By 1966, the Panozzo brothers had joined DeYoung at Chicago State College and kept the group together by performing at high schools and fraternity parties while studying to be teachers.

[10][11][12][13] In 1972 the band members decided to choose a new name when they signed to Wooden Nickel Records after being spotted by a talent scout at a concert at St. John of the Cross Parish in Western Springs, Illinois (Young's hometown).

These albums contained straight-ahead rockers mixed with prog rock flourish with a lot of guitars, drums, keyboards, percussion, and vocal solos.

Following the move to A&M, guitarist John Curulewski suddenly left the band as they were to embark on a nationwide tour in December 1975, due to his desire to spend time with his family.

Their 1978 album Pieces of Eight found the group moving in a more straight-ahead hard-rock direction and spawned three Shaw sung hit singles "Renegade" (No.

[18] With the success of "Babe," DeYoung's push for a more mainstream direction gained momentum, while Shaw and Young favored a more rock oriented approach.

This arguing over musical direction led to ongoing tension in early 1980 after Shaw objected to the ballad "First Time" being released as the second single from Cornerstone.

[citation needed] The band was accused by a California religious group and later the Parents Music Resource Center of backmasking Satanic messages in their anti-cocaine anthem, "Snowblind".

Dennis DeYoung has denied the accusation as well, joking on the In the Studio with Redbeard program "we had enough trouble to make the music sound right forward."

The band continued to follow DeYoung's lead with their next project, Kilroy Was Here (1983), another more fully realized concept album, embracing the rock opera form.

Tommy Shaw played the part of Jonathan Chance, a younger rocker who fights for Kilroy's freedom and the lifting of the ban on rock music.

Its introduction intentionally included a backward message, the Latin phrases, "annuit coeptis" and "novus ordo seclorum", from the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States.

Referring to the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, these are translated, "Annuit cœptis - He (God) favors our undertakings, and Novus ordo seclorum - A new order of the ages.

"[21] Both choices also served the Kilroy story because the villain is an evangelist that seeks to expand his Vision of Morality movement via mass demonstrations.

While most of the other acts on the bill, in comparison, put forth their "hardest rockers" the theatrics of the Kilroy show were not well received and they were basically booed off the stage.

[citation needed] After the group members began discussing a reunion in the late '80s, this was delayed due to DeYoung's recording and the release of his solo album, Boomchild, which got pushed back to February 1989.

[23] The new line-up released one album, Edge of the Century, featuring the Dennis DeYoung ballad "Show Me the Way", which received an additional boost just prior to the first Persian Gulf War.

[7] With the huge success of the song "Show Me the Way", Styx joined a handful of musical acts to have top 10 singles in three decades and under four different presidential administrations.

The reunion tour was documented with a two-disc live set, 1997's Return to Paradise, which featured three new studio tracks: "On My Way", "Paradise" (a soft rock ballad that also appears in another version on Dennis DeYoung's 1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame album), and "Dear John", a tribute to the late Panozzo that has become a cult favorite among Styx fans.

But then, due to illness, DeYoung was unable to commit to touring, so he was replaced by Lawrence Gowan, a classically trained pianist, who had achieved platinum success as a solo act on Sony Canada.

His public "coming out" occurred in 2001 at the annual Human Rights Campaign banquet, with James "JY" Young in attendance for support.

Each band also released their set as a separate album, with additional tracks: Styx's version was At the River's Edge: Live in St.

Styx also was part of the Super Bowl pre game entertainment in San Diego prior to the Oakland Raiders vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

[citation needed] Burtnik left Styx in September 2003, to spend time with his family and to pursue a solo career and release the album Welcome to Hollywood.

[citation needed] On June 5, 2004, Styx participated in Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival covering songs by Jimi Hendrix, B.B.

[34] In early April 2011, it was announced that Styx would join up with Yes for a "Progressive US Tour" that began on July 4, 2011, with Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Shane Alexander opening.

[33] On November 22, 2013, they announced a benefit concert with REO Speedwagon titled "Rock to the Rescue" to raise money for the affected families of the tornado in central Illinois.

[36] In February 2017, it was announced that Styx and REO Speedwagon would join forces in a tour entitled "United We Rock" with special guest Felder, which was in large concert venues throughout the US.

[44] On March 22, 2024, Lawrence Gowan's younger brother Terry debuted as the new touring bass player for Styx at their show in Wallingford, CT.[45] On May 17 he was announced as an official member.

[47] A longstanding, oft-repeated claim in the music industry and the mainstream press is that Styx was the first band to release four consecutive Triple-Platinum albums, signifying at least 3 million units sold.