Lorelei - Styx, 1975

 
 

When I think of Lorelei my head turns all around
As gentle as a butterfly she moves without a sound
I call her on the telephone, she says be there by eight
Tonight's the night she's moving in and I can hardly wait
The way she moves, ooh-ooh
I gotta say

Lorelei let's live together
Brighter than the stars forever
Lorelei let's live together
Brighter than the stars forever

(Oh Baby forever)

Her eyes become of Paradise, she softly speaks my name
She brightens every lonely night, no one's quite the same
She calls me on the telephone, she says be there by eight
Tonight's the night she's moving in, it's time to celebrate
The way she moves, ooh-ooh
I gotta say

Lorelei let's live together
Brighter than the stars forever
Lorelei let's live together
Brighter than the stars forever

(Baby Baby forever)

Lorelei let's live together
Brighter than the stars forever....

 
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In 1961, singer Dennis DeYoung got together with two of his Chicago neighbours - twins Chuck and John Panozzo, and formed the band Tradewinds. However, another band had already registered the name Trade Winds, so the fledgling group went with TW4. When the guys signed with Wooden Nickel Records, they had to come up with a better name. Of all the ideas tossed out for consideration, Styx was the one that none of the band members hated. Styx, by the way, was an ancient river from Greek mythology.

Styx had only minor success during the early 70s, but developed a style that defined the band. Verging on Art Rock, they experimented with the idea of concept albums, in the tradition of Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd. Lorelei was off the album Equinox, but major success had to wait for the addition of Tommy Shaw and the 1977 release of The Grand Illusion. This album reached triple platinum, and contained the hits Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) and Come Sail Away.

By 1984, Dennis DeYoung had a solo hit with Desert Moon, and likewise, Tommy Shaw released Girls With Guns. The band eventually fell apart. Over a decade later, Tommy and Dennis put aside their differences, and Styx made a comeback. This lasted a few years before Dennis quit the band for good. He was replaced by Scarborough, Ontario-born singer Laurence Gowan - and the band continues to perform today.

But for me, Styx will always be that band I listened to while attending university in the 1970s.

Connections: Here is Tommy Shaw's 1984 hit, Girls With Guns. Also - Laurence Gowan, when he was just plain Gowan.