Styx was a rock and prog band from Chicago that racked up an impressive string of hits in the 70s and 80s that have earned them the ranking of #156 in the most successful charting artists of all-time. Most of their hits were written and/or sung by Dennis DeYoung or Tommy Shaw, both of whom had modest success as solo artists after the band broke up in 1984. The band reunited in 1989 with guitarist Glen Burtnik replacing Tommy Shaw, who was busy with a new supergroup called Damn Yankees. Styx found themselves back in the Top Ten with the ballad "Show Me The Way," which reached #3 in 1991. The follow-up single, "Love At First Sight," (#25) became the band's final chart appearance. Shaw came back into the fold by 1995, and by 1999 Styx released a new album called "Brave New World." This time out, though, Shaw's proclivity for gritty rock clashed vehemently with DeYoung's passion for keyboards and operatic rock, resulting in a confusing record and forcing the latter out of the band. It may sound hard to believe, but one of their classic songs, "The Grand Illusion," the title track from their landmark 1977 record, never charted. The album produced two other chart hits instead: "Come Sail Away" (#8) and "Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)" (#29). Styx managed to hit the top of the chart once in their career. That was in 1979 with the ballad "Babe."
California melodic rockers Night Ranger rose to prominence in the 80s with their brethren Survivor and Bad English. The band grew out of the ashes of the pop rock outfit Rubicon, which counted Jack Blades (vocals and bassist) and Brad Gillis (guitar) as members. Outside of their big ballads, 1984's "Sister Christian" (#5) and 1985's "Sentimental Street" (#8), Night Ranger is often overlooked for other great tunes like "When You Close Your Eyes" (#14), "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" (#40), and "Four In The Morning (I Can't Take Any More)" (#19). They also had an underrated track featured as the title song to the Michael J. Fox film, The Secret of My Success that stalled at #64 in 1987. The band split up in 1989, shortly after their final chart appearance - which was "I Did It For Love" peaking at #75. Singers Kelly Keagy released some solo work while Blades joined forces with Tommy Shaw (Styx) and others to form Damn Yankees. Blades and Shaw sound marvelous together, and forged a lasting friendship. The two have released two albums as a duo in-between all their other projects. Night Ranger continues to release quality melodic rock albums today, and some of the tracks would have done very well back in the 80s. "Don't Let Up" is a good example, the title track to their latest 2017 release.
After leaving the legendary band Styx, Dennis DeYoung struck out for a promising solo career. He hit it big out of the gate with "Desert Moon" in 1984, but it would prove to be his only top 40 hit as a solo artist (it went to #10). The follow-up single, "Don't Wait For Heroes" fumbled at #83. For his second solo outing, he released the song "Call Me" (not a Blondie cover), but it hung up at #54. His career on the singles chart ended in 1986 with "This Is The Time", which couldn't rise past #93 even after being featured in Karate Kid Part II. "Boomchild" is a great AOR track from his third album of the same name. Remarkably, this album didn't even hit the Top 200 - it should have been a comeback for DeYoung, who proved with this record that he still had excellent songwriting chops. Check out "Harry's Hands" and "Beneath The Moon" too.
Expectations were running high when word got out that a new rock super group was forming consisting of Jack Blades (Night Ranger), Tommy Shaw (Styx), Ted Nugent (Amboy Dukes), and newcomer Michael Cartellone on drums. The debut single "Coming of Age" left after hitting a disappointing #60 on the chart, but the band scored in a big way with their epic ballad, "High Enough", which soared to #3 in 1990. The third single from the self-titled debut album, "Come Again", came and went only to hit #50. The excitement about the band and strength of the singles helped push the album to #13, and ignited a healthy writing partnership between Blades and Shaw (who also harmonize wonderfully together). In 1992, the band released their follow-up record, "Don't Tread". To most people, the songs were not as strong and it certainly didn't help that the musical tide was shifting towards grunge. Still, the record pulled its weight among the Seattle bands and got to #22, and the ballad "Where You Goin' Now" peaked at #20. "Silence Is Broken" is another terrific ballad, but it only managed to climb to #62 and holds the notoriety of being the band's last charting single (unless perhaps the long discussed rumors of a reunion actually materialize).
Jude Cole is a hugely underrated singer/songwriter who almost broke through at the end of the 80s with his first top 40 hit, "Baby, It's Tonight", which got to #16 in 1990. "Time For Letting Go" was an excellent follow-up track, but it stalled at #32. A third single, "House Full Of Reasons", fared even worse, unable to get past #69. These terrific songs and many more can all be found on his most successful record, "A View From 3rd Street", which went to #138 on the Billboard Top 200. Jude Cole's next record, his third as a solo artist, was called "Start The Car". The title track didn't get off to much of a start, stopping in its tracks at #71 in 1992. The ballad, "Tell The Truth", did a little better reaching #57. I really thought this acoustic driven song, "Worlds Apart", would launch Cole back into the spotlight, but it was a tough time in the music biz that year if you weren't doing grunge or techno. Featured on this track are backing vocals by half of Damn Yankees: Tommy Shaw (Styx) and Jack Blades (Night Ranger). Prior to his solo career, Jude Cole was in the underground rock band The Records from 1980-1981. He later became a very successful producer, writer, and manager for other artists like Lifehouse.
"Kilroy Was Here" sealed the fate of the original lineup of the legendary AOR band Styx in 1983. Tommy Shaw left to pursue a solo career and ultimately form the supergroup Damn Yankees. Dennis DeYoung also released several solo albums through the rest of the decade. Meanwhile, a singer/songwriter from New Jersey was rocking his way onto the music scene. Glen Burtnik (who also went by Glen Burtnick at times) made his first chart appearance (and only one as a solo artist) in 1987 with the excellent "Follow You" from his sophomore album, "Heroes & Zeros". The single only went to #65 on the Billboard Top 100 but brought him attention that led to songwriting opportunities, including the huge smash "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough", which Patty Smyth and Don Henley took all the way to #2 in 1992. And it brought him a great opportunity to bring Styx back. Styx reformed in 1989, but with Burtnik as their lead guitarist instead of Tommy Shaw. They released "Edge Of The Century" in 1990, which muscled its way to #63 on the album chart. The album also contained several tunes written by Burtnik, most notably the single "Love Is A Ritual", which originally appeared on his debut album. "Love Is A Ritual" did not chart in 1986, but Styx took it to #80 in 1990. Burtnik stayed with Styx until 2003 and then returned to his solo career.
