A class action originally formed in the Chicago, Illinois area in the late 1960s as The Tradewinds. This earliest line-higher of the class action involved singer & keyboardist Dennis DeYoung, and the percussion section comprising brothers Chuck and John Panozzo. Changing their title briefly to TW4, a band added guitar player James Young and John Curulewski, and were before long signed to Wooden Nickel Records, under the title Styx.

1970s
A 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 using occasionally striking prog-rock flourishes and art-rock aspirations. On a nature & severity one releases & constant swimming within local clubs and schools, a band established a fan base in the Chicago front yard, however was unable to break into the mainstream until an early song, the power ballad "Lady" (from Styx II) began to earn a select few radio period, foremost around Chicago then united states-countrywide. In a spring of 1975, about ii years fallowing the album it come from either was freed, "Lady" hit the top x, & Styx II went gold presently fallowing.

On the heels of its late hit only, Styx signed by owning A&M Records and released Equinox (1975), which sold well and yielded a minor hit in "Lorelei". Resulting The move to A&M, Curulewski suddenly left the band shortly before they were to embark on a nationwide tour, and was replaced by singer and guitarist Tommy Shaw after a frantic search to find a last-minute replacement. A number 1 album using Shaw, Crystal Ball (1976), was moderately successful (a b& performs the Shaw-penned title track to this day), and its followup, The Grand Illusion (1977) became the class action's breakthrough album, running platinum & spawning a top-ten hit and AOR radio staple in "Come Sail Away," as well as a 2nd radio hit, "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)."

Through a late 1970s a band enjoyed its greatest profits, by using the album releases Pieces of Eight (1978) finding a class action moving around a further straight-ahead pop-rock counsel & spawning the hit singles "Renegade" and "Blue Collar Man", & Cornerstone (1979) yielding a class action's number 1 first hit, a DeYoung ballad "Babe", likewise when their large international hit, "Boat on the River".

1980s
Within 1981, Styx released Paradise Theater, a free concept album that became their biggest hit, reaching first on a Hoarding pop albums chart & giving 5 top-40 singles including the top Tenner hits "The Best Of Times" & "Too Much Time on My Hands". By this point it got (all over a course of many albums) lyrically established themselves when a voice of conscientiousness, by using songs criticizing profiteering & superficiality, also as people embracing self-self-realisation.

In a period of this period of greatest profits, the b&, particularly DeYoung and Shaw, began to become affected by interpersonal tensions. On the profits of the ballad "Babe", Styx founder DeYoung got been pushing for the further theatrical performance & pop-oriented counsel, when Shaw favorite the harder-edged approach. A band followed DeYoung's lead by having their next design, Kilroy Was Here: another, extrthe fully-realized construct album, this of these placed inside a new in which music itself has been outlawed. Critics said that a construct behind a album was however super murky; many band members themselves admitted to does'nt really getting it. Kilroy sold swell & was the centerpiece of an challenging & theatrical stage indicate; nonetheless, a album & tour were a critical disaster & brought a tensions inside the band to a breaking point. Kilroy did contain many hits, including a synthesizer-based "Mr. Roboto" and DeYoung's power ballad "Don't Let It End".

Within 1984, the band's number 1 survive album, Caught In The Work (which documented a Kilroy tour), was freed, featuring a single studio track, "Music Time," which was a mild radio hit & briefly cracked the top Forty. By this instance, notwithstanding, a virtually all successful versiin of Styx experienced disbanded & a members got moved on to moderately successful solo careers. DeYoung freed many successful solo albums centered in A arethe of popular ballads & easy rock tunes, & James Young attempted a solo career by using The James Young B& and achieved limited profits. Shaw formed Damn Yankees in 1989 with Ted Nugent, Jack Blades and Michael Cartellone.

1990s and present day
Within 1990, sustaining Shaw achieving a select few profits by using Damn Yankees, the unexpended elements of Styx reformed sustaining Glen Burtnik replacing Shaw. A future line-higher freed of these album, Edge of the Century, featuring the Dennis DeYoung ballad "Show Me The Way," which received even more, an extra boost upright before a 1st Persian Gulf War. A select few radio stations edited a Top Five smash to include a voices of toddlers whose parents were deployed around Saudi Arabia between 1990-91. Burtnik's songwriting too helped buoy "Edge of the Century" to gold album status, tributary to hits "Love at First Sight" & "Love is the Ritual." Styx toured through a U.S. by using somewhat mixed reviews, prior to again disbanding fallowing The&M dropped the band. Around 1994, DeYoung recorded "10 on Broadway," revealing his unexpected talent for singing popular showtunes.

A band reunited within 1995 to re-record "Lady" for Styx Greatest Hits (1995) and the 1996 tour, but John Panozzo was unable to participate due to declining health from either problems using alcohol that killed him before long when. Continuing using Todd Sucherman replacing Panozzo, Styx's 1996 Return to Paradise tour was as well the profits. It documented the reunion tour by using a Two-disc survive placed, 1997's Return To Paradise, which featured three recently studio tracks; "On My Way," "Paradise" (the easy rock hit that too appears in Dennis DeYoung's Hunchback of Notre Dame solo album), and "Dear John," the beautiful acoustical tribute to the late Styx drummer John Panozzo that has be a cult special among Styx fans. 2 years late, the band freed its foremost recently studio album around just about a decade, Brave New World (1999). a album received a lukewarm reception & the lone, "Everything Is Cool," failing to chart. Over again, personality conflicts drove a band members apart. When Tommy Shaw & James Young's poop followed the strong rock vein, Dennis DeYoung's taste for Broadway styles infuriated his bandmates, & a spectacular differences latest were everthing as well evident in Brave New World. DeYoung was farther hindered due to the viral unwellness which manufactured him overly sensitive to weak.

Within 1999, prior to he got the risk to link to to the class action DeYoung uncovered himself replaced by Lawrence Gowan on the record company's insistence that the band start touring over again when soon when conceivable. Chuck Panozzo likewise left at this period & late revealed that he was battling HIV. Glen Burtnik returned to fill Chuck's bass duties. Within 2004, Burtnik left Styx to spend further instance home, & was replaced by Ricky Philips, once of The Babys & Bad English. Chuck Panozzo however sits inside by owning a band on occasion.

Meanwhile, DeYoung continued his solo career by re-arranging his Styx hits & performing sustaining a philharmonic, & as well filed the causa against his previous band members charging that it got utilized the band's title forgoing his consent. A lawsuit wwhen sooner or later fixate the evidence that DeYoung may bill himself as "performing the music of Styx" or "formerly of Styx," but not "the voice of Styx". The freshly version of Styx featuring Shaw, Gowan, & resole left over original member James Young freed Cyclorama in February 2003. This edition of the band as well toured extensively through the 1st half of the decade. Within 2005, DeYoung freed the Video of re-recorded Styx hits from either the solo concert by owning the symphony orchestra (highborn "Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx"), patch the odd members of Styx recorded a fresh album manufactured completely of rock covers. A freshly Video, "Big Bang Theory", was freed in Can 10, 2005, & reached #46, Styx's greatest chart positiin on Hoarding's Top 200 around Fourteen years. Ten tracks from either a album following in the Media Base Classic Rock Chart's Top 75, by using "I Don't Need No Doctor" leading a way at #6. June 2005 brought a band to Europe, touring inside trend lines of Heavy Bang Theory, for their foremost visit within Xxiv years. Tommy Shaw said, "We have found our audience still there for us, and there for us with bells on. There is daily discussion as to when, how, where, and every other aspect of returning as soon as we can."

Styx in popular culture
Styx was featured in an episode of That '70s Show. Styx's "Come Sail Away" was featured in the pic The Virgin Suicides. Styx's "Come Sail Away" was featured in an episode of Freaks and Geeks. Styx's "Come Sail Away" was parodied in an episode of South Park, and Cartman frequently sings the song for there is no apparent cause whatsoever. Adam Sandler has stated that Styx is his favorite band, thus he oft features their songs around his moving picture. Mr. Roboto is featured in the first episode of the Japanese drama series Densha Otoko. Styx was featured in an episode of Family Guy in which Dennis DeYoung calls in to the KISS hotline to bash KISS. In an episode of The Simpsons Homer travels down the River Styx. A band members come on the shore, swimming "Lady."

Discography
Studio Albums 1972 Styx 1973 Styx II 1973 The Serpent Is Rising 1974 Man of Miracles 1975 Equinox 1976 Crystal Ball 1977 The Grand Illusion 1978 Pieces of Eight 1979 Cornerstone 1981 Paradise Theater 1983 Kilroy Was Here 1990 Edge of the Century 1999 Brave New World 2003 Cyclorama 2005 Big Bang Theory Survive Albums 1984 Caught in the Act 1997 Return to Paradise 2000 Arch Allies: Live at Riverport (live) (using REO Speedwagon) 2001 Styx World: Live 2001 (live) 2001 Yesterday & Today (live) 2002 ''At the River's Edge: Live in St. Louis (live) 2003 21st Century Live (live) Compilations 1995 Styx Greatest Hits 1996 Styx Greatest Hits Part 2 2000 Extended Versions 2002 20th Century Masters 2004 Come Sail Away - The Styx Anthology 2005 The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings''

Singles

"The Best Thing" (1972) #82 US "Lady" (1975) #6 US "You Need Love" (1975) #88 US "Lorelei" (1976) #27 US "Mademoiselle" (1976) #36 US "Come Sail Away" (1978) #8 US "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" (1978) #29 US "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" (1978) #21 US "Renegade" (1979) #16 US "Sing For The Day" (1979) #41 US "Babe" (1979) #1 US "Why Me" (1980) #26 US "Borrowed Time" (1980) #64 US "The Best Of Times" (1981) #3 US "Too Much Time On My Hands" (1981) #9 US "Nothing Ever Goes As Planned" (1981) #54 US "Mr. Roboto" (1983) #3 US "Don't Let It End" (1983) #6 US "High Time" (1984) #48 US "Music Time" (1984) #40 US "Love Is The Ritual" (1990) #80 US "Show Me The Way" (1990) #3 US "Love At First Sight" (1991) #25 US