Styx — “Music Time”

Entered Top 40:  June 2, 1984 
2 weeks  
Peaked at: 40  

This was supposed to be the last gasp. Styx’s heavy-concept rock-opera Kilroy Was Here tour escalated conflicts that brought about the end of the band. “Music Time” was the only studio track on a live album, added as a contractual obligation. Guitarist Tommy Shaw had already split and was in New York when the the band shot the video, which Shaw thought was dumb anyway. He never appears in the same shot as the rest of the band.

By the time the live LP Caught in the Act hit shelves, Styx was formally dissolved, so no one was out there promoting it. I sort of get a kick out of “Music Time,” having found Styx a bit pompous most of the time. Anyway, this was supposed to be the end of Styx, but the group reformed in 1990 with new guitarist Glen Burtnik replacing Tommy Shaw. Their “Show Me the Way” peaked at #3, and “Love at First Sight” hit #25. Shaw rejoined in 1995, and the old Shaw/Dennis DeYoung tensions resurfaced until DeYoung finally left/was given the boot in 1999.

Both Styx and DeYoung (playing “the music of Styx”) continue to tour as of 2023. As a connoisseur of state fairs, I am often amused to see which act gets the grandstand bookings and which gets the free stage. One year they both appeared in Minnesota the same weekend. That must have been awkward.