Dennis DeYoung - The Music Of STYX Biography

As the lead singer, writer, and keyboardist for the rock band Styx, Dennis DeYoung has enjoyed an impressive career that began in the early 1960’s and continues today. At the young age of fourteen, Dennis joined his young Roseland, Chicago neighbors, Chuck and John Panozzo, to create a three-piece combo band. Later, after adding John Curulewski and James Young, they took the name Tradewinds. A few years later, they would be known as TW4, before finally settling on the name Styx in 1970.

Dennis DeYoung took the lead as the band’s vocalist, but also took the role of producer, writer, accordion player, and keyboardist. He would eventually become the primary creative force behind Styx, writing seven of the band’s eight Top Ten singles. Singles like “Show Me The Way,” “Mr. Roboto,” “Don’t Let it End,” “Lady,” “Best of Times,” and the iconic chart-toppers “Babe” and “Come Sail Away” were all the result of Dennis DeYoung’s talent. In addition to his achievements as the band’s writer, DeYoung is known and appreciated for his talents as a self-taught keyboardist. DeYoung’s synthesizer solos, featured in many of Styx’s songs, were performed on an Oberheim synthesizer that created a unique sound that would eventual become the trademark of Styx.

After enjoying tremendous success with Styx, Dennis DeYoung began a solo career in 1984. Desert Moon, his first solo album, brought audiences “Desert Moon,” a Top Ten hit which went gold in Canada, and “Don’t Wait For Heros,” which also made its way to the Billboard’s Top 100. DeYoung ‘s Back to the World in 1986 featured the song “This is the Time,” from the soundtrack of the movie Karate Kid II, and DeYoung’s follow up, Boomchild, also received significant airplay, both radio and video. A fifth solo album, One Hundred Years from Now, followed in 2007, and then seven years later, in 2014, a double CD plus DVD/BluRay package arrived; Dennis DeYoung… And the Music of Styx Live, a live concert package.

Dennis DeYoung has continued to write and perform material for a variety of artistic outlets, including musical theater. He continues to write, record, and perform into the new millennium.