Ultimate STYX Quiz

Answer: It was the only name none of the members hated

The band was originally the Tradewinds, and later changed the name to TW4. The record label (Wooden Nickel) hated the name and required the band to change its name. Hundreds of names were considered; STYX was ultimately decided upon because it was the only one that no one hated. (James Young also liked the mystical quality of the name.)

Answer: James Young and Chuck Panozzo

Tommy Shaw did not appear on a studio album until "Crystal Ball" (#6). He was also absent for 1990's "EOTC" album.

John Panozzo died in 1996.

Although Chuck Panozzo is not a full-time band member, he still makes guest appearances and has played at least a small part on every studio album, including "Cyclorama".

Answer: Ten

John Panozzo, Chuck Panozzo, Dennis DeYoung, John Curulewski, James Young, Tommy Shaw, Glen Burtnik, Todd Sucherman, Lawrence Gowan, Ricky Phillips. (There are eleven if you count Tom Nardini, who was a band member prior to 1972 before TW4 became STYX. This question, however, specifies actual members under the STYX name between 1972 and 2003.)

Answer: Two songs with Burtnik as the primary writer

"Little Suzie" and "It Takes Love".

Answer: Robert Orin Charles Kilroy

The "Kilroy Was Here" album and subsequent tour were the driving force that caused the 1984 hiatus. The band did not reunite until 1990, and did so without Shaw, as he was contractually obligated to Damn Yankees at the time.

Answer: Two

Original guitarist John Curulewski and original drummer John Panozzo.

Answer: It's a song about the assassination of John Lennon

Although many DeYoung fans believe it to be a shot at Dennis and the lawsuit he filed against the group after being left out of the 1999 "Brave New World" tour, author Burtnik maintains it was written ten years before its release on the "Cyclorama" album. (A time during which Dennis was in, and Burtnik was out.) Indeed, the album credits do list a copyright date of 1994.

However, one must still wonder if some lyrics weren't changed during the process of the rewrite when every STYX member had input on every song on the album.

There had to be a rewrite to some degree according to the credits because Shaw, Young, Gowan, Burtnik, and Sucherman are credited as being the co-authors of all 14 tracks on the album. Further, every member has stated that every song on the album underwent this process where they were tweaked by the group as a whole. Lyrics like: "Now your like Quasimodo Cryin'" or "Then you blister from a sun that's too bright; Like a vampire stepping into the light" really do lead one to question at what point they were written as they may possibly make reference to the Dennis DeYoung play "Q-modo", and his skin condition which makes him very light-sensitive. Who knows?

Answer: Thank you very much

Although not all of the band members were particularly keen on this song (or the Kilroy ablum for that matter), "Mr. Roboto" remains one of the group's more widely recognizable songs to this day, especially among non-Stygians.

Answer: False

Although they were accused of it by members of the California legislature and various evangelical groups, the accusation was never proven. Further, the premise that one phrase was back masked one time into one song on one album was rather silly to begin with.

Many groups sought to find something sinister in the STYX name itself. As JY pointed out in 1986, the River Styx is not part of Judeo-Christianity and whether you took a ride on it (in Greek mythology) had nothing to to with coal in your Christmas stocking, but rather the whims of the gods.

Answer: Bach

None other than Johann Sebastian Bach!

Answer: "STYX"

"STYX I" was the name of a re-release of the same album years later by RCA. "Serpent Is Rising" and "Man Of Miracles" were their third and fourth albums, respectively.

Answer: "Crystal Ball"; the sixth album

Although Shaw joined STYX in 1975 upon Curulewski's departure and toured in promotion of "Equinox", the album had already been recorded. Shaw first appeared on the 1976 album "Crystal Ball", for which he wrote the title track.

Answer: It contained three new studio tracks

Chuck Panozzo continues to perform part-time.

John Panozzo died in 1996.

Dennis Deyoung performed on 1999's "Brave New World" album.

"On My Way", "Paradise", and "Dear John" appeared as studio tracks.

Answer: None of these

Although all of the original members were from Chicago, Burtnik, Phillips and Gowan are not. Tommy Shaw was not originally from Chicago, although he lived there for a while; he was home in Alabama when STYX called him.

Answer: "Return To Paradise"

"Paradise" was a studio track released on the (mostly) live album "Return To Paradise" in 1997. It was originally written by DeYoung for the follow-up to "Edge Of The Century", but this album never made it past the "demo" phase as A&M refused to release the album, and foolishly refused to re-sign STYX. Dennis later changed the lyrics a bit for his adaptation of "Hunchback Of Notre Dame", which was later re-titled "Q-Modo".

Answer: "Lennon's Assassin"

Many people think this is a song about DeYoung's departure from the group and subsequent lawsuit. The song, however, was actually written by Burtnik years before DeYoung's departure.

Answer: "Brave New World"

DeYoung was replaced by Lawrence Gowan in 1999 for the "Brave New World Tour" after the album's release.

Answer: Wooden Nickel

STYX released their first four albums under the Wooden Nickel label.

Answer: RCA would not give A&M permission to put the original on the "Greatest Hits" album

Because Wooden Nickel was a subsidiary of RCA, RCA owned the rights to the original recording and would not sell these rights or give permission for A&M to publish the original. However, STYX owned the rights to the song itself and simply re-recorded it for A&M.

INFORMATION UPADATE: July 22, 2003 I came accross some information that contradicts what is listed in the liner notes of "STYX Greatest Hits", the album "Lady '95" appears on. Prior top this date I had reported that "Lady '95", "Little Suzie", and "It Takes Love" were all recorded by the classic Young, DeYoung, Shaw, Panozzo, Panozzo line-up as nothing in the liner notes of "Greatest Hits Part-2" credits Sucherman, and "Greatest Hits" specifically credits John Panozzo as being the Drummer on "Lady '95". However, according to an interview in the August, 2003 edition of Modern Drummer magazine Todd Sucherman was the drummer on AT LEAST two of these tracks. In the aticle Todd is quoted as saying: "I was doing a lot of session work in Chicago, and the guy that did my cartage, Keith Marks, also did cartage for the guys from STYX. At that time, STYX wanted to rerecord 'Lady' for a greatest-hits release, but their drummer, John Panozzo, was not well enough to participate. Keith recommended me, and I was called in to ghost drum for John on the 'Lady 95' session. I had to play the drum part fairly close to the original, and I had to put tape on the toms to get that thuddy '70s sound. That was the genesis of my relationship with the band. They called me back a couple of months later to record a very drum-heavy new song for their 'Greatest Hits Vol. 2'. After recording that track, I had an inkling that the band wanted to tour. I felt that if I went in and nailed the song, I might have a chance to do the gig. We had already gotten along well, which is just as important as playing well, and it felt right. A week later they called and asked what I was doing for the summer. That was the summer of '96, and I've been a part of the band ever since."

An on-line article by Chuck Miller entitled "STYX: Set An Open Course For The Virgin Sea" claimed "(Greatest Hits Part-2) even included two new Styx songs - which eventually proved to be the last songs recorded with the classic line-up." This article directly contradicts Sucherman's statement in Modern Drummer. Indeed, in the Chuck Miller article, Sucherman is qouted as saying: "The guy who was doing my cartage for sessions, Keith Marks, he had been the assistant tour manager with (STYX), and had dealt with STYX and with both Dennis and JY in their solo projects in the past. When it was clear that John wasn't well, that he was going to be unable to play a 2 1/2 hour rock show every night, Keith went to the guys and said, 'I've got the guy for the gig.'" The Miller article glosses over "Lady '95" and does not carry specific quotes about any of the three songs except "It Takes Love". According to Dennis DeYoung: "There's a song called 'It Takes Love To Make Love', which John played drums on, it's on the second 'Greatest Hits' album. That's the last real musical moment with all five of us together. John was really ill, but we got him through that session."

So, what does this all mean? My best guess (from these quotes) is that Sucherman actually played drums on "Lady '95" and "Little Suzie" (which is very drum-heavy), and that John Panozzo was probably the drummer for "It Takes Love". It would seem that Styx has been intentionally vague up until now about "Lady '95", but that Sucherman is now filling in some missing details that even he glossed over in previous interviews. As for the misleading liner notes, Styx probably had little to do with the final production of "Greatest Hits" as they were no longer under contract with A&M when A&M released the album. It is not entirely uncommon to have record companies make mistakes in the liner notes of compilation albums.

(To view the aforementioned articles, got to: http://www.racerrecords.com/Styx/goldmine.html for the Miller Article, and http://www.moderndrummer.com/updatefull.asp?alt=100008137 for Modern Drummer.)

Answer: Tommy Shaw

Tommy Shaw was obligated to Damn Yankees at the time. He returned to record "Lady '95", and was back for the 1997 album "Return To Paradise". Burtnik would later replace Chuck Panozzo, who is currently battling the AIDS virus.

Answer: Progressive Rock

Although STYX is definately "Classic" and can rock hard, the genres they are given credit for pioneering are Progressive Rock, Art Rock, Arena Rock, and Pomp Rock. (All these genres have blurred lines and are fairly interchangeable.)

Answer: Six

STYX is unique in that they have never had just one lead singer. Over the years DeYoung, Curulewski, Young, Shaw, Burtnik, and Gowan have all sung lead vocals. While it is true that from '72-'99 DeYoung was the "Front Man", and Shaw has been since, the group has never had just one Lead Singer.

In fact, the only three band members to never sing leads are the Panozzo brothers and Sucherman. (Ricky Phillips has since joined, and does not do lead vocals either.)

Answer: "Pieces Of Eight"

Both album covers were designed by Strom Thorgerson.

Answer: "The biggest, and cheesiest, band of the seventies."

Interestingly, STYX was voted "Best Band In The World" by "Rolling Stone" readers in 1981 despite the magazine's notorious legacy of giving the band negative reviews.

Answer: Fifteen

"STYX" - 1972.
"STYX II" - 1973.
"Serpent Is Rising" - 1973.
"Man Of Miracles" - 1974.
"Equinox" - 1975.
"Crystal Ball" - 1976.
"Grand Illusion" - 1977.
"Pieces Of Eight" - 1978.
"Cornerstone" - 1979.
"Paradise Theatre" - 1980.
"Kilroy Was Here" - 1983.
"Edge Of The Century" - 1990.
"Brave New World" - 1999.
"Cyclorama" - 2003.
"Big Bang Thoery" - 2005.