Lady (Styx song)
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- November 1974 (reissue)
| "Lady" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Cover of German reissue version | ||||
| Single by Styx | ||||
| from the album Styx II | ||||
| B-side | "Children of the Land" | |||
| Released | September 1973 (US) [1]
| |||
| Recorded | Late 1972 | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 2:58 | |||
| Label | Wooden Nickel Records / RCA Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Dennis DeYoung | |||
| Producer(s) | John Ryan | |||
| Styx singles chronology | ||||
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"Lady" is a 1973 power ballad written and performed by the rock band Styx. It was first released on Styx II and was a local hit in the band's native Chicago, but initially failed to chart nationally. The song gained success shortly after Styx left Wooden Nickel Records to move to A&M Records in 1974 as it began picking up airplay nationwide,[2] eventually peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1975. The power ballad[3] was later re-recorded for the 1995 Styx compilation Greatest Hits due to a contractual dispute between A&M and Wooden Nickel.
"Lady" was written by Dennis DeYoung for his wife, Suzanne Feusi, the first song he ever wrote for her.[4] DeYoung recounted to Contemporary Keyboard magazine for the January 1981 issue that the first time he ever played acoustic piano was when the band arrived at the recording studio to record "Lady" and saw the piano in the studio; DeYoung had written the song on an electric piano, but decided to try it out on the piano instead, and liked the sound so much that he switched to the piano for the recorded version. It didn't get much promotion and went nowhere until a DJ named Jeff Davis on WLS in Chicago rediscovered the song when he heard it on a jukebox at a pizza place on the north side of Chicago. Determined to make it a hit, Smith convinced management to let him play the song on his Saturday Night show, which had an audience in 38 states and a few foreign countries.[5] The song became a major hit on the station, spending two weeks at #2 on the WLS survey,[6] and was ranked as the 29th biggest hit of 1975 on their year-end countdown.[7]
Record World called it an "infectious rocker [that] is ignited by crisp harmonies and several sharp rhythm changes."[8] Classic Rock critic Malcolm Dome rated it as the band's 9th greatest song.[9]
This is the only song from the band's four Wooden Nickel-era albums that is still performed live; all other material from those years has been long disowned by the band. Former lead singer Dennis DeYoung also performs the song regularly on his solo tours.
"Lady" has been credited as the first power ballad.[10]
Composition
"Lady" begins with an Alberti bass pattern in the left hand on the piano. The Alberti bass, common to music of the Classical era, can also be heard on DeYoung's composition "Come Sail Away". One possible interpretation for the scale of the song is C Lydian, since the song starts with a D major chord, but moves down to C major with the ♯4 still being played in the right hand melody. Drums and distorted electric guitar come in at 1:17 in the recording, corresponding with high harmonies as well.
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Personnel
- Dennis DeYoung - lead vocals, keyboards
- James Young - lead guitar, backing vocals
- John Curulewski - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Chuck Panozzo - bass
- John Panozzo - drums
