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Tommy Shaw
Tommy Roland Shaw (born September 11, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for his tenure in the rock band Styx (band), Styx as co-lead vocalist. In between his stints with Styx, he has played with other groups including Damn Yankees (band), Damn Yankees and Shaw Blades as well as releasing several solo albums. Early life and music career Tommy Shaw was born in Montgomery, Alabama, and played with many local bands in his early years. He left Montgomery after attending Robert E. Lee High School (Montgomery, Alabama), Robert E. Lee High School to join The Smoke Ring (band), The Smoke Ring and then MSFunk, a Chicago-managed outfit that he played with for three years, which gave him a chance to be noticed by Styx (band), Styx during a two-week club gig in Chicago. After MSFunk disbanded, he went back to Montgomery to join a local group called Harvest with his childhood friends. Following Styx's move to A&M Records, A&M, guitarist and vocalist John Curulew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Styx (band)
Styx () is an American rock band from Chicago that formed in 1972 and is best known for melding hard rock guitar balanced with acoustic guitar, synthesizers mixed with acoustic piano, upbeat tracks with power ballads, and incorporating elements of international musical theatre. The band established itself with a progressive rock sound in the 1970s, and began to incorporate pop rock and soft rock elements in the 1980s. Beginning with '' Styx'' in 1972, the band usually released an album every year throughout the 1970s. '' Styx II'' (1973) had the sleeper hit "Lady", a power ballad which reached No. 6 in the US, helping the album make the top 20. "Lady" was also a top 20 hit in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. ''Equinox'' (1975) and ''Crystal Ball'' (1976) reached the US top 70 with the first featuring "Lorelei", a No. 6 hit in Canada, while the latter marked the addition of Tommy Shaw to the band. Styx's commercial breakthrough in North America came with ''The Grand Illusion'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 2020 census, Montgomery's population was 200,603. It is the second most populous city in Alabama, after Huntsville, and is the 119th most populous in the United States. The Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area's population in 2020 was 386,047; it is the fourth largest in the state and 142nd among United States metropolitan areas. The city was incorporated in 1819 as a merger of two towns situated along the Alabama River. It became the state capital in 1846, representing the shift of power to the south-central area of Alabama with the growth of cotton as a commodity crop of the Black Belt and the rise of Mobile as a mercantile port on the Gulf Coast. In February 1861, Montgomery was chosen the first capital of the Confederate States of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platinum Record
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see List of music recording certifications). Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories, which are named after precious materials (gold, platinum and diamond). The threshold required for these awards depends upon the population of the territory where the recording is released. Typically, they are awarded only to international releases and are awarded individually for each country where the album is sold. Different sales levels, some perhaps 10 times greater than others, may exist for different music media (for example: videos versus albums, singles, or music download). History The original gold and silver record awards were presented to artists by their own record companies to publicize their sales achiev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paradise Theater (album)
''Paradise Theatre'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band Styx, released on January 16, 1981, by A&M Records. It was the band's most commercially successful album, peaking at #1 for 3 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200 in April and May 1981 (non-consecutively). It was also the band's fourth consecutive album to be certified triple-platinum by the RIAA. Four singles from the album charted on various charts, with two songs reaching the top 10 pop singles chart. The lead single " The Best of Times", written by Dennis DeYoung, went to #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Too Much Time on My Hands", written by Tommy Shaw, went to #9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Shaw's only top 10 hit for Styx. " Nothing Ever Goes as Planned", written by DeYoung, went to #54 on the US Pop Chart. "Rockin' the Paradise"—written by DeYoung, Shaw and James Young—went to #8 on the Top Rock Track Chart. Background A concept album, the album is a fictional account of Chicago's Paradise Theatre f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Young (American Musician)
James Vincent Young (born November 14, 1949) is an American musician who is best known as the lead guitarist in the American rock band Styx, having served as the only continuous original member of the band. Young began playing keyboard and piano at the age of five. He attended Calumet High in Chicago and learned to play clarinet and guitar during those years. He was nicknamed by Styx members & long time fans as "J.Y." and is often referred to as "The Godfather of Styx". In 1970, Young joined the band TW4 while a student at Illinois Institute of Technology, from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering. That band later became the first incarnation of Styx. After Styx's initial breakup in 1984, Young released the solo albums ''City Slicker'' (1985) with Jan Hammer, ''Out on a Day Pass'' (1988), and ''Raised by Wolves'' (1995 ) with James Young Group. Young tends to write the more hard rock pieces for Styx. He is best known for the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornerstone (Styx Album)
''Cornerstone'' is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Styx, released in 1979. Styx's third straight multi-platinum selling album, ''Cornerstone'' was Styx's first album to earn a Grammy nomination, which was for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. Like the four previous Styx albums, the band produced the album themselves. Styx recorded the album at Pumpkin Studios in Oak Lawn, Illinois. ''Cornerstone'' is best known for including the group's only #1 Billboard Hot 100 Single, the power ballad "Babe". The album also includes the folk rock song "Boat on the River", which was a hit in Europe, though it failed to chart in the United States. ''Cornerstone'' became Styx's first US Top 5 album, peaking at #2 on the Billboard album chart. Background The album represented a musical transition for Styx, as the band emphasized its pop sound more than the progressive rock influences that dominated their first eight studio albums. Peaking at #2, the album was Styx's highe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Babe (Styx Song)
"Babe" is a song by the American rock band Styx. It was the lead single from the band's 1979 triple-platinum album ''Cornerstone''. The song was Styx's first, and only, US number-one single, spending two weeks at No. 1 in December 1979, serving as the penultimate number-one single of the 1970s. "Babe" also went to No. 9 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It additionally held the number-one spot for six weeks on the Canadian ''RPM'' national singles chart, charting in December 1979 and becoming the opening chart-topper of the 1980s. It was also the band's only UK Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 6. It also reached No. 1 in South Africa. Background and content The song was written by member Dennis DeYoung as a birthday present for his wife Suzanne. The theme of the song is "the separation of two people." DeYoung stated of it that "If they've figured out what's more important than a relationship between two people, I don't know what it is. The finished track was recorded as a demo with j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sentimental Ballad
A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Curtis, ''Rock Eras: Interpretations of Music and Society, 1954-1984'' (Popular Press, 1987), p. 236. Ballads are generally melodic enough to get the listener's attention. Sentimental ballads are found in most music genres, such as pop, R&B, soul, country, folk, rock and electronic music. Usually slow in tempo, ballads tend to have a lush musical arrangement which emphasizes the song's melody and harmonies. Characteristically, ballads use acoustic instruments such as guitars, pianos, saxophones, and sometimes an orchestral set. Many modern mainstream ballads tend to feature synthesizers, drum machines and even, to some extent, a dance rhythm. Sentimental ballads had their origins in the early Tin Pan Alley music industry of the la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sing For The Day
"Sing for the Day'" is the second single that Styx released from their album ''Pieces of Eight''. It reached #41 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in February 1979. It was later the B-side of their next single “Renegade”. Tommy Shaw used the name ‘Hannah’ in the song, to represent his fans. Several years later, he named his newborn daughter Hannah. The album version that lasts 4:57, was edited down to 3:40 for the single version. Reviewing the single version, ''Billboard Magazine'' felt that the "swirling keyboards and searing guitars" made it sound like a Yes song. ''Cash Box'' said that it has "a bright soaring vocal arrangement and musical backing of acoustic guitars, mandolin, tambourine, moderate beat and excellent synthesizer work." A promotional video was filmed directed by Bruce Gowers which has Styx playing on stage with Tommy Shaw on mandolin and vocals, James "J.Y." Young on acoustic guitar (even though he does not play on the track), Chuck and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in the United States. The weekly tracking period for sales was initially Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but was changed to Friday to Thursday in July 2015. This tracking period also applies to compiling online streaming data. Radio airplay, which, unlike sales figures and streaming, is readily available on a real-time basis, is also tracked on a Friday to Thursday cycle effective with the chart dated July 17, 2021 (previously Monday to Sunday and before July 2015, Wednesday to Tuesday). A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by ''Billboard'' on Tuesdays but post-dated to the following Saturday. The first number-one song of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 was " Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
"Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" is a song by American rock band Styx, released as the first single from their eighth studio album, ''Pieces of Eight'' (1978). Released in 1978, the single came in two 7" vinyl formats: one with the b-side "Superstars" (a track from ''The Grand Illusion'') and a second single with the instrumental album track "Aku-Aku" as the b-side. Some printings of the single were also issued in a translucent blue vinyl, which are now highly sought after collectors items. Lyrics and music Tommy Shaw recalled that a friend of his was laid off from the railroad. "He was having to go stand in line at the unemployment office. It just drove him nuts, because he’s like, ‘I wanna work! I don’t wanna be standing around here, asking for a handout…’ It really bugged him, and that was the inspiration for that song.” As read in a ''Circus'' magazine (or the like) of the time, the music was composed by Shaw after hearing the sound of his motor boat engine when i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renegade (Styx Song)
"Renegade" is a 1979 hit song recorded by the American rock band Styx on their ''Pieces of Eight'' album. Although songwriter Tommy Shaw and fellow Styx guitarist James Young usually played lead guitar on their own compositions, Shaw asked Young if he could take the solo on "Renegade". Young agreed, and Young later returned the favor by allowing Shaw to play lead on his "Half-Penny, Two-Penny" on the '' Paradise Theatre'' album. When performed live from 1978 to 1983, drummer John Panozzo increased the tempo of the drum pattern during the guitar solo sections. Also, the track would serve as the drum solo spot for Panozzo during that time frame. Background The song is a first-person narrative of an outlaw, captured for a bounty, who recognizes that he is about to be executed for his criminal activities. The execution will be by hanging, as the outlaw laments, "Hangman is coming down from the gallows and I don't have very long." Some pressings of the single were made with translu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
