Styx

This Chicago area band actually rose to prominence twice with the same song, the power ballad Lady, before securing their position in musical history as one of the first and best acts in Arena Rock. With fellow arena rockers REO Speedwagon and Boston, they helped write the book on the much maligned genre with their skillful blend of prog rock, hard rock, and AM pop. Styx pioneered the power ballad, furthered the concept of the concept album, and dazzled audiences worldwide with their flashpots, laser displays, and superb showmanship.

Their hit parade is long, distinguished by such audience rousers as Too Much Time On My Hands, Blue Collar Man, The Best of Times, Mr. Roboto, Renegade, and the legendary Come Sail Away, and such platinum-selling concept albums as The Grand Illusion, Pieces of Eight, and Paradise Theatre. After ruling the genre from 1977 to 1983, the band went their separate ways following their ambitious Kilroy Was Here tour, but then reformed in 1990 to release Edge of the Century, which spawned the hit Show Me The Way, making them one of the few bands to have Top Ten hits in three different decades.

The nineties saw several more reformations before the band finally broke down in a cloud of ill health and litigious rancor. Then again, this was a band that had sung Never Say Never, so it is no surprise that the new millennium saw them bounce back, first in a successful concert tour pairing with REO Speedwagon, then with their first new material in years: 2003's Cyclorama. Can they get Top Ten hits in four decades? Stay tuned.

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