''Styx'' is the debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American rock band Styx. It was released in 1972.

Background

The band started as a cover band who played events such as weddings and birthday parties. They called themselves The Tradewinds in 1961, when the band was composed of, at 12 years of age,

Chuck Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * C ...

and

John Panozzo John Anthony Panozzo (September 20, 1948 – July 16, 1996) was an American drummer best known for his work with rock band Styx. Early life and career Panozzo grew up in the Roseland neighborhood, the south side of Chicago, Illinois, with his ...

, who played bass guitar and drums, respectively, and their neighbor, 14-year-old

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 ...

on keyboards, accordion and vocals. They later named themselves TW4, after adding their college friend

John Curulewski John Curulewski (October 3, 1950 – February 13, 1988) was an American musician who was one of the original members of Styx. Career In 1969 Curulewski joined the Chicago-based band TW4, featuring college friends Dennis DeYoung, Chuck Panozz ...

in 1968, and the south side hard rocker James "J.Y." Young in 1970, as guitarists, songwriters and singers for the band. Their debut album showcased them as a progressive-art rock/'60s garage rock act. It contained the 13-minute opus "Movement for the Common Man," and J.Y. rocker "Children of the Land." It also features

's percussion solo, the street interviews from Chicago "Street Collage," their symphonic rocker rendition of "

Fanfare for the Common Man ''Fanfare for the Common Man'' is a musical work by the American composer Aaron Copland. It was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens and was inspired in part by a speech made earlier that year b ...

" and the prog-folk piece, sung by DeYoung and co-written by Young & DeYoung, "Mother Nature's Matinee." The upbeat pop rocker "

Best Thing "Best Thing" is the first single released by the band Styx from their self-titled debut album, '' Styx'' (1972). It charted at #82 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. '' Cash Box'' said that "high vocal harmonies and tight, rocky organ and lead guit ...

" was co-written by DeYoung and Young, released as a single in late '72, and peaked at No. 82 on the charts. The remaining songs on the album were cover versions that the record label suggested. The band members, including DeYoung, said that they had never heard of them before. The album was reissued in 1979 under the title ''Styx I'' with new artwork. In late 2012, it was re-released for CD and digital download, along with '' Styx II'' (1973), ''

The Serpent Is Rising ''The Serpent Is Rising'' is the third album by American band Styx, released in October 1973, a mere three months after their previous album '' Styx II'' in July 1973. The album was reissued in 1980 with new artwork and a new title, ''Serpent'' ...

'' (1973), and ''

Man of Miracles ''Man of Miracles'' is the fourth album by Styx, released on November 8, 1974. This would be the band's last original album on the independent Chicago-based label Wooden Nickel Records before moving to the major label A&M. Background The ...

'' (1974).

Track listing

Personnel

Styx

– vocals, keyboards * James "JY" Young – vocals, electric guitars *

– vocals, electric and acoustic guitars *

Chuck Panozzo Charles Salvatore Panozzo (born September 20, 1948) is an American musician best known as a co-founder of the rock band Styx. He is currently a part-time bass player in the band, sharing bass duties with Ricky Phillips. Panozzo suffers from HIV ...

– bass guitar *

– drums, percussion

Production

Producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

- John Ryan, Bill Traut *

Engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

- Marty Feldman, Barry Mraz * Mixing - Barry Mraz, John Ryan

Charts

Singles - ''Billboard'' (United States)

References

External links

Styx - ''Styx'' (1972) album review by Lindsay Planer, credits & releases
at

AllMusic.com AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Styx - ''Styx'' (1972) album releases & credits
at

Discogs.com Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the l ...

Styx - ''Styx'' (1972) album credits & user reviews
at ProgArchives.com
Styx - ''Styx'' (1972) album to be listened
as stream at Spotify.com {{Authority control 1972 debut albums Styx (band) albums