James “J.Y.” Young Photo: Andy Laudano

Chicago’s Styx is one of the most enduring and beloved bands in rock history. Despite numerous lineup changes over their four-decade career, the band continues to tour and entertain their legions of loyal fans.
Guitarist James “J.Y.” Young (also known as “The Godfather of Styx”) has been there from the beginning. “John and Chuck Panozzo, grew up on the south side of Chicago, across the street from Dennis DeYoung,” J.Y. recalls. “ After meeting John Curulewski in college, they started a band which focused on two–part harmonies and songs people knew from The Beatles, Three Dog Night and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
“At the time, I was in a different band with my brother, “J.Y. relates. “They were doing the commercial, pop thing, while I was hugely in love with Jimi Hendrix, The Who and the blues to some degree. They were about melody, songs and lyricism, and I was about power, finesse and attitude. They lost a guy and asked me to join. My band had fallen apart so I agreed. I don’t think they ever had any interest from record companies before I joined, but as soon as I did, it seemed like all the elements were in place. People almost immediately began to take notice of us, and we got a recording contract.”
Styx enjoyed some early success, but it wasn’t until Tommy Shaw joined that they were able to take things to the next level. Shaw’s first album with Styx, Crystal Ball, was a great record, but it was the follow-up The Grand Illusion that finally put Styx on the map. Their next three albums, Pieces of Eight, Cornerstone and Paradise Theater were also huge successes, establishing Styx as one of the top bands in the world. Unfortunately, things were not well behind the scenes, as Dennis DeYoung exerted more and more control — leading to the Mr. Roboto album and tour fiasco. “Dennis envisioned us to be like The Beatles,” J.Y. explains. “He believed we could get away with stylistically going anywhere and doing anything. We’re a wacky hybrid of a lot of different things, but that went too far and alienated us from a lot of our fans.”
Styx broke up only to reform in 1990 without Shaw, who was enjoying success with Damn Yankees. Glen Burtnik took Shaw’s place for the Edge of the Century album and tour. Styx parted ways again, only to reunite with Shaw in 1995 to re-record “Lady” for their Greatest Hits album. John Panozzo passed away shortly after, leading to current drummer, Todd Sucherman joining for the 1996 reunion tour. Chuck Panozzo left the band in 1998 due to health issues.
After the same problems with DeYoung resurfaced while making the Brave New World album, the remaining members chose to permanently replace him with Canadian, Lawrence Gowan. Styx had toured Canada with Gowan previously and were impressed by his ability, showmanship and the response he received from the huge hometown crowds. “We brought Lawrence down, and he was the only one we auditioned,” J.Y. reveals. “He’s become like a long lost brother and a dear friend to me and my wife. He’s a natural born entertainer. We often joke he suffers from Chronic Entertainers Syndrome. He’s an amazing talent, and we couldn’t have picked a better guy.”

J.Y. and longtime band mate Tommy Shaw Photo: Andy Laudano

Dallas has a special place in Styx history. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, members of Styx helped organize the Volunteers For America concert. “We couldn’t be at Ground Zero to help out there, but we all felt we had to do something to raise money for those who fought the good fight the day of — and continued to fight it afterwards,” J.Y. relates. “Between the Dallas show and the one the night before in Atlanta, we presented a $500,000 check to the Port Authority Police of New York and New Jersey.”
“The other great thing that happened for us in Dallas was the Crossroads Festival in 2004,” J.Y. continues. “That was the first time we ever performed “I Am the Walrus” live. It got such a great response and we had such a great time learning and playing it, that we were inspired to make The Big Bang Theory. It charted at #46, giving us four decades of albums in Billboard’s Top 100.”
Part of the reason for Styx’ continued success, is the positive, uplifting message in their music. “The power of this music that we’ve created is amazing,” J.Y. notes. “I’ve always believed it comes from a higher place and is channeled through us as a collective. Music has the power to inspire, to calm, to soothe and, in the best cases, even to heal people. We are the stewards of this legacy we’ve created. The two hours we spend on stage every night are not work. They’re pure joy.”