Musical Genre: Melodic Rock/AOR
Formed: 1961

The original lineup of Styx got together as The Tradewinds (and later TW4) in 1961 in Chicago. Brothers Chuck and John Panozzo, Dennis De Young and John Curulewski played together at Chicago State University. Guitarist James "JY" Young joined them from a rival Chicago band. They changed their name to Styx and released their first self-titled album in 1972. Their first big hit was "Lady," on their 1973 release Styx II. Singer-guitarist Tommy Shaw joined the band in 1975, replacing John Curulewski.

They continued to release several multi-platinum albums throughout the late 70s and early 80s, including The Grand Illusion in 1977 featuring the hit "Come Sail Away," the concept album Paradise Theater (with "The Best of Times" and "Too Much Time on My Hands") in 1981 and 1983's Kilroy Was Here, featuring such hits as "Mr. Roboto" and "Don't Let It End". They followed the album up with a tour where the band members wore costumes and performed a stage show along with the music.

After the 1984 live album Caught In The Act, Dennis DeYoung and Tommy Shaw decided to pursue solo projects and put the band on hold. They reunited in 1990 for Edge of the Century with Glen Burtnik replacing Tommy Shaw (who was busy with Damn Yankees). Their next album was Greatest Hits in 1995. In 1996 Dennis DeYoung, James Young, Tommy Shaw, and Chuck Panozzo reunited for "The Return to Paradise Theater" tour with new drummer Todd Sucherman (John Panozzo passed away in July). In 1998 they released their first studio album in nearly a decade, Brave New World. That same year Chuck Panozzo left the band, and Dennis De Young was replaced by Lawrence Gowan, which started a series of lawsuits between the former bandmates. In 2003 they released Cyclorama, and Ricky Phillips of Bad English and Babys fame joined the band.

Their latest album, from 2005, is Big Bang Theory. The band is now on tour with Def Leppard and Foreigner.

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