1. Dennis DeYoung was born on February 18,1947 and is an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist.
35 Facts About Dennis DeYoung
1. 2.
Dennis DeYoung was a founding member of the rock band Styx and served as its primary lead vocalist and keyboardist from 1972 until 1999.
3.
Dennis DeYoung penned seven of the band's eight Billboard top 10 singles as well as a solo top 10 single.
4.
Dennis DeYoung was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Maurice DeYoung and Loraine Rolla DeYoung.
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Dennis DeYoung had a younger sister, Darcy, who died in 2021.
6.
Dennis DeYoung was raised Catholic and is of Dutch and Italian ancestry.
7.
In 1968, Nardini was replaced by John Curulewski and in 1970 Dennis DeYoung hired James Young to become the second guitarist in TW4.
8.
One teacher hosted dinner parties for co-workers; Dennis DeYoung always attended and would inevitably offer to play the piano, entertaining all for hours.
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Dennis DeYoung met his wife Suzanne at a high school dance when he was 17 and she was 15.
10.
Dennis DeYoung wrote and sang lead on seven of the band's eight top 10 Billboard Hot 100-ranked hits during this period, with Tommy Shaw's "Too Much Time on My Hands" being the sole exception.
11.
The seven Dennis DeYoung penned-and-performed top 10 Billboard hits, in order of their peak chart placement are:.
12.
Between stints with Styx, Dennis DeYoung was asked to appear in the 20th Anniversary revival tour of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar in 1993, including Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson and Irene Cara, appearing in 268 performances as Pontius Pilate.
13.
Dennis DeYoung was asked to perform by Tony-winning producer Forbes Candlish.
14.
In 1995, Dennis DeYoung called Shaw to sing on a new version of "Lady" even though he had not performed on the original.
15.
Styx's 1996 tour, dubbed the "Return to Paradise" tour by the band, proved remarkably successful, and a 2-disc live recording of the show proved even more so; 1997's Return to Paradise live album, produced by Dennis DeYoung, went gold and spawned a top-30 hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, the Dennis DeYoung-penned "Paradise".
16.
Dennis DeYoung asked for six months to recover; Shaw and Young instead replaced him with Canadian rocker Lawrence Gowan in 1999 and went on tour without Dennis DeYoung.
17.
Dennis DeYoung has said that the manner in which Shaw and Young vilified him on VH1's Behind the Music triggered the lawsuit.
18.
In February 2000, Dennis DeYoung was approached to perform a concert featuring his many songs from Styx, as well as his solo works and his 1997 stage musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame, with an orchestra.
19.
Healthy , Dennis DeYoung returned to touring with a 50-piece orchestra augmented by a five-piece rock band, which included Tommy Dziallo on guitar, Hank Horton on bass, and Kyle Woodring on drums, all of whom played shows with Dennis DeYoung with or without the orchestra.
20.
Dennis DeYoung made his major motion picture debut in 2005's The Perfect Man, in which he played the lead vocalist in a Styx tribute band.
21.
On his website, Dennis DeYoung jokingly dubbed the performances "The Denny and Glenny Show".
22.
On September 14 and 15,2006, Dennis DeYoung appeared with Hal Sparks on Celebrity Duets, an American reality television show produced by Simon Cowell.
23.
On June 19,2007, Dennis DeYoung released in Canada his fifth solo album, One Hundred Years from Now, marking a return to his rock roots.
24.
On September 20,2008, Dennis DeYoung performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame benefit concert for the John Entwistle foundation.
25.
In November and December 2008, Dennis DeYoung was a featured artist on the German Night of the Proms 20-city tour.
26.
Dennis DeYoung joined Robin Gibb, Tears for Fears, 10cc and Kim Wilde on the sold-out tour.
27.
Dennis DeYoung accompanied Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees on piano performing "How Deep Is Your Love".
28.
On July 12,2009, Dennis DeYoung was honored by his native city Chicago with the "Great Performer of Illinois Award".
29.
The title comes from the real-life address on the South Side of Chicago which Dennis DeYoung grew up in, where he formed the nucleus of what would become Styx.
30.
That same night Dennis DeYoung was additionally inducted as a songwriter.
31.
On January 18,1970, Dennis DeYoung married his longtime sweetheart Suzanne Feusi.
32.
Dennis DeYoung is an fan of the Chicago White Sox and personal friend of former manager, Hall-of-Famer Tony LaRussa.
33.
Music written by Dennis DeYoung has been featured in the following films:.
34.
Music either written by Dennis DeYoung or performed by him has been featured in the following stage productions:.
35.
Music written by Dennis DeYoung has been featured in television shows and commercials.