WCSX Classic Cuts : Lady

WCSX Classic Cuts

Styx: "Lady"

The Hook: Released on Styx's second album, already they'd released their fourth when it broke nationally.

Album: Styx II

Year: 1971

Writers: Dennis DeYoung

Stats: Peaked at number-six on the Billboard Hot 100

Background: Dennis DeYoung's ballad "Lady" became Styx's breakout hit nationally, but it sure didn't happen overnight. In fact, it took around a year and a half, by which time they'd released two more albums. Guitarist James "JY" Young explains how it happened.

Styx guitarist James Young on how “Lady” became a national hit two albums after it was first released as a single. OC:…a hit. :26

“It became popular in Rapid City, Provo, Utah and Little Rock, Arkansas, so we went and played all those places quite a bit at the time, but it went off the radar screen for awhile. And we continued to play around the Chicago area and people would call up and request the song. And the program director, when we went to him with our fourth album to try to get him to play something at WLS, he said, ‘I’m not going to do that, but the song “Lady,” off your second record, I get requests for that and I never get requests for songs that aren’t on my playlist. So I’m going to play that song once a night until it’s a hit.’”