Dennis DeYoung
He has made many great albums, and now he has made his last. Dennis DeYoung is bowing out gracefully at the age of 74 with a solo record, 26 East Vol 2, that recalls his finest work from the 70s and 80s as singer, pianist and primary songwriter for Styx.
Speaking to Classic Rock from his home in Chicago, the city where he was born on February 18, 1947, DeYoung talks like a wiseguy from a mob movie, a stark contrast to the high, pure singing voice heard on those classic songs – Lady, Come Sail Away, Babe, The Best Of Times – that made Styx a multimillion-selling phenomenon in the golden age of melodic rock. He also has plenty to say for himself. “I have a lot of great stories,” he says. “I tell myself that so I can just keep talking.”
There is much joking and laughter as he tells these stories, and twice he breaks into song. His mood changes only when he discusses his departure from Styx in 1999, and the band’s refusal to reunite with him for one, it’s ending on a high note.
