Styx

About

Few bands pulled off the trick of sounding simultaneously arena ready and genuinely adventurous the way Styx did at their peak. The Chicago outfit built their reputation on a distinctive mix of hard rock guitar, lush synthesizers, acoustic piano, and theatrical vocal arrangements that gave albums like The Grand Illusion and Paradise Theatre a cinematic sweep. That run from 1977 to 1981 is the stuff of classic rock legend: four straight multi platinum US albums, a No. 1 in the US and Canada with Paradise Theatre, and stone cold hits like Come Sail Away, Renegade, and the chart topping ballad Babe. Their ambitions sometimes outpaced what radio was ready for, particularly with Kilroy Was Here, a full blown rock opera that gave the world Mr. Roboto and also helped bring the classic lineup era to a close. With eight top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles and over 20 million records sold for A&M, their commercial track record is hard to argue with. Tommy Shaw, who joined in 1975 and has remained central to the band, continues to keep Styx on the road, where they are clearly still a major draw.