| |
 Fame
& Fortune: James Young
Styx guitarist keeps his
investments FDIC insured
| The band Styx
amassed an impressive array of hit singles and albums during the 1970s and early
1980s. From 1972 to 1983 they had 19 top-100 singles; seven of them in the top
10, including "Lady" in 1974, and "Renegade" in 1978. "Babe"
was a No. 1 hit in 1978. They have earned four multi-platinum albums, two platinum
and seven gold.
So, it's not surprising that when they broke up in
1984, the breakup would not hold. They reunited for a new album in 1990, spawned
a top-10 hit with "Show Me the Way," parted ways once more, and then
came together again in 1996. Since then, the band that gave us such guilty pleasures
as "Mr. Roboto" in 1983 and the sci-fi rock classic "Come Sail
Away" in 1977 has played more than 100 shows a year, and this year had their
highest-charting album since the early '90s with "Big Bang Theory,"
a covers album that includes their versions of The Beatles "I Am The Walrus"
and Jimi Hendrix's "Manic Depression." James
Young has been the band's guitarist from the very beginning and is quick to point
out that at the time of this interview, it was exactly 33 1/3 years since they
signed their first record contract, a number with significance to anyone who listened
to music around the time of Styx's heyday. Young has been there for the band's
high points, such as scoring three triple-platinum albums in four years, with
"The Grand Illusion," "Pieces of Eight" and "Paradise
Theater" from 1977 to 1981, and the low points, including the death of drummer
John Panozzo in 1996 after a long battle with alcoholism. Out
on tour in support of "Big Bang Theory," Young took time out to talk
with Bankrate about the new record and how he has handled his finances within
the ups and downs of his 33 1/3-year career. Bankrate:
Tell me about the new album. James
Young: We were invited to participate in the Eric Clapton's Crossroads
Guitar Festival in Dallas. Since we had recently performed there, we changed our
set around to play some cover music. Tommy Shaw did "The Thrill is Gone,"
I did a Hendrix thing, and our keyboard player did "I Am the Walrus."
"Walrus" got huge response, so we kept it in our set. In August, we
played it in Chicago and a program director heard us and said, "Give me a
copy and I'll put it on the air." We've battled to get airplay on our last
few albums, so for someone to say that was a delightful shock. So our record company
decided to take advantage of this opportunity that fell from the sky and put together
a full album. We didn't have original material ready to go, so the suggestion
was: Take songs that had a profound influence on you, and put your own spin on
it. Bankrate: How has it sold? James
Young: It sold 19,000 copies the first week, which put us at No. 46 on
Billboard's Top 200, the highest chart position we've had since 1991. It continues
to sell through about 3,000 to 4,000 a week. |
