Styx and The Outlaws

Styx is known for their unusual musical style: they meld pop rock with the extreme power of hard-rock guitar and elements of musical theatre. Their style of rock has been described as anything from progressive to soft rock.

The current line-up of the band consists of Chuck Panozzo, James "J.Y." Young, Tommy Shaw, Todd Sucherman, Lawrence Gowan and Ricky Phillips. The band was started by Chuck Panozzo and his twin brother, John, in 1961 whilst the brothers were still in adolescence. The original name of the band was ‘The Tradewinds.’ In 1972 the band signed with Wooden nickel Records and became Styx, producing their first, self-entitled, album which was followed by many more.

The band’s big breakthrough in to the mainstream market, however, did not come until the release of their seventh album, ‘The Grand Illusion’ on 7 July 1977. It reached triple platinum certification. The band then went on to achieve great success from the late 70s and moving on to the 80s.

Following their sudden success, the band suffered a number of splits and reformations, especially throughout the 90s. Various band members were lost and subsequently replaced throughout this period.

To date, Styx are best known for their hit rock songs "Lady" "Come Sail Away" "Babe" , "The Best of Times" , "Too Much Time on My Hands" and "Mr. Roboto", amongst many others.

The group formed in Tampa, Florida, United States in 1972 and originally consisted of Hughie Thomasson (vocals/guitar), Henry Paul (vocals/guitars), Frank O’ Keefe (bass), and Monte Yoho (drums). They added Billy Jones (guitars) a year later and in 1975 they signed to the label Artista, releasing their self-titled studio debut, which yielded the Top 40 hit “There Goes Another Love Song”.

The Outlaws experienced a creative outpour in the 70s and early 80s. From 1975 to 1980 they averaged an album a year. Their sophomore effort “Lady in Waiting” came out in 1976 and entered the pop charts at No. 36 and featured the single “Breaker-Breaker”, which managed to break into the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 94. A year later they put out “Hurry Sundown”, which was followed by both an additional studio album “Playin’ to Win” and the live release “Bring It Back Alive” in 1978. Their 5th album “In the Eye of the Storm” did not contain any major hits for the group; however, it showcased their versatility, introducing unexpected tracks such as their cover of Elvis Costello’s “Miracle Man”.

The Outlaws welcomed the 80s with the release of “Ghost Riders”, proclaimed by many fans to be the group’s last album that exemplified their classic old-fashioned country rock sound. It produced two singles “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and also peaked at No. 25 on the Pop Album charts. The Outlaws slowed down their album output significantly by this time and released only two more albums throughout 80s “Los Hombres Malo” (1982) and “Soldier Fortune” (1986). Their next album “Diablo Canyon” did not come out until eight years later. In 1996 they issued their 2nd greatest hits compilation “Best of the Outlaws: Green Grass and High Tides”.

The 90s proved to be a trying year for the group as they lost both O’Keefe and Jones, the latter due to a suicide. The group continued to fracture throughout the 90s and 2000s with Thomasson opting out to join Lynyrd Skynyrd and Henry Paul leaving to form the country rock band Black Hawk.

Though the band’s line up changed incessantly, cycling through 30+ members, they still managed to tour and release the occasional album such as “So Low” (2000), “It’s About Pride” (2012), and “A Matter of Pride” (2015).