Dennis DeYoung

by Craig HarrisThe keyboardist/vocalist of Chicago-based arena rock band, Styx, Dennis DeYoung continues to cultivate a successful solo career. Recording on his own as early as 1984, DeYoung produced four impressive solo albums -- Desert Moon, Back to the World, and Boomchild before reuniting briefly with his former bandmates in 1990.
The reunion proved to be brief, however, and Styx disbanded a second time shortly after releasing an album, Edge of the Century. DeYoung used the opportunity to record his fourth solo album, 10 on Broadway, which celebrated the influence of such composers as George and Ira Gershwin, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Tim Rice.
Although he returned to Styx when they reunited again in 1996, and played on their first studio album in eight years, Return to Paradise, a serious viral ailment that made him sensitive to light, caused him to bow out of a national tour. By the time that he recuperated, Styx had replaced him with a new singer, Lawrence Gowan. Attempting to sue over the use of the band's name, DeYoung settled out of court in late 2001. Forced to rely on his own talents, DeYoung wasted no time. He composed and recorded a musical based on Victor Hugo's novel, Hunchback of Notre Dame, played Pontius Pilate in a touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and re-recorded the Styx hit, "The Grand Illusion" for Siegfried and Roy's IMEX film. Tracks from his first three solo albums were compiled and released in 1999 as Ultimate Collection.