Styx: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Facts
Eligible Since: 1998
Finalist: Never
Grammy Awards/Nominations: 0/1
Career Top 40 Hits: 16
Essential Tracks: Lady (1973), Come Sail Away (1977), Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man) (1978), Renegade (1979), Babe (1979), The Best of Times (1981), Too Much Time On My Hands (1981), Mr. Roboto (1983), Show Me the Way (1990)
Essential Albums: The Grand Illusion (1977), Pieces of Eight (1978), Cornerstone (1979), Paradise Theatre (1981)
The classic rock unit Styx has been eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for more than 25 years. Despite a boatload of hit singles and albums, they have yet to be inducted alongside their peers.
Why has Styx been ignored by the Rock Hall for so long, and is it possible they could still be honored by the Hall someday? Read on as we run down their history and accomplishments.
Styx’s Rock Hall Credentials
Styx has been one of the most successful bands in rock history, with top ten hits in three different decades and an estimated 18 million albums sold in the U.S. and 54 million worldwide.
Styx began as a progressive rock band in the early ’70s, but moved toward a more traditional rock sound after Tommy Shaw joined in 1975. The band has had several lineup changes over the years, but the core group during their peak years featured singer-guitarist Tommy Shaw, bassist Chuck Panozzo, and guitarist James “J.Y.” Young, all of whom continue to perform with the group today; plus singer-keyboardist Dennis DeYoung and drummer John Panozzo.
DeYoung and Shaw wrote most of the group’s hits separately, and the contrast between their songs was obvious. Shaw penned the hard-rocking hits like “Renegade” and “Too Much Time On My Hands,” while DeYoung wrote and sang the love ballads like “Babe” and “Lady.”
This duality works both for and against the group in terms of Rock Hall consideration. On one hand, it’s always impressive when bands have multiple singers and songwriters who can create their own styles.
But having two styles can turn off potential Hall voters who don’t like both sides of the group. Voters who like and respect the Shaw-helmed material, for instance, may still leave Styx off their ballot if they think that DeYoung’s ballads are too gloopy.
DeYoung tended to favor dramatic, theatrical tunes. These elements were common in ’70s classic rock (this was the era of Bowie, Queen, and Elton, after all), but sometimes they felt like they didn’t fit in with the rest of Styx’s catalogue.
When DeYoung’s more creative efforts worked, they really worked. “Come Sail Away” is a certified classic, “The Best of Times” is dramatic in the best possible way, and even “Mr. Roboto” is viewed favorably by most listeners.
But his experiments didn’t always pay off. Kilroy Was Here, the 1983 release that featured “Roboto,” was an ambitious, futuristic rock opera. Although its storyline was about a future where rock music is outlawed, many fans just remember it for the weird robots in the videos and artwork.
The album and its Broadway-esque concert tour, spearheaded by DeYoung, created tension within the band, and Shaw left for several years. Styx didn’t issue another album until 1990’s comeback effort Edge of the Century, which produced the #3 hit “Show Me the Way.”
In the late ’90s, the band reunited with most of its classic lineup and began touring again. They have continued to tour and release new music in the years since, although they have not achieved the same level of commercial success as they did in their heyday.
Though Styx never won a lot of awards, “Babe” did capture a People’s Choice Award. They still have songs like “Come Sail Away” and “Renegade” getting played on classic rock radio stations today, which can only help their cause, as it keeps them in the conversation.
Not many bands with four multi-platinum albums and 16 Top 40 singles fail to earn Hall of Fame induction. Only a handful of other acts have had similar commercial success without getting nominated, including Motley Crue, Phil Collins, and the Pointer Sisters. So you’d have to think that Styx could someday get inducted.
The Case Against Styx
Styx received mixed reviews from critics throughout the years. The ballads were criticized for being too sappy, the harder-edged songs were criticized for being formulaic, and the band itself was generally perceived by some as not being especially innovative.
In some circles, Styx were just never “cool.” Look at the video for “Too Much Time On My Hands.” That’s a badass song, but everything about this video is just silly. Perhaps it’s this sort of thing which prevented the band from ever getting the full level of respect they deserve.
Or maybe critics’ main problem was DeYoung himself. His soft-pop tunes were divisive, and Kilroy Was Here was mocked by some music fans for years. Yet no one can deny that he wrote a number of smash hits.
Another argument against Styx’s induction is their limited influence on future artists. Surely they must have influenced some bands who came after them, but who? It’s not like there’s a huge list of modern artists lining up to declare that they are Styx superfans.
While Styx may have had a successful career and loyal fanbase, their critical reception and limited influence have led many to question whether they deserve induction into the Hall.
The Verdict: Will Styx Get Inducted?
Styx’s chart performance definitely makes them a Hall of Fame contender, even if they haven’t been nominated yet. Plenty of long-overlooked bands do end up getting inducted. See Judas Priest, Journey, Steve Miller Band, Chicago, and more.
But dozens of rock bands from the ’70s and ’80s have already been inducted into the RRHOF, so there must be something about Styx that Rock Hall voters just don’t care for. It’s possible that Styx could end up being one of those groups that falls through the cracks and just never gets the support needed to earn induction.
But after the recent inductions of Foreigner and Bad Company, it’s clear the Hall is still intent on inducting more ’70s rock bands. That means Styx’s odds are now above 50% for the first time.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Styx
Odds of Getting Inducted Next Year: 10%
Odds of Getting Inducted in the Next Five Years: 25%
Odds of Getting Inducted Eventually: 60%
Do you think Styx will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame someday? Leave a comment and let us know!
Click to read all the articles in our “Will They Get Inducted?” series!
Last Updated on April 28, 2025
Styx is worthy of being inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame.
Tommy Shaw is one of the most talented performers I have EVER seen
I have seen them three times and have enjoyed every second of every performance.
If you are able to see them live, you too will see their greatness.
I know Tommy Shaw in real life. He actually has a house here in Wilton Manors which is within Broward County Florida which is next to Fort Lauderdale Florida. I met him a few times out in public. He doesn’t really seem to be that sociable. I didn’t bother him asking him for his Autograph. I just said hi in passing. Just another human being as far as I am concerned. In some people’s opinion ROCK STARS are on another whole different level whereas I just see them as a person breathing oxygen trapped on this big rock by Gravity called the Planet Earth. Happy Holidays to you All.
Maybe the loyal fans of Styx, Foreigner, and Boston need to start a grassroots effort to get each inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! The fans already “voted” by purchasing millions of albums … now it’s time to flood the RRHOF with texts, e-mails, phone calls, and letters in support of each of these groups we have come to appreciate for their contributions to the music industry. If they want us to come to their shrine to music greatness, they need to give us a reason to come to Cleveland. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD PEOPLE!
I love Styx and think they absolutely belong in the RRHOF. They are a hard working band, love what they do, and keep creating. They give 200%. They love their audience and You just can’t get get enough.
Styx was a be best band of Kate 70 and 80s they deserve to be in . Listen to Come sail away
I’ve been listening to Styx recently…in order…and have become fairly ambivalent about them being in the HOF. Arguably their most important/groundbreaking album was Grand Illusion. Sure, there’s Come Sail Away…then there’s also Superstars. There’s Man in the Wilderness and Fooling Yourself from Shaw, both excellent…and then there’s the droning, dragging Castle Walls. And of course, JY gets his growlfest with Miss America.
When I was a teen, these were fun departures from my homework, from other problems occupying the mind of the average music loving teen. Styx was reliable but very very very predictable. Shaw’s entry into the band took it up a notch for sure and his songs were something to look forward to. But things that stand out now are the campy formula songs and above all else…the stage shows DeYoung insisted on. OMG…my first Styx show was Grand Illusion. I actually was able to convince my MultiMedia teacher to convince my principal to write a letter for me that I would like to do a project showing what it took to put on a concert. I actually got to spend the whole day watching the stage prep and more importantly, the lighting setup and a whole bunch of tape being applied to the stage floor. I came to realize it was all choreographed. Down to postures and positions. All DeYoung. Also a “stick in the craw” thing as I’ve aged was the pronunciations of vowels (the “a” sounds, the “ah” sounds) all very over the top. DeYoung.
If they make it, cool. If they don’t…I have some pretty good reasons I can bring up as to why they probably won’t. And I’m a fan, not a critic.
Music is so personal, everyone doesn’t hear things the same way. I have been a Styx fan most of my life, I went out and bought Pieces of Eight on the first day it came out as a young man and I have seen them in concert probably 10 times in my life and have enjoyed them every time. I personally think that The Grand Illusion, Pieces of Eight, and The Paradise Theater albums are masterpieces. Dennis DeYoung was more than singer that wrote ballads, he was the driving force, the master mind that drove Tommy Shaw and the others to write songs to a concept, he cowrote and produced the albums. Unfortunately he was a bit of a dictator making him hard to work with. The current lineup is a great touring band but they haven’t had much recording success without him. I do believe that they belong in the Hall of Fame, and I would hope that it will happen before someone else dies. I would like to see them all perform together with the classic line up for the fans once again.
The reason why they have not been considered is of Jy and Tommy’s own making: The cheap propaganda they partook in to malign Dennis in the Behind the Music VH1 show about a decade ago stuck to them like a bad smell and fractured the legacy and the fan base. That VH1 comedy show was a low blow attempt to wrestle control of the band from Dennis–who started the band in the 1960’s–to brand him as the “show-tunes” guy who wanted to do Broadway not rock. The cruelest branding one can do to the guy whose songs Tommy and JY and that Gowan sing every night–that re-branding of Tommy and Jy’s “we’re the rockers! he’s the cheesy ballad guy” (which was not the impression anyone who followed them in the 1970’s and 1980’s had of them at all because they were a unit back then and everyone saw them as a whole, till the evil twins concocted this gaslighting publicity campaign to turn everyone who loved that unit against the main guy–the one they could not exist without as “Styx”)–Now the lines from that propaganda show on VH1 are repeated almost verbatim by every fan who took the bait and turned on Dennis, by every commenter on Youtube, and by online writers like this guy who wrote the above article, who does not have a clue who Styx is; he makes biased, unfounded claims that some of Dennis’s songs did not fit in the catalogue. You cannot say that if you actually know the catalogue. Let’s have the evidence: It was his band from the beginning; he started it with the Panazzo brothers. The band does not exist without him–in more ways than one. Let us count the ways. 1) He produced every Styx album. That means all of the songs do not exist in the form they are in, the ones that rock, the ballads, the midtempo–everything has his unmistakeable mark of influence in sound and arrangement. The guy is a pure songwriter and has a very clear concept of how the music should sound. Look at his solo albums and you’ll see how the guy is an expert at composition and arrangement–the hardest part of songwriting. You either have it or you don’t and Tommy and Jy don’t like Dennis does. If you do not have someone in the band who can do that, you do not have songs. Clearly, Tommy and JY held that against him, yet reaped the benefits of his influence. They sing those timeless songs every night that were produced by him. In fact, Renegade was a slow acoustic song that Dennis steered Tommy to turn it into the Rock song it is. But Tommy takes the credit as if proof he’s the rocker and Dennis is the balladier. Total nonsense: Tommy and Jy are counting on the casual fan not knowing the catalogue. If you know it, you know that Tommy wrote plenty of slow ballads and songs that were not rockers by any stretch: Boat on the River?–that song belongs playing in an Italian restaurant. Sing for the Day–so a folk song is ok but not a pop ballad? The shlocky “She Care’s?–worst song on Paradise Theatre. Never Say Never? (a very sweet pop song–but no rocker) LIghts? (sweet and no rocker) Haven’t We Been Here Before? (the worse contribution to Killroy Was Here) Look at Tommy’s solo album “Girls With Guns”, produced when he quit Styx, because according to the Gospel of Behind the Music, he was so sick of Dennis’s show tunes that he just had to rock. Try to get through each song–they’re terrible. No form, no composition, none of them rock, all overpowered by synthesizers. It seems Tommy resented needing the song-writing partnership and direction of Dennis. Because it becomes clear what a man contributes by his absence. Tommy could never have written the music in Styx without Dennis’ collaboration. Same with Jy’s Here’s Spinal Tap solo album. That guy seriously needed a Dennis to help give form and shape to his music. Like it or not, Dennis was their musical soul mate that birthed those songs with them under the name Styx. It used to be that the songs belonged to all of them and all of the fans, until Tommy and Jy divvied it up–between us and him, good and bad, rock and shlock. That’s a cruel lie. And it is the height of ingratitude, disloyalty to the music and the man who made it, to lie to the public why you turned him out. Just tell the truth–you wanted it both ways–his contributions without him. Take the music and run, sing it every night with some guy who can play and sing like him–but as David Lee Roth said, are you playing or creating. Anyone can play the music, but did you create it? NO, This “Styx” that people say they see these days are players. They even re-recorded the songs, as if the recordings were bad–still trying to obliterate the influence of Dennis from the music.. That’s like trying to make the tiger without God. Their new recordings added nothing new to the music; their wish to be another band than the one they were is all illusion in their heads–they think they are accomplishing some kind of lobotomy where they can excise the part of the brain of the organization that holds the memory of how music is actually made–oh, yeah, and the part of the mind that remembers how they actually sounded as a band and functioned as a group back in the day when we loved them and took them as one. I know this band as a fan like the back of my hand–I was with them from the beginning and all the way till the end of the 90’s till the Big Carrot album (which shows the identity crisis two aging rockers named Tommy and Jy had after Dennis was gone–now they could rock right? And what did they make, some Grunge knock-off, trying to sound hip to the kids, playing songs that have no identity, no mark of a sound that is gold for a group–so hard to attain. And it was found with and by Dennis. He was largely in charge of how those songs sounded and that’s why they hated him. They rejected that sound–and are still trying to find their sound. Witness that strange Mars album that is a bunch of cliches that people accuse Styx of being–a concept album band. An inexplicably irrelevant subject matter for an album–a trip to Mars? wtf–produced with Tommy and some guy from Yes. They had to import a progressive rocker in to take the place of the guy they kicked out because he was tied to the dated progressive rock history of the band . . . so that they could make a knock off progressive album with a concept which Tommy said he never wanted to do? Make that make sense. Clearly, he is trying to find some winning formula to channel his players into. For those of us who used to care about the band: Tommy and Jy betrayed them. So why will they not be inducted–because many of the fans are gone, remembering what used to be, and they are not pulling for any induction that would reward their dishonesty with a trophy. They have been selling themselves as Styx for 2 long lying decades. I could care less if they see that day.
What you describe is what all bands back in the day did. Watch Journey concerts from ’78 ’79’ 80′–the same thing every night down to the gestures. The Captured album was literally a record of the exact same thing they did every night–just watch the concerts from back in that day. Van Halen? David Lee Roth did the same conversation bits every night-the same dance moves with the band following, too. That is how you managed doing over 300 shows a year playing the same music. This is what every Broadway theatre performer will tell you–how do I make it new every night? You can and you can’t. it’s easier to follow what you always have done. Styx was not doing anything different. You just happened to see how it works–when only seeing the show from the front of the stage–it would have looked like the magic of the first time. Give them a break!
No fan ever really knows what goes on with a band. As fans we only know what they show and tell us. Behind the Music did Steve Perry dirty too. He said something to the effect, they gave you 1 percent of it and served it up to you for lunch. Dennis went on record saying after he saw it, what the hell just happened? It looks like it was deliberately distorting for the sake of Tommy and Jy’s ambitions. No matter how much they do their PR for a band, the fan can pick up on some things that the band can’t hide. In the age of the Internet the fan can learn stuff from other fans. So . . . a story went around the Internet from a guy who got backstage pass to a Styx show back in the 70’s and he’s says he’s standing backstage watching the opening band, and this guy stands next to him, short, blond, you get the picture, not knowing who he is at all, the short blond guy asks the fan how he likes the opening band and the fan says he’s really liking it, and then he says, are you staying to see Styx, and the guy says, No way, Styx sucks. The blond guy, as he tells the story, slumps his shoulders, totally deflated and walks away. Only later does he learn who he was talking to, one Tommy Shaw So imagine how much Shaw heard that over and over. As a fan back in the 70’s we heard it all the time. Styx and sucks went together like peanut butter and jelly. It was this strange band you often had to defend for liking, or hide it from others that you listened to them. They were not ACDC, you could be proud to love them and it was a status symbol to listen to them. Even JY said, he wished he had been in ACDC. wtf? So you have these two members of a band that sell quadruple platinum success, millions go to their concerts, buy their records, in 1981 Paradise Theatre show was the hottest ticket in town, most popular band in America said Seventeen magazine, lines around the block to get tickets to the show, and at the same time, they know many think this about them, not just the Rolling Stone magazine who hated them. the parking lot of whale vomit comment, but they heard it from the casual person. That’s got to stick in your craw all these years that you were never cool. That’s got to give you some kind of inferiority complex about your own music. Then you get stories of Jy who did not want Tommy coming to see them backstage when Styx was playing and Damn Yankees were in town too. Like he was a traitor and JY was the good soldier who soldiered through Killroy and stuck up for Dennis and was still around. Jy comes off like he switches allegiances to suit himself. He was with Dennis when Tommy left. Now him and Tommy are inseparable and against dennis. What the two did not realize is how much they came off looking like little men in the Behind the Music. Whimps complaining now they feel stronger as grown men how they could not stand up to Dennis, poor me, he took over the music, he made me act like a fool in front of thousands. I’m going to die tonight in Texas comment, as if that made Dennis look bad instead of Tommy looking like a weak man who cared more about money than his own integrity. That seems to be the issue with most bands, Daddy issues. David Lee Roth says there is a reason why the corporate suits and management call you ‘boys’. Bands are formed of young men. Then they grow trying to become individual men and everyone is rebelling against the other guy who is acting like an authority over them. Tommy/JY bond seems done in bad faith. Then, They s…t all over their own catalogue. How many bands from the 70’s had bad music in the 80’s? But they don’t make a documentary to shine a bright light on how bad one particular album was and blame one guy for it. You draw more attention to it, and you teach people how to hate at it, when who really had a problem with Killroy was here? (clearly only Tommy and JY the rocker wannabes) rather than letting it slide into the oblivion of the past and let people organically judge its merits within the whole of the catalogue. So who would induct them into the RRHF if they admitted themselves they made bad music? They shot themselves in the foot foolishly trying to make themselves look cooler than Dennis (oh, and Gowan is way cooler!). He’s the reason Styx sucked all those years! Come back to us, ‘cuz now he’s gone, we redid the music and it doesn’t suck anymore! That’s self-delusional. That seems to be part of what is behind their PR campaign. Now they rerecord all the music, still trying to make Styx cooler than it was, searching for some sound that will make the same darn music harder and more like . . . . what? More like ACDC? They come off as having a hate relationship with their own catalogue and history. Who is going to give them a lifetime achievement trophy when they s…t all over their own achievement themselves? They made the songs, these are their children, but they don;t like them, because, whY? If you say Dennis was a dictator, then the music you created must be too much his. So why are you playing what you say you never liked in the first place, if he had too much of a hand in the making of it? Why not re-write and re-compose the music to get Dennis out of all of it? Why keep playing what he had a hand in creating? They did not see the logical fallacies in their PR campaign. You can’t shit on something and then re-sell it to people as candy. Only the casual fan, the ones that just picked them up this millenum and go to their concerts today, can buy this. those that see a bigger picture find it delusional. Tommy did not use a guy from Yes, he used a hired hand who helped him get a bluegrass sound for solo album and then rehired him to get a progressive sound for the Mars album. It isn’t organic music, coming from their souls, like the old Styx music, but two guys putting their heads together to create a cliche sound. Let’s make a record that sounds like “Styx” sounded back in progressive rock days. It sounds like a soundtrack to a Hollywood movie. Tommy comes off as someone in search of an identity, still all these years later.
The new “Styx” album “Circling” is another Tommy Shaw solo album. Look at the song credits. Nothing but songs written by Tommy and his song-writing/producer partner from his solo albums (same guy was “used” in that ludicrous Mars album, as well. He is a surrogate band member). The truth emerges, as the above comment states: There are things the best PR campaign cannot hide from a public: Years and years ago in the 80’s there was a Tommy Shaw interview on MTV which centered on his musical ambitions for touring his first solo album “Girls with Guns” and he was asked about the long-run view of his new solo career. He said, reasonably, he accepts playing smaller venues, or larger ones as an opening act for a more successful band–but eventually, he sees making a gradual progression to being the opening act in large stadium venues. On display in this interview was “the 80’s full of yourself” of so many of these 70’s rock group members who made solo albums in the 80’s with stars in their eyes and egos the size of the success of the bands they came from, naively thinking being in a platinum selling band meant they were as great as the sum of the parts, and their fame as a member meant that they would be a great recording artist on their own. As Journey’s manager Herbie Herbert said, in “Castle’s Burning”, there were only 3 recording artists who became as big as the bands from which they came when they embarked on solo careers following the 70’s rock star “let’s start a solo career” trend of the 80’s: Phil Collins, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks. 2 of them were superb instrumentalists, composers, producers and arrangers of their music and one (the non-instrumentalist) has a knack for attracting men who can put her great musical ideas together for her). These 3 graduated to selling out stadiums. They are artists with great stage presence-an “it” factor. Tommy, not so much. Tommy had great ambition, as the interview showed, but he did not have the right combination of what the others had to make his ambitions a reality. He needs a band to satisfy at least some of these ambitions, and to project a great presence he cannot stand alone–he needs to stand with a band to look his best. He does so with Damn Yankees for a time, but returns to Styx–and not a long time after rejoining, Dennis is kicked out. It makes sense to eight-six Dennis–the one who started the band and was accused of using the band as his own musical vehicle. Tommy wanted the same. He envied Dennis’ ambition and resented having to he his “player”. Apparently, Jy and the other “players” in the band now called “Styx” don;t mind being just that, “players”, as long as they are playing and making a good living. Styx has become the vehicle for Tommy Shaw’s musical ambitions. The “band” are players for Tommy’s musical ideas. The days of 3 songwriters collaborating on great music are long gone. Jy contributes nothing as a song writer in this latest “Styx” album. So the Styx name, its history and catalogue are being used to bolster a musical artist who cannot stand on his own without them. The “Styx” “Reconstruction” album has Damn Yankees songs on it–why? Then that is a Tommy Shaw star vehicle. The issue was Dennis controlling what Tommy needed desperately to control himself, to keep himself viable as a musical artist. No wonder they want nothing to do with Dennis. it would mess up the good thing Shaw’s got going. And Jy can be unbothered and just play. Styx truly has not been a band since the 90’s.
The comment above about Tommy and JY’s deliberate PR campaign to turn public opinion against Dennis is a true statement. And it is equally true, as stated above, that there are some truths that cannot hide, namely one video of Tommy and Dennis singing together at Borders in 1997?–before the PR campaign was underway. The brilliance of Dennis’ pure vocal talent clear, if you have ears to hear. The brilliance of these 2 singers harmonizing so naturally, instinctually, is on full display with undeniable meaning–only 1 cheap mike and a twelve string guitar between them and these two opposite personalities, unlikely champions of a shared musical creative history transform into musical soulmates. But you do not get to choose your musical soulmate. Ask Roger Waters. You may wish he were cooler and someone else entirely, but he is who he is. And is not life so short to blow foolishly the chance to sing again with one’s God-given musical brother? Do you know what kind of life’s lottery you have to win to find him in this wide world? And then to throw him to the dogs you fed with your own words. Just take your best shot and don’t blow it–is not that what Shaw said. But one can blow it–sure, yeah right, it’s fine, it’s good enough to substitute Dennis for some other guy you can’t even write a song with. That’s no sin against one’s talent and God-given gifts. And just what was he referring to when he wrote that line? Many years ago, back in the very early 80’s,. when all of the 60’s and 70’s musical acts had spent themselves and rock culture was in decline (we just did not know it at the time, as fans) a radio program called “The Rock Years” was made–a retrospective, the early 80’s, it was time to look back and tell the story of rock from this position in time. It began with the very early years of rock–in the 1950’s–and progressed through the current time. Interview after rare interview was given by the most obscure and best known rock heroes who would give insights into their music as it was played, analyzed and discussed. It gave the greatest of rock educations. Every weekend a few of the rock years would be covered and the program went on all day. When 1977 rolled around, The Grand Illusion was featured, and it came time to talk to Tommy Shaw about the inspiration behind writing “Foolin’ Yourself” (alternative title: The Angry Young Man). This is a paraphrase of what he said in this interview: (When I started to write the song, I intended it to be about Dennis. It was supposed to be about him. But the more I wrote it, the more I realized it was about me.) There is something that runs personal and deep beneath the Tommy/”Styx” PR BS. Perhaps a mirror in a bandmate will drive one to do all kinds of things. In those same Rock Years Interviews, he spoke of Dennis as the band’s “cheerleader . . . always blowing sunshine up our skirts,” his exact words–no paraphrase. He spoke of Dennis as the one, when the chips were down for them as a struggling band, and they doubted if they could be a success, Dennis was there, through sheer force of energy and will–willing them to believe and to keep going. In Tommy’s own characterization of this man, there would never have gotten as far without him. He was the force behind their carrying on and finding a definite direction to aim–because that is Dennis. A force to reckon with when it came to seeing the band he started arrive at a complete success–he had an iron will, So what saved them as a unit, they used it against him and re-characterized him as a dictator in the dead 2000’s when rock had long died and they could afford to coast on his influence and achievements. Dennis said when he saw JY play for the first time, he thought he had never seen a greater guitarist in his life. Jy, in a more recent interview, accessed Dennis as a musician and said he was an okay at the keyboards and fair as a singer. Bitter, party of one is JY’s countenance. Tommy’s is cagey and suspicious. Tell a lie long enough. It was like this then. It was so horrible. You believe the lie.
The Dan Rather “Styx” interview was skewered online; the comments in 2017 were overwhelmingly brutal against Tommy and Jy’s duplicity, As of today, All those comments have been scrubbed from the Internet and only the gaslighting ones remain: one wonders if the “Styx” team, in what borders on paranoia to completely refashion history in Orwellian style and make old fans who were actually there in the 70’s , who received their music unfiltered through the current propaganda–if the pseudo “Styx” machine sinks to the level of bots in comment sections to make the loyalists think they were never there at the concerts in the 70’s, never knew such a unit as Styx, bots to make those “I just think Gowan is so much better than Dennis” comments. Because one would have had to drink completely the Kool Aid of the “Styx” narrative–we are such a much better band than we were with Dennis–to even consider them a real “band”–not a vehicle for certain band members and their personal ambitions, much less better with a guy who only wears the suit that Dennis fashioned, keeps his lips sealed and does what he is asked. Gaslighting and propaganda on the Goebbels level to make a fan forget that Dennis created musical ideas ex nihilo, drew the pattern, wove the fabric, sewed the suit together and now all spinning keyboardist does is model it every night. But strangely, or tellingly, the Dan Rather interview’s brutal and scrubbed comments rightly saw through Tommy and Jy and converged on one topic: plastic surgery. More truth telling, despite the propaganda machine of “Styx”. A man can do what he wants with his face. That is not the point. But the symbolic meaning of facial reconstruction cannot be denied: It is an attempt to create a permanent mask. A songwriter revealed long ago in “Sing for the Day” the insecurities behind any latter day external appearance reconstitution. And someone’s new choppers look like he’s finally gotten the teeth to devour Dennis with–apparently, the ones he lacked back in the day when he could not seem to find his voice as a man to stop the evil rule of Dennis, so his story goes. “Styx’s” current “band” PR pictures have the eerie faces of masks; It is the task of the loyal fan, who experienced the truth of this music when it was delivered fresh and unfiltered–it is the duty of the loyalist who witnessed first hand the essence of the whole of the parts before it was reconstituted by self-sabotaging internal actors who lost the plot: to refuse to be gaslit, to assert that, yes, they were there, they are not crazy, they did indeed know a band called Styx. It is to read behind the mask.
On a side note, Alex Van Halen sold Van Hagar to the fans (and to Sammy himself) for years as the Better Van Halen, Van Halen Mock 2 he called it. Sammy said not a day went by when the brothers did not tell him how evil and terrible in every way Roth was. Then one day he woke up and the unthinkable happened: he heard Roth was back in. Alex finally revealed at the age of 70 in his autobiography that losing Dave and the mighty Van Halen was the great injustice and tragedy of his life–on par with the loss of his beloved brother. PR are lies and nothing is as it seems. A Styx loyalist can take heart in that.
Don’t forget people that the fan vote has little to no influence on the Hall’s decisions when it comes to certain artists getting nominated & inducted. The committee doesn’t care how many sales & hits since it’s only based on popularity.
It is a musical tragedy to think groups such as Styx, Boston, & Foreigner aren’t in the RRHOF. For someone that has visited this so called Hall of Fame it’s a disgrace. Eventhough, groups such as Yes are deserving. They’re no Styx. Then come on Cher. Give a break. Not even in the same category as Styx, and never will be period end of story.
Don’t forget Willie Nelson and now Chubby Checker. Both excellent entertainers but rockers? Heck, no. So Styx turned out some crap. Should Maxwell’s Silver Hammer or Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da have negated the Beatles getting in the Rock Hall? Time to wake up and induct Styx. Just saw them the other night. They played The Grand Illusion in its entirety and they killed it.
I can’t believe Styx is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or even gotten any nominations. If it was up to the FANS they would be in. So Why ? They are one of the BEST Bands of our generation ! Love their music 🎶 !! It’s hard to understand why this Great Band has not been inducted. It’s hard to see some of these musicians that are being voted in before Styx that don’t even Rock. And Foreigner just inducted this year. Nominate STYX and induct them into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame where they should be !!
Styx belongs there as much as or more than many bands that are in. It’s a “hall of fame”, right? what’s fame? records sold? concert attendance? longevity? fan base? after 50+ years, Styx still sells out when they tour, and still pump out new, quality music. and most bands have their critics – and always will. that’s nothing new. it’s just pettiness that keeps them out, nothing more.
Cheryl Crow is in the HOF and they are worried about “formula” music. Not hardly. There are very few if any bands that has the musical talent that blended together better than Styx. Got to be political BS. This is why HOF’s are pointless money grabs.
If I remember right, STYX was the Number One touring band of the 1980s Decade. They have put out albums on 8 Track, Vinyl, Cassette, Downloads, Streaming, etc…. When critics only mention the few mega hits, but ignore songs like Suite Madame Blue, Man in the Wilderness, Queen of Spades, Lights, Rockin the Paradise, etc… but only mention Come Sail Away, Renegade, Fooling Yourself, Mr. Roboto, Too Much Time on My Hands, etc… They clearly have not listened to the Variety in their music. A Band that can actually play their instruments, can do Guitar and Piano solos, Drums and Bass. I am sick of the bands whose songs and fake attitude got them in the hall but bands like Styx, Kansas, Boston, etc.. are not in yet. So many that got in before a band like Styx should probably be thanking their lucky stars that the people who vote them in have no clue about musicianship and artistry, but go only with Popularity at the time of induction. Sad! Really Sad! Get them in soon. Stop messing around!!! IMHO!!!
Have loved Styx for close to 50 years and can’t believe they’ve not been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yet. Heard it was because of Mr Roboto, which I was never a fan of. But I also think they need to change the name from Rock and Roll HOF just to Music HOF once they started hip hop and country artists.
I think we have powerhouse REO because we had we first had styx
Eventually the HOF will run out of people to include and fan pressure will make them buckle. They buckled already with Foreigner. Bands like Styx and Boston were just as important to rock as Queen in terms of contribution to the genre. But they were bands that fans liked but critics hated and Rolling Stone was a magazine with music critics, not a fanzine. There’s a reason why Styx and REO were never on the cover in 1981 despite having the top two mega smash rock albums of the year. I don’t like the snobbery but that’s how it was. Power ballads are a thing in rock like it or not because of those two bands.
Every sappy tune Dennis Deyoung wrote was harder than anything Dolly Parton or Don Corneluis ever did yet, their in.