Styx Biography

Styx’s ability to create enduring, chart-topping hits has been undeniable. Singles such as “Come Sail Away” and “Babe’ are nearly iconic for the decades in which they became hits. But long before their rise to fame, the group was formed when brothers John Panozzo and Chuck Panozzo met up with Dennis DeYoung in 1961. Initially called The Tradewinds, the band would become complete with the addition of James Young in 1970, and in the following year they would adopt the name Styx, inspired by the mythological Greek river.

With influences from the Moody Blues and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, Styx very first self-titled album in 1972 would prove itself indicative of a noteworthy career. Sytx II followed in 1973, and the decade would bring a string of albums from the band, all of which charted high. The Serpent is Rising (1974), Man of Miracles (1975), Crystal Ball (1976), The Grand Illusion (1977), Pieces of Eight (1978) and Cornerstone (1979) would bring enduring hits such as “Renegade,” “Blue Collar Man,” “Fooling Yourself,” and the iconic “Babe” and “Come Sail Away.”  

Paradise Theater was released in 1981 to sell over three million copies and become their biggest hit. “Mr. Roboto” sprung from 1983’s Kilroy was Here, and Caught in the Act in 1984 rounded out an impressive period of success for the band.  A new studio album, Edge of the Century, with it’s power ballad “Show Me the Way” was released in 1990, and after a hiatus, Styx entered the new millennium in 1999 with Brave New World and Styx World: Live 2001, released in 2001.Cyclorama was released in 2003, and Big Bang Theory followed in 2005. The latter was Styx’s highest charting album in fourteen years, reaching number forty-six on the Billboard’s Top 200.

In recent years, Styx has joined forces with a number of other high-profile rock bands for annual or semi-annual tours. In 2010, Styx joined Def Leppard and Foreigner on a 50-day tour, and in the following year, the band played a North American tour with Boston. The years 2009 saw Styx on tour with REO Speedwagon and .38 Special, and then between 2014 and 2015 the group toured alongside Foreigner, Don Felder, Def Leppard, and Tesla for a variety of tours.

In total, Styx has sold over seventeen million records. The band continues to tour and perform with the current lineup of Chuck Panozzo, James Young, Tommy Shaw, Todd Sucherman, Lawrence Gowan, and Ricky Phillips. Styx’s latest album, The Mission, was released in the summer of 2017.