Chicago, IL · classic-rock · arena-rock

Styx

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'Come Sail Away' and 'Renegade' — Chicago's prog-pop survivors still working the harmonies half a century on.

Styx formed in Chicago in the early 1970s, growing out of a teenage band called The Tradewinds that neighbors Dennis DeYoung and twin brothers Chuck and John Panozzo had started years before. James Young and John Curulewski completed the original lineup, and the group released an album most years through the decade.

Styx II, from 1973, produced the sleeper hit "Lady," a power ballad that reached the US top ten and charted well in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Curulewski left in 1975 and was replaced by guitarist Tommy Shaw, who joined in time for Crystal Ball.

The band became one of the most commercially successful American rock acts of the decade, combining progressive rock arrangements with hard rock and radio-oriented songwriting. Keyboards, layered vocal harmonies and theatrical structure sit at the centre of the sound, synthesizers set against acoustic piano and power ballads placed beside upbeat rock tracks.

The Grand Illusion, in 1977, brought the commercial breakthrough with "Come Sail Away" and began a run of four straight multi-platinum albums. Pieces of Eight followed with "Renegade," Cornerstone produced the number-one ballad "Babe," and Paradise Theatre topped the US and Canadian charts behind "The Best of Times" and "Too Much Time on My Hands."

The concept album Kilroy Was Here, anchored by "Mr. Roboto," was the band's last major hit. Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw and James Young were the principal voices of that era; across it Styx placed eight songs in the Hot 100's top ten and sold more than 20 million records for A&M. DeYoung left in 1999, and Shaw and Young have led Styx through decades of steady touring since.

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