Sometimes being a rock-trivia freak is a curse.
I was a groomsman in my friend Leon's wedding. The wedding party got to ride from a hotel to the Georgetown Chapel in a limo. There was family and groomsmen and bridesmaids.
One of the Bridesmaids in the limo was named Lorelei. I had met her before, at a shower, but only learned her name at the reheasal dinner the night before the limo ride. From the moment I heard her name, I wondered if she knew that there was a Styx song that shared her name. I was sitting next to Lorelei in the limo and finally had to ask her about the Styx song. She had heard of the song, and even sang a snippet. Then someone asked what year the song came out.
Thinking out loud, I said "Well it was before Tommy Shaw joined the band in 1975, so it must have been like 1974 or earlier." Everyone looked at me like, "Who is Tommy Shaw and why do you know anything about Styx."
I started thinking about Styx and Tommy Shaw as we rode around in the limo. Everyone should know the history of Styx and Tommy Shaw, for it is a classic tale with a tragic hero.
Styx, fronted by Cheeseball Dennis DeYoung, started sometime in the early 70's and pretty much sucked up through 1975 (including the song Lorelei).
Then, Styx guitar player left the band and they asked Tommy Shaw, a skinny, weak chinned, guitar player from Alabama, to join the band for the Equinox tour.
Immediately Tommy had an impact Styx, not only as a guitar player, but as a singer/songwriter also. Tommy wrote and sang the title track to his first album with Styx, Crystal Ball (1976).
Styx's breakout album The Grand Illusion was released in 1977 and Tommy wrote and sang several songs on the album, including Man in The Wilderness and Angry Young Man.
In 1978, Styx released Pieces of Eight and again Tommy rocked with Blue Collar Man and Renegade.
In 1981 Styx released their only album to make it to #1, Paradise Theatre. I still remember the video for Tommy's Too Much Time On My Hands.
In 1983, Styx somehow followed up Paradise Theatre with the terrible album Kilroy Was Here. After the tour, Tommy quit Styx because Dennis DeYoung had totally taken over the artistic direction of the band and that direction was Cheese-ville. (Mr. Roboto)
The irony of Tommy leaving Styx for being too cheesy is that Tommy's career itself turned to utter gouda in 1984 with the release of his first solo album featuring the hit Girls With Guns.
Then, in 1990, Tommy had a craving for more cheese. He went out and found the two cheesiest hair-metal musicians on the planet, Ted Nugent and Jack Blades (former bass player and singer for Nightranger). They formed the super-cheesy supergroup Damn Yankees and had a hit with High Enough, which Tommy co-wrote.
Sometime later, Tommy admitted that he was a hopeless cheese-bag and rejoined Styx, who are still touring today, playing at State Fairs, 20 years after having any sort of radio airplay whatsoever.There you have it. The tragic story of the career of Tommy Shaw.
From now on, whenever I see a limo, I'll wonder if maybe ... just maybe ... Tommy is inside.
