar and Chuck decided to play bass guitar when he returned to the band. John Panozzo was the drummer, while Dennis DeYoung had switched from accordion to organ and piano. In 1965, the name "Tradewinds" was changed to TW4 after another band called The Trade Winds broke through nationally. By 1966, the Panozzo brothers had joined DeYoung at Chicago State University and kept the group together doing gigs at high schools and frat parties while studying to be teachers. In 1969 they added a college buddy, John Curulewski, on guitar after Tom Nardini departed. Guitarist James "J.Y." Young came aboard in 1970 making TW4 a quintet.

In 1972 the band members decided to choose a new name when they signed to Wooden Nickel Records. Several suggestions were made, and according to DeYoung, the name Styx (the river in Greek mythology between Earth and the Underworld) was chosen because it was "the only one that none of us hated".

Wooden Nickel years

The band's Wooden Nickel recordings Styx (1972), Styx II (1973), The Serpent Is Rising (1973), and Man of Miracles (1974) were a mixture of straight-ahead rock with some dramatic prog-rock flourishes and art-rock aspirations. These albums showcase intricate and powerful organ, guitar, vocal, and percussion solos as well. The Serpent Is Rising would foreshadow later endeavors by the group - the so-called concept album is an idiom upon which Styx would rely heavily by the 1980s.

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 earlier 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 #6 in the U.S., and Styx II went gold soon after.

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