Styx (band)

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Styx
Styx-logo.svg

Live in Hinckley, MN on June 13, 2008 (Left to Right: James "JY" Young, Tommy Shaw, Lawrence Gowan)
Live in Hinckley, MN on June 13, 2008 (Left to Right: James "JY" Young, Tommy Shaw, Lawrence Gowan)
General information
Genre (s) Adult Oriented Rock , Progressive Rock , Art Rock
founding 1972
Website www.styxworld.com
Founding members
Dennis DeYoung
Chuck and John Panozzo
James Young
guitar
John Curulewski
Current occupation
Guitar, vocals
James Young
Guitar, vocals
Tommy Shaw
Ricky Phillips (since 2003)
Todd Sucherman
Keyboard , vocals
Lawrence Gowan

Styx is a rock band from Chicago ( USA ) that gained world fame mainly during the 1970s and 1980s. Styx is one of the best known representatives of Adult Orientated Rock .

history

In the late 1960s the band was founded as The Tradewinds . Long-time members Dennis DeYoung (vocals, keyboard instruments) and, as a rhythm group, the brothers Chuck and John Panozzo were already there in this formation. Soon after, the group performed as TW4 with guitarists James Young (JY) and John Curulewski. A record deal with Wooden Nickel Records was signed under the band name Styx.

The albums Styx (1972), Styx II (1973), The Serpent Is Rising (1973) and Man of Miracles (1974) were released under this label . It was a mixture of straightforward guitar rock and playful art rock with organ fugues and choral singing. Together with numerous live appearances in clubs and educational institutions, these albums formed a stable foundation for their success, which was initially limited to the Chicago region. The power ballad Lady (Styx II) soon made it onto national radio playlists. In 1975 the song became a top 10 hit, and a little later Styx II received gold.

Spurred on by this subsequent hit single, Styx soon signed with A&M Records , the album Equinox (1975) achieved good sales, the single Lorelei was a medium success. Curulewski had not signed the contract with A&M when Tommy Shaw joined the band as the new singer and guitarist . While Shaw's debut album Crystal Ball (1976) was still crowned with moderate success, the follow-up album The Grand Illusion (1977) was Styx's final breakthrough. The record went platinum and the top 10 hit Come Sail Away made radio playlists around the world.

In 1978 Styx released their successful eighth album Pieces of Eight , from which the singles Blue Collar Man and Renegade were decoupled. The next album Cornerstone (1979) got platinum status. The two single releases Babe and Boat on the River became number one hits. Styx's tenth album came out in 1981, Paradise Theater . The biggest hit was The Best of Times . It was also the band's most commercially successful album and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

After six months of work, the album was created in 1983 under the title Kilroy Was Here , which initiated the decline of the band. Although the song Mr. Roboto was one of the big disco hits of the year - over 1,000,000 singles were sold - the album was less commercially successful than its predecessors, it interrupted the series of multi-platinum albums and went "only" single platinum. The band also broke off the following tour because it was simply unprofitable.

Due to the declining success, the band broke up in 1984, most members began solo careers. Tommy Shaw joined the Damn Yankees .

In 1990 the band came together for a new album, Edge of the Century . For Tommy Shaw, however, Glen Burtnik came to Styx. In the 1990s there were several line-up changes: Dennis DeYoung and Chuck Panozzo left the band, Tommy Shaw returned, and Lawrence Gowan (keyboard, vocals) and Todd Sucherman ( drums ).

Discography

Studio albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1974 The Serpent Is Rising - - - - US192 (2 weeks)
US
First published: October 1973
Producers: Barry Mraz, Styx, John Snyder
Man of Miracles - - - - US154 (12 weeks)
US
First published: November 8, 1974
Producer: John Ryan
1975 Styx II - - - - US20th
gold
gold

(19 weeks)US
First published: July 1973, only in the charts in 1975.
Producer: John Ryan
Equinox - - - - US58
gold
gold

(50 weeks)US
First published: December 1, 1975
Producer: Barry Mraz, Styx
1976 Crystal ball - - - - US66
gold
gold

(18 weeks)US
First published October 1, 1976
Producers: Barry Mraz, Styx
1977 The grand illusion - - - - US6th
Triple platinum
× 3
Triple platinum

(127 weeks)US
First published: July 7th, 1977
Producer: Styx
1978 Pieces of Eight - - - - US6th
Triple platinum
× 3
Triple platinum

(92 weeks)US
First published: September 1, 1978
Producers: Barry Mraz, Styx
1979 Cornerstone DE6th
gold
gold

(34 weeks)DE
- - UK36 (8 weeks)
UK
US2
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(60 weeks)US
First published: October 19, 1979
Producer: Styx
1981 Paradise theater DE21 (15 weeks)
DE
- - UK8th
silver
silver

(8 weeks)UK
US1
Triple platinum
× 3
Triple platinum

(61 weeks)US
First published: January 19, 1981
Producer: Styx
1983 Kilroy Was Here DE7 (25 weeks)
DE
- - UK67 (6 weeks)
UK
US3
platinum
platinum

(34 weeks)US
First published: February 28, 1983
Producer: Styx
1990 Edge of the century - - - - US63
gold
gold

(38 weeks)US
First published: October 9, 1990
Producer: Dennis DeYoung
1999 Brave New World - - - - US175 (1 week)
US
First published: June 29th, 1999
Producer: Styx
2003 Cyclorama - - - - US127 (1 week)
US
First published: February 18, 2003
Producers: Tommy Shaw, James Young,
Gary Loizzo
2005 Big Bang Theory - - - - US46 (2 weeks)
US
First published: May 10, 2005
Producer: Gary Loizzo, Styx
2017 The Mission DE49 (2 weeks)
DE
- CH34 (1 week)
CH
- US45 (2 weeks)
US
First published: June 16, 2017

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More studio albums

  • 1972: Styx

Live albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1984 Caught in the Act DE55 (2 weeks)
DE
- - UK44 (2 weeks)
UK
US31 (15 weeks)
US
First release: April 1984
double album, producers: Styx
1997 Return to Paradise - - - - US139
gold
gold

(1 week)US
Recorded at Rosemont Horizon in Chicago
First release: May 5th, 1997
Double album, Producer: Dennis DeYoung


More live albums

  • 2000: Arch Allies: Live at Riverport (release: September 26; with REO Speedwagon , double album; recording: Riverport Amphitheater, St. Louis , June 9, 2000)
  • 2001: Styxworld Live 2001 (release: June 5th; recording: Kosei Nenkin Hall Tokyo, February 10th, 2000 / Stadthalle Offenbach, October 27th, 2000 / Shaw Center Edmonton , February 11th, 2000)
  • 2003: 21st Century Live (released October 7; recording: Riverport Amphitheater, St. Louis, June 9, 2000)
  • 2006: One with Everything: Styx and the Contemporary Youth Orchestra (Release: November 14th; Recording: Blossom Music Center Cuyahoga Falls , May 25th, 2006)
  • 2011: The Grand Illusion / Pieces of Eight - Live (double album)

Compilations

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1995 Greatest hits - - - - US138
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(7 weeks)US
First published: August 22, 1995
2004 Come Sail Away -
The Styx Anthology
- - - - US136 (1 week)
US
First release: May 4th, 2004
double album
2014 The Soundtrack of Summer:
The Very Best of Foreigner & Styx
- - - - US69 (12 weeks)
US
First release: May 6, 2014
Split album with Foreigner and Don Felder
incl. Eagles hit Hotel California

More compilations

  • 1977: Best of Styx (US:goldgold)
  • 1977: Styx Radio Special (double album)
  • 1980: A Collection of Styx
  • 1980: Rock Galaxy - Styx (double album)
  • 1981: Reppoo
  • 1982: The Styx Collection
  • 1983: Radio Sampler & Interview Album (2 LPs)
  • 1987: Classics Volume 15 (US:goldgold)
  • 1992: Lady
  • 1996: Greatest Hits Part 2
  • 1997: The Best of Times: The Best of Styx
  • 2000: Extended Versions: The Encore Collection
  • 2000: The Singles Collection (double album)
  • 2001: Yesterday & Today
  • 2002: The Best of Styx
  • 2003: Rockers
  • 2005: The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings (double album)
  • 2006: Gold (double album)
  • 2010: Icon
  • 2011: Babe - The Collection
  • 2011: Regeneration: Volume I & II (release: October 4th; double album)
  • 2013: 5 Classic Albums (box with 5 CDs)

Singles

year Title
album
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1972 Best Thing
Styx
- - - - US82 (6 weeks)
US
First published: September 1972
1974 Lady ( Reissue )
Styx II
- - - - US6 (17 weeks)
US
First published: November 1974
1975 You Need Love
Styx II
- - - - US88 (2 weeks)
US
First published: April 1975
1976 Lorelei
Equinox
- - - - US27 (14 weeks)
US
First published: January 1976
Mademoiselle
Crystal Ball
- - - - US36 (11 weeks)
US
First published: October 1976
1977 Come Sail Away
The Grand Illusion
- - - - US8 (22 weeks)
US
First published: August 1977
1978 Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
The Grand Illusion
- - - - US29 (14 weeks)
US
First published: January 1978
Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
Pieces of Eight
- - - - US21 (14 weeks)
US
First published: September 1978
Sing for the Day
Pieces of Eight
- - - - US41 (8 weeks)
US
First published: December 1978
1979 Renegade
Pieces of Eight
- - - - US16 (19 weeks)
US
First published: March 1979
Babe
Cornerstone
- - - UK6th
silver
silver

(10 weeks)UK
US1
gold
gold

(19 weeks)US
First published: September 1979
Why Me
Cornerstone
- - - - US26 (13 weeks)
US
First published: December 1979
1980 Borrowed Time
Cornerstone
- - - - US64 (6 weeks)
US
First published: March 1980
Boat on the River
Cornerstone
DE5 (32 weeks)
DE
AT2 (14 weeks)
AT
CH1 (15 weeks)
CH
- -
First published: March 1980
Lights
Cornerstone
DE35 (8 weeks)
DE
- - - -
First published: July 1980
1981 The Best of Times
Paradise Theater
DE52 (7 weeks)
DE
- - UK42 (5 weeks)
UK
US3 (19 weeks)
US
First published: January 1981
Too Much Time on My Hands
Paradise Theater
- - - - US9 (19 weeks)
US
First published: March 1981
Nothing Ever Goes as Planned
Paradise Theater
- - - - US54 (8 weeks)
US
First published: June 1981
1983 Mr. Roboto
Kilroy Was Here
DE8 (18 weeks)
DE
AT16 (4 weeks)
AT
CH4 (6 weeks)
CH
UK90 (6 weeks)
UK
US3
gold
gold

(18 weeks)US
First published: February 1983
Don't Let It End
Kilroy Was Here
DE70 (1 week)
DE
- - UK56 (3 weeks)
UK
US6 (16 weeks)
US
First published: April 1983
High Time
Kilroy Was Here
- - - - US48 (7 weeks)
US
First published: August 1983
1984 Music Time
Caught in the Act
- - - - US40 (9 weeks)
US
First published: April 1984
1990 Love Is the Ritual
Edge of the Century
- - - - US80 (6 weeks)
US
First published: October 1990
Show Me the Way
Edge of the Century
- - - - US3 (23 weeks)
US
First published: December 1990
1991 Love at First Sight
Edge of the Century
- - - - US25 (16 weeks)
US
First published: April 1991

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More singles

  • 1972: I'm Gonna Make You Feel It (released December)
  • 1973: Father OSA
  • 1973: Winner Take All (release: August)
  • 1973: Lady (release: September)
  • 1974: Unfinished Song (release: April)
  • 1974: Lies (release: August)
  • 1975: Best Thing (released June)
  • 1976: Light Up (release: April)
  • 1977: Jennifer (release: January)
  • 1977: Crystal Ball (release: May)
  • 1988: Babe EP
  • 1990: Carrie Ann
  • 1996: Little Suzie
  • 2005: Can't Find My Way Home

Video albums

  • 1991: Caught in the Act
  • 1997: Return to Paradise (US:goldgold)
  • 2000: Arch Allies - Live at Riverport (with REO Speedwagon )
  • 2004: 20th Century Masters - The DVD Collection: The Best of Styx
  • 2006: One with Everything
  • 2011: The Grand Illusion / Pieces of Eight - Live

swell

  1. ^ Sterling Whitaker: The Grand Delusion: The Unauthorized True Story of Styx . Booksurge Llc, 2006, ISBN 978-1-4196-5353-7 .
  2. a b c d Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
  3. a b The Billboard album by Joel Whitburn , 6th Edition, Record Research 2006, ISBN 0-89820-166-7 .
  4. a b c d gold / platinum databases: DE UK US

Web links