Styx Biography

The Tradewinds, a late 1960s Chicago band that featured brothers Chuck and John Panozzo (each of whom played bass and drums separately), as well as Dennis DeYoung, a fellow musician, were where the band's seeds were first sown (vocals consoles). The group altered its name to TW4 at the start of the 1970s and brought on two guitarists/vocalists, James JY Young and John Curulewski, in order to get a 1972 account deal with Wooden Nickel Records (an auxiliary of RCA). Soon after, the group decided to alter their name once more, this time to Styx, after a stream in Greek legend that passed through the underworld's "place where the dead are." Early releases by Styx, including their self-titled debut in 1972, Styx II in 1973, The Serpent Is Rising in 1974, and Man of Miracles in 1975, reveal that the band's sound was influenced by prog rockers like Emerson Lake and Palmer and the Moody Blues at the time. While the albums (along with persistent touring) helped the group establish a big following locally, Styx didn't break through until a song from their second album Lady started receiving a lot of playing in late 1974 on the Chicago radio station WLS-FM. As soon as the song was released as a single across the nation, it soared to number six on the singles chart since Styx II was assured gold. At this point, however, the group had become weary of its record mark and decided to collaborate with A&M for their fifth release in general 1975's Equinox (their previous name would give incalculable aggregations throughout the years winnowed from tracks off their initial discharges). Curulewski abruptly quit the band before the visit on the side of the collection, and Tommy Shaw took his place (unfortunately Curulewski would die from an aneurysm in 1988). Shaw turns out to be the missing piece in Styx's puzzle because many of their subsequent releases in the late '70s earned at least platinum certification (Crystal Ball in 1976, The Grand Illusion in 1977, Pieces of Eight in 1978, and Cornerstone in 1979), and they produced hit singles and notable stone radio gauges like Come Sail Away Renegade Blue Collar Man Fooling Yourself and the force song Babe.

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