A (0:00)

97.1Fm the drive presents the behind the Song podcast, taking you deeper into classic rock's most timeless tunes. Here's your host, Janda when it comes.

B (0:11)

To love songs, there are way more that have been written about love gone wrong than love gone right. Even more rare is a love song written for the love of someone's life, based on a true story, a real Valentine's tale. Years later, that love story yielded a marriage that has lasted through the decades. This is the very Inspiring Story of Lady by Styx, a song written by Dennis DeYoung for his high school sweetheart, his wife Suzanne, and the song that really started it all for the band. If you liked this episode, don't forget to give it a like at the end and hit that subscribe button. Lets review the history Dennis DeYoung grew up in the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, and it was there that the early beginnings of the band Styx were formed, when as a teenager, he started a band called Trade Winds with his neighbors Chuck and John Panazzo brothers. Chuck played bass and John played drums and DeYoung played keyboards and a accordion, and they rounded out the band with the addition of Tom Nardini on guitar, after which they changed their name to TW4. John Cherluski replaced Nardini in the late 60s, and in 1972 things happened. James J.Y. young was hired as a second guitarist and Dennis DeYoung married his longtime girlfriend, speaker Suzanne. It really doesn't get any sweeter than this story. The two met at a high school dance as teenagers back in 1964, shortly after the Beatles came on the Ed Sullivan show and blew everybody's minds on tv, and they've literally been together ever since. And it is this relationship that inspired the song, largely held to be the very first power ballad from Styx to the Soaring Lady. To say that all those years together have been pretty wild for Dennis and Suzanne DeYoung is kind of an understatement. TW4 played frat parties and dances at first, and DeYoung got an education degree and became an elementary school music teacher teaching kids in the suburbs. The band changed their name to Styx in 1972 when they were spotted by a talent scout at a gig in Western Springs, Illinois and were signed to a record deal with Wooden Nickel Records. Styx happened to be the only name that everybody could agree on, and so it stuck. Wooden Nickel was mostly a regional label and little did they know, but they had just signed what would be their biggest act when it came time to record material for Their self titled Debut. DeYoung had written a song for Suzanne, the first song he ever wrote for her, and one that we've all come to know. The theatrical Lady, A song that starts with his impressive piano playing and then swells into a full blown rocker. The label heads at Wooden Nickel had the idea to save the song for the band's second album, so it was not included on their 1972 debut without it. The first Sticks album showcased their talent as musicians, but it was mostly cover songs and had only one single that barely charted. A song written by Young and DeYoung, Best Thing, which peaked at number 82. The very next year, in 1973, Sticks released their sophomore effort. Sticks 2 Lady is track two on side one. And it did end up changing everything for the band, although it took a long while. Imagine writing a song in your garage for your high school sweetheart, who you then end up marrying. That song is then included on your second album, and then it fails to be a hit, at least at first. You go on and write and record two more albums, and then the song you wrote for your wife on album number two starts to get played on the radio two years later. That's what happened with Lady. WLS in Chicago started playing the song every night out of the blue. And eventually it caught on nationally. And in 1975, the song went all the way up to number six on the Billboard chart. The Stix 2 album went gold, and the power ballad was now something that other bands were desperately trying to write with the same success. But there can only be one first, right? In love. And in power ballads, lady goes like this. Lady when you're with me I'm smiling Give me all your love your hands build me up when I'm sinking just touch me and my troubles all fade. Now it's no picnic being the wife of a rock star, especially when the band is just starting out. Suzanne DeYoung traveled to gigs, stayed in motel rooms, and eventually the couple had two children in tow, daughter Carrie Ann and son Matthew. And it really became a family affair for the DeYoungs on the road. The song goes on. Lady, from the moment I saw you standing all alone you gave all the love that I needed. So shy, like a child who's grown. The two did literally meet when they were teenagers, barely old enough to drive a car. And then the chorus where the band kicks in and all of a sudden you're listening to an operatic rocker. Lady of the morning love shines in your eyes sparkling clear and lovely you're my lady and the final verse, lady turns me on when I'm lonely Show me all your charm Evenings when you lay down beside me Just take me gently into your arms. The chorus repeats, and the song ends with that exultant lady, truly a valentine put to song with an exclamation mark at the end. After that, not only was the power ballad introduced to the world, but Styx had a hit on their hands, their first ever. The band were added to the roster at A and M records, and Dennis DeYoung became the principal songwriter for Sticks, writing seven of their eight top 10 hits afterward, including their only number one hit, Babe, which was also written for Suzanne as a birthday present. Best of Times was another Sticks hit written for Suzanne. They've sold multiple millions of albums in the US and worldwide, and three hits at least were written for Suzanne. Much has happened in the world of Sticks since Lady was first released, and then eventually brought the band to the golden shores of rock stardom. Tommy Shaw joined Sticks after the departure of Chorluski in 1975, and then he left the band in 1984 after the release of Kilroy Was Here, a controversial DeYoung concept album about a world where rock and roll was outlawed. Shaw returned in the mid-90s. DeYoung, meanwhile, spread his wings. He went on to appear as Pontius Pilot in the Revival Tour production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which was a logical jump given his theatrical music and stage presence. He would later go on to produce his own musical version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was an award winner in Chicago theater. He finally went solo in the 90s, after a health scare that left him with a sensitivity to light, and that led to a long recovery, which made him stay off the road, and Sticks went on without him. There was a very acrimonious split that came to a public head when interviews with the band members aired on VH1's behind the Music. Chuck Bonazzo, Tommy Shaw and James Young continue on with Sticks to this day. Sadly, two of the original members are no longer with us. John Cherluski passed away in 1988 and John Panazzo passed away in 1996 with much water under the bridge. At this point, a DeYoung Sticks reunion seems doubtful by all accounts, but in 2022, Sticks was inducted into the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum hall of fame, and Dennis DeYoung was also inducted that same night as a songwriter. And through it all, through all those changes and all the highs and lows, Suzanne DeYoung has been there. She published a book, a romantic thriller called A Love Foretold, which is about two people who meet in their hometown of Chicago and the adventures ensue from there. Sounds familiar. The lady who inspired one of the most successful songwriters to ever come out of Chicago is still celebrated as the love of Dennis DeYoung's life, the mother of the power ballad, if you will. It's a love story that gives the rest of us hope with its endurance. And delightfully, that love story also happened to give us a rock song or two or three along the way. I'm Janda and this has been behind the song. Special thanks as always to Christian Lane for the music you hear on these podcast episodes. If you like it gives, give it a thumbs up hit. Subscribe Check us out on TikTok and you can find me on the air weekdays from 9 to 2 Central in Chicago at 97.1fm the Drive, Chicago's classic rock and at wdrv.com on the way, much more classic rock and roll.