''Desert Moon'' is the debut solo album by former

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

keyboard player/singer/songwriter

Dennis DeYoung Dennis DeYoung (born February 18, 1947) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a founding member of the rock band Styx, and served as its primary lead vocalist and keyboardist from 1972 until 1999. DeYoung was th ...

. It was released in 1984 on

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. To date, it has been the most successful of his solo albums and most successful of any of the Styx member solo albums. The album sold respectably and reached No. 24 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album charts in the fall of 1984 and was certified Gold in Canada. The album's biggest hit was its title cut which hit No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' singles chart. The album's second single "Don't Wait for Heroes" reached No. 83 and got MTV play. However, the follow-up "Dear Darling (I'll Be There)", failed to chart.

Track listing

All songs written by

, except where noted: # "Don't Wait for Heroes" – 4:46 # "Please" – 4:20 (a duet with

Rosemary Butler Rosemary Ann Butler (born April 6, 1947) is an American singer. She began her career playing bass guitar and singing in an all-female band named the Ladybirds while attending Fullerton Union High School in Fullerton, California. The band appeared ...

) # "Boys Will Be Boys" – 5:41 # "

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

" (

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

) – 3:46 # "

Desert Moon ''Desert Moon'' is the debut solo album by former Styx keyboard player/singer/songwriter Dennis DeYoung. It was released in 1984 on A&M Records. To date, it has been the most successful of his solo albums and most successful of any of the Styx m ...

" – 6:09 # "Suspicious" – 4:57 # "Gravity" – 4:51 # "Dear Darling (I'll Be There)" – 4:27

Personnel

– vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, percussion, arrangements (1-3, 5-8) * Tom Dziallo – acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bass guitar (2-5, 7, 8), additional drum programming, percussion, arrangements (4) * Dennis Johnson – bass guitar (1, 6) * Tom Radtke – drums, percussion * Vince Gutman – electronic drum programming *

Gary Loizzo Gary Alexander Loizzo (August 16, 1945 – January 16, 2016) was an American guitarist, singer, recording engineer, and record producer. He is best known for being the lead singer with The American Breed. Biography Gary Loizzo formed a band calle ...

– additional drum programming, backing vocals * Maurice Lynn Simmons – additional drum programming * Steve Eisen – saxophones,

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

s (6) *

– vocals (2) * Sandy Caulfield – backing vocals (3) * Suzanne DeYoung – backing vocals (3) * Dawn Feusi – backing vocals (3) * Pat Hurley – backing vocals (3)

Production

* Dennis DeYoung – producer, mixing * Rob Kingsland – engineer, mixing * Gary Loizzo – engineer, mixing * Jim Popko – second engineer, mixing * Will Rascati – third engineer, mixing * Tom Dziallo – mixing *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY) * George Leemon – keyboard technician, keeper of the books * Chuck Beeson – art direction, design *

Aaron Rapoport Aaron Rapoport (born May 22, 1954) is an American photographer, best known for his photographs of musicians. Biography In a career that spans over three decades, Rapoport has photographed in a wide variety of areas including commercial photogr ...

– photography * Peggie Martin – wardrobe

Notes

1984 debut albums Dennis DeYoung albums A&M Records albums {{1980s-rock-album-stub