"Lady" | ||||
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Single by Styx | ||||
from the album Styx II | ||||
B-side | "Children of the Land" | |||
Released | September 1973 (US) [1]
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Recorded | Late 1972 | |||
Genre | Progressive rock | |||
Length | 2:58 | |||
Label | Wooden Nickel Records / RCA Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Dennis DeYoung | |||
Producer(s) | John Ryan | |||
Styx singles chronology | ||||
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"Lady" is a 1973 power ballad written and performed by the rock band Styx. It was first released on Styx II and was a local hit in the band's native Chicago, but initially failed to chart nationally. The song gained success shortly after Styx left Wooden Nickel Records to move to A&M Records in 1974 as it began picking up airplay nationwide, [2] eventually peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1975. The power ballad [3] was later re-recorded for the 1995 Styx compilation Greatest Hits due to a contractual dispute between A&M and Wooden Nickel.
"Lady" was written by Dennis DeYoung for his wife, Suzanne Feusi, the first song he ever wrote for her. [4] DeYoung recounted to Contemporary Keyboard magazine for the January 1981 issue that the first time he ever played acoustic piano was when the band arrived at the recording studio to record "Lady" and saw the piano in the studio; DeYoung had written the song on an electric piano, but decided to try it out on the piano instead, and liked the sound so much that he switched to the piano for the recorded version. It didn't get much promotion and went nowhere until a DJ named Jim Smith on WLS in Chicago rediscovered the song when he heard it on a jukebox at a pizza place on the north side of Chicago. Determined to make it a hit, Smith convinced management to let him play the song on his Saturday Night show, which had an audience in 38 states and a few foreign countries. [5] The song became a major hit on the station, spending two weeks at #2 on the WLS survey, [6] and was ranked as the 29th biggest hit of 1975 on their year-end countdown. [7]
Record World called it an "infectious rocker [that] is ignited by crisp harmonies and several sharp rhythm changes." [8] Classic Rock critic Malcolm Dome rated it as the band's 9th greatest song. [9]
This is the only song from the band's four Wooden Nickel-era albums that is still performed live; all other material from those years has been long disowned by the band. Former lead singer Dennis DeYoung also performs the song regularly on his solo tours.
"Lady" has been credited as the first power ballad. [10]
"Lady" begins with an Alberti bass pattern in the left hand on the piano. The Alberti bass, common to music of the Classical era, can also be heard on DeYoung's composition "Come Sail Away". One possible interpretation for the scale of the song is C Lydian, since the song starts with a D major chord, but moves down to C major with the #4 still being played in the right hand melody. Drums and distorted electric guitar come in at 1:17 in the recording, corresponding with high harmonies as well.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
"Lady '95" | |
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Song by Styx | |
from the album Styx: Greatest Hits | |
Released | 1995 |
Recorded | 1995 |
Genre | Rock |
Length | 3:05 |
Label | A&M Records |
Songwriter(s) | Dennis DeYoung |
Producer(s) | Dennis DeYoung |
"Lady '95" is a 1995 re-recording of the 1973 song "Lady". It was rerecorded as a result of a contractual dispute between A&M Records and Wooden Nickel Records. It solely appears on A&M compilations, most notably Styx: Greatest Hits , for which the song was rerecorded.
The 1995 A&M compilation Styx: Greatest Hits could not use the original version of "Lady" because the song was originally recorded for and released through Wooden Nickel Records (which also had a distribution arrangement with RCA Records). Because A&M/PolyGram had been unable to secure distribution rights to the song, most of the original lineup of Styx (Dennis DeYoung, Chuck Panozzo, and James "J.Y." Young) reunited with longtime guitarist Tommy Shaw to re-record the track at Dennis's home studio, The White Room. They were joined by uncredited session drummer Todd Sucherman, who filled in for John Panozzo due to Panozzo's failing health; Sucherman officially (and permanently) joined the band in 1996, during the Return to Paradise tour, and is included in the present lineup. The track, which is very similar to the original, was titled "Lady '95". The recording of the track ultimately led to the classic lineup of Styx (except for John Panozzo) reuniting.
The re-recorded version received mixed reviews from fans. Some claimed that the production was better than the original version. However, other fans still stick to the original, being that the original was the one that hit #6 on the charts.
This song has been featured in various television programs, including episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia , Freaks and Geeks , The Office , and Still Standing . It has also appeared in films such as The Perfect Man , Old School , and Underdog .
Homer Simpson, as Odysseus, endures this song as he crosses the River Styx in the Simpsons episode "Tales from the Public Domain", groaning "This truly is hell!"
Dennis DeYoung sang the song with Hal Sparks in 2006 on the show Celebrity Duets .
Styx is an American rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1972. They are known for blending melodic hard rock guitar with acoustic guitar, synthesizers mixed with acoustic piano, upbeat tracks with power ballads, and incorporating elements of international musical theatre. The band established themselves with a progressive rock sound during the 1970s, and began to incorporate pop rock and soft rock elements in the 1980s.
Dennis DeYoung is an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist. He was a founding member of the rock band Styx and served as its primary lead vocalist and keyboardist from 1972 until 1999. DeYoung was the band's most prolific and successful writer, having been credited as the writer of more Styx songs than any other band member. DeYoung penned seven of the band's eight Billboard top 10 singles as well as a solo top 10 single.
Cornerstone is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Styx, released in 1979. Styx's third straight multi-platinum selling album, Cornerstone was Styx's first album to earn a Grammy nomination, which was for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. Like the four previous Styx albums, the band produced the album themselves. Styx recorded the album at Pumpkin Studios in Oak Lawn, Illinois.
Man of Miracles is the fourth album by Styx, released in October 1974. It entered the Billboad Album charts on November 9, where it reached No. 154.
Styx II is the second album by American band Styx, released in July 1973.
Return to Paradise is the second live album by Styx, released in 1997, and their first album after signing with CMC International. It features songs from their successful reunion tour with Tommy Shaw, but without John Panozzo, who died in July 1996. It includes three new studio tracks, "On My Way," "Paradise," and "Dear John." Shaw wrote the latter as a tribute to Panozzo, while "Paradise" featured upon Dennis DeYoung's solo album and was newly recorded with the band.
"Come Sail Away" is a song by American pop-rock group Styx, written and sung by singer and songwriter Dennis DeYoung and featured on the band's seventh album The Grand Illusion (1977). Upon its release as the lead single from the album, "Come Sail Away" peaked at #8 in January 1978 on the Billboard Hot 100, and helped The Grand Illusion achieve multi-platinum sales in 1978. It is one of the biggest hits of Styx's career.
John Anthony Panozzo was an American drummer best known for his work with rock band Styx.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album and primary Greatest Hits album by the American rock band Styx. It was released by A&M Records on August 22, 1995. It contains 16 tracks, 8 of which were Billboard Top 10 Pop Singles, another 4 that were Billboard Top 40 Pop Singles, and 4 that received heavy airplay on FM album oriented rock stations.
Greatest Hits Part 2 is a 1996 compilation album by the rock band Styx and a follow-up to Greatest Hits, another compilation album released in 1995. The album features 14 previously released Styx songs as well as two new songs, "Little Suzie" and "It Takes Love". Major omissions that were not included on either Greatest Hits packages are 2 top 40 charted singles, "Why Me" and "Music Time".
"You Need Love" is a song by Styx written by Dennis DeYoung. Following the success of the 1974 re-release of the single "Lady" from the album Styx II, "You Need Love" from that album was released as a follow-up single.
"Lorelei" is a song from rock band Styx. It is on their 1975 album Equinox, and was released as a single in 1976.
"Sing for the Day'" is the second single that Styx released from their album Pieces of Eight. It reached #41 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in February 1979. It was later the B-side of their next single “Renegade”. Tommy Shaw used the name ‘Hannah’ in the song, to represent his fans. Several years later, he named his newborn daughter Hannah. The album version that lasts 4:57, was edited down to 3:40 for the single version.
"Too Much Time on My Hands" is a song by American rock band Styx, released as the second single from their tenth album Paradise Theatre. It was written and sung by Tommy Shaw, who also plays the lead guitar solo during the break in the song. It was Shaw's only top 10 single as a writer and vocalist with Styx.
"Music Time" is the sole studio track released on the live Styx album, Caught in the Act. It peaked at #40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of June 2, 1984.
"Show Me the Way" is a song by American rock band Styx, written by Dennis DeYoung and released as the second single from Edge of the Century. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in March 1991. The song's music video was directed by Michael Bay.
"Paradise" is the only single release from Styx's 1997 live double album Return to Paradise. The song was originally written and recorded by Dennis DeYoung for his musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The song was re-recorded by Styx for inclusion as one of three new studio tracks on the live album.
With the success of Styx's album The Grand Illusion, Wooden Nickel Records, Styx's previous label, released Best of Styx, which contained selected Styx songs in the Wooden Nickel catalog. Styx had left Wooden Nickel to sign with A&M Records several years earlier, so the compilation does not contain any songs from Styx's three A&M albums that preceded this album's release. "Lady", "You Need Love" and "Best Thing" are the principal songs that could be classified as hits in this collection, having charted at numbers 6, 88 and 82 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively; the remainder of the songs are selected album tracks from Styx's Wooden Nickel releases.
Styx - Classics, Volume 15 is a greatest hits compilation for the band Styx, released in 1987 by A&M Records as part of A&M's classics series of greatest hits albums for artists on its label.
Rockers is a compilation of songs by the band Styx. It was released in 2003. The album is notable for deliberately omitting any songs for which former member Dennis DeYoung was the primary or sole writer; even DeYoung-penned signature ballad-to-rocker hits such as "Queen of Spades", "Suite Madame Blue", and "Rockin' the Paradise" are missing. It was an attempt by the remaining members of the band to reposition Styx as a hard rock band and move away from the DeYoungian ballads that had marked the last few albums of their career and most of their biggest hit singles.
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