Styx’s Last Top 40 Hit Came From a Band in Transition

Styx balanced between the ambition of progressive rock and songs that hit home at pop radio as well as any band of their era. Their pop chart success ranged encompassed three different decades, a longer stretch than most other arena rock bands could manage. When Styx’s streak of Top 40 pop hits ended, the band was in transition mode. That transition would continue in more drastic form in the years following that final hit.

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An Incredible Hot Streak

Styx’s first Top 40 hit in the US took two years to peak on the charts. “Lady”, a ballad written and sung by Dennis DeYoung to celebrate his love for his wife, arrived on the band’s second album in 1973. It caught fire via word of mouth and support on the radio, finally reaching No. 6 in 1975.

That opened the floodgates for the Chicago band in terms of their crossover success. They really hit their artistic and commercial stride once guitarist Tommy Shaw joined the band in 1976. Between 1977 and 1983, the band released five platinum albums that spawned ten Top 40 hits, including the 1979 chart-topper “Babe”.

The band fractured a bit after the 1983 album Kilroy Was Here. Shaw and other members of the group started to become frustrated at the conceptual leanings of DeYoung, even though he’d proven himself as a hitmaker of impressive consistency. DeYoung and Shaw also jumped at the chance to make solo albums. Styx essentially disbanded at that point, and they wouldn’t return for seven years.

New Faces and Familiar Sounds

There was very nearly a reunion of the core members of the group before the Edge Of The Century album in 1990. But DeYoung and Shaw couldn’t come to terms. Shaw backed out to join the supergroup Damn Yankees. The remaining members of Styx hired Glen Burtnik to replace him.

To show Burtnik they were behind him, the band chose “Love Is The Ritual”, which he co-wrote and sang, as the lead single of the new album. Despite the hype for the band’s return, the song failed to hit at pop radio. Luckily, DeYoung had a stirring ballad called “Show Me The Way” in line for the follow-up.

That second single, aided by a radio edit that tied its message into the Gulf War, hit the Top 5. That paved the way for “Love At First Sight”, a mid-tempo track that DeYoung sang and co-wrote with Burtnik and James Young, to do its own damage on the charts. It eventually reached No. 25 in the summer of 1991.

“Sight” Success

“Love At First Sight” combines many of the elements that had adorned other successful Styx singles. There are impressive vocal harmonies from DeYoung, Young, and Burtnik in the service of a nimble tune, as well as an upbeat, romantic message. Coming off the success of Edge Of The Century, it seemed like the band could have continued in that vein.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t secure a record deal when their longtime label (A&M) was swallowed up in a merger. They’d eventually reunite with Shaw, first for a greatest hits package, then a tour, and, finally, the 1999 album Brave New World.

That would be the band’s last album with DeYoung. Also, by that time, the group was a bit past the age when pop hits were in the picture. As a result, “Love At First Sight”, a pleasant but somewhat benign number for a group known for their ambitious projects, ended up as the last Top 40 salvo from Styx.

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