WCSX Classic Cuts
Styx: “Mr. Roboto”
The Hook: The chorus being in Japanese may have confused a few listeners.
Album: Kilroy Was Here
Year: 1983
Writer: Dennis DeYoung
Stats: Peaked at number-three on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Top Album Tracks charts
Background: Former Styx singer and keyboardist Dennis DeYoung wrote “Mr. Roboto” as part of the conceptual Kilroy Was Here album. He explains the song’s unusual chorus and why it may have confused some of their fans.
Former Styx singer-keyboardist Dennis DeYoung on the opening lines of “Mr. Roboto.” OC:…in one. :16
“It just means ‘Thank you very much, Mr. Robot’ in Japanese – ‘Domo arigato misuta Robotto.’ That’s all it is. And that’s part of the problem. People thought it was nonsense syllables or something, but the robot itself was a Japanese robot, it had kind of Japanese characteristics. It was about technology and all kinds of crap – all rolled in one.”