Styx consists of Chuck Panozzo (bassist), James Young (guitarist, vocalist), Larry Gowan (vocalist, keyboardist), Todd Sucherman (percussionist, drummer), Tommy Shaw (guitarist, vocalist).
Styx is the first musical act to ever have four consecutive triple platinum albums, and remain one of the most popular musical acts in history.
The group originally formed in the Chicago, Illinois, area in 1961 as "The Tradewinds". This earliest line-up of the group included vocalist, pianist, keyboardist, and accordion player Dennis DeYoung, and a rhythm section comprising brothers Chuck and John Panozzo on bass and drums, respectively. Changing their name briefly to "TW4", the band added guitarists/vocalists James "J.Y." Young and John Curulewski. The band members decided to choose a new name when they signed to Wooden Nickel Records; several suggestions were made and, says DeYoung, Styx was chosen because it was "the only one that none of us hated."
The 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 with some dramatic prog-rock flourishes and art-rock aspirations. 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 early 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 the top ten, and Styx II went gold soon after.
On the heels of its belated hit single, Styx signed with A&M Records and released Equinox ( 1975), which sold well and yielded minor hits in "Lorelei" and "Light Up". Recently, on Dennis DeYoung's official website , he notes that "Suite Madame Blue" is the third most popular song in the province of Quebec, Canada (where Styx first became a headliner), after the songs "Stairway to Heaven" and "Hotel California". Following the move to A&M, Curulewski suddenly left the band just 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. The first album with Shaw, Crystal Ball ( 1976), was moderately successful (the band performs the Shaw-penned title track to this day) and also includes Shaw's "Mademoiselle" and "Shooz". Its follow-up, The Grand Illusion ( 1977) became the group's breakthrough album, reaching platinum certification and spawning a top-ten hit and AOR radio staple in the DeYoung-penned " Come Sail Away," as well as a second radio hit, Shaw's "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)." The album also includes its title track, and "Miss America", J.Y.'s only songwriting contribution to receive significant airplay.
