Off the Charts: Styx

Not just a river in Hades

By Newt Briggs

According to Greek mythology, there were five rivers that separated the underworld from the world of the living: Acheron, the river of woe; Cocytus, the river of lamentation; Phlegeton, the river of fire; Lethe, the river of forgetfulness; and Styx, the river of hate. Of these, the most powerful was undoubtedly the Styx, which was said to be so foul that a drink from its water would cause a god to lose his voice for nine years.

It's no irony, then, that the band that would usher art-rock into the age of the power ballad would be named after this accursed gateway to hell. Certain musical zealots might argue that bands like REO Speedwagon, Foreigner and Journey had an equal hand in the ascension of prog-pop, but only the mighty Styx--captained by its swarthy boatman, Dennis DeYoung--would wed the gravity of Emerson, Lake and Palmer with the over-the-top melodrama of high-school theater.

In 1979, a Gallup poll revealed that Styx was the most popular rock band among American teenagers. It was rumored at the time that one listen to "Lady" would cause the average late-night convenience store clerk to drink nine beers and hit on a girl nine years his junior. Two years later, Styx became the first rock band in history to release four consecutive triple-platinum albums. Convinced that it could do no wrong, the band followed up with the conceptual meltdown Kilroy Was Here--essentially, a sloppy hodgepodge of Rush's 2112 and Queen's sci-fi musical We Will Rock You, currently playing at Paris Las Vegas. Although the record can be credited with introducing the world to "Mr. Roboto," it also led to swift and decisive collapse of the band.

Since then, fortunes have been up and (mostly) down for the founding members of Styx. DeYoung quit (or was fired), recorded a song for the Karate Kid II soundtrack and developed a rare viral disorder that made him sensitive to light. Guitarist Tommy Shaw released the mildly acclaimed Girls with Guns and formed Damn Yankees with Night Ranger frontman Jack Blades and a post-Madman Ted Nugent. Drummer John Panozzo died in 1996 after struggling with alcoholism, and his brother, bassist Chuck Panozzo, has been living with HIV since 1991. Occasional Styx reunion tours have followed, along with a nasty "Behind the Music," two performances at the Super Bowl, many more at county fairs and a handful of lawsuits and slanderous accusations. The current Styx lineup, which will perform at the Aladdin Theater on Sunday, includes Shaw, James Young and Canadian hard-rock troubadour Lawrence Gowan--formerly, just Gowan. Chuck Panozzo is also slated to make a guest appearance at the show along with Journey co-founder Gregg Rolie.

Free Mumia! I mean, Dennis. Styx has not appeared with its original lead singer since the ill-fated Return to Paradise tour of 1997. In response, a coterie of hardcore Styx fans has posted an electronic petition at PetitionOnline.com, calling for DeYoung's reinstatement into the band. The gist: "You're old. You're burning out, and the only thing that will save you in the end is bringing Dennis back and living the next few years on the road remembering how it all began." To date, 397 people have signed the petition. Or, perhaps more likely, one person has signed it 397 times.

Baghdad by boat. Styx enjoyed a brief resurgence in popularity in 1993 when an electronic remix of its song "Show Me the Way" was anointed as the unofficial theme song of the first Gulf War. One can only imagine the terror that was inspired by low-flying Blackhawk helicopters blasting the ominous chorus, "Take me tonight to the river/ And wash my illusions away."

Oldies but goodies. Just because a woman's breasts have sagged to the same height as the hand-braided leather belt she bought at Sturgis in 1994 is no reason for her not to haul them out at a really kick-ass rock `n' roll reunion show. At least that appears to be the opinion of Shaw who, upon being confronted with a roiling sea of mammaries at a Styx concert in 2001, said, "I see a lot of boobies out there. Some of them are as old as me."