Babe

The band’s Wooden Nickel recordings, Styx (1972), Styx II (1973), The Serpent Is Rising (also 1973) and Man of Miracles (1974), were a mixture of straight-ahead rock with some dramatic prog-rock flourishes and art-rock aspirations. The Serpent Is Rising would foreshadow later endeavors by the group—the so-called concept album would be a medium upon which Styx would rely heavily by the 1980s.

“Krakatoa”, a mostly-spoken-word track from Serpent, served as the inspiration from which filmmaker George Lucas created the THX audio logo, Deep Note.

On the strength of these releases and constant playing in local clubs and schools, the band established a fan base in the Chicago area, but was unable to break into the mainstream until an earlier song, the power ballad “Lady” (from Styx II), began to earn some radio time, first on WLS in Chicago and then nationwide. In the spring of 1975, nearly two years after the album had been released, “Lady” hit the top ten, and Styx II went gold soon after.the DeYoung ballad “Babe” that he wrote for his wife’s birthday (which hit number six in the United Kingdom, January 1980.