JAMES 'JY' YOUNG: STYX 'Probably Deserves To Be' In ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

In a new interview with Meltdown of the Detroit radio station WRIF, STYX guitarist and co-founder James "JY" Young was asked how he feels about the band's hypothetical induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it's very East Coast-centric in terms of the people that have a vote. And STYX probably deserves to be in there, but I'm not holding my breath. Our type of music and the audience that basically love our music and buy millions of our records don't have a vote. There's 30 or 40 people that decide who's going in — not 30,000 and 40,000 voting. And, I won't mention names — that might guarantee we never get in — but I don't, honestly… Will I have a smile on my face when I go to my grave if I haven't made it in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame? Sure. We've played in front of audiences and people have said so many wonderful things about, 'JY, your music has changed my life. Your music saved my life. It got me through the most difficult times when my girlfriend or my mother passed away and I was listening to your music that helped get me through my most difficult time.' And so what could be more significant than another human being saying that 'You've saved my life. You made my life better. You allowed me to see things in a light that I could still survive and go on.' So that's the kind of stuff that you don't hear about, but it's out there and it's absolutely factual in terms of how people… I mean, music affects everybody differently, and we've made some great records, no doubt about it."

STYX released its self-titled debut album in 1972 and first became eligible for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1997. The legendary group's legacy encompasses a string of multi-platinum and enduring albums that include "The Grand Illusion" (1977),"Pieces Of Eight" (1978),Grammy-nominated "Cornerstone" (1979),"Paradise Theatre" (1981) and "Kilroy Was Here" (1983). They wrote and produced a long list of evergreen hits and classic songs that include "Lady", "Lorelei", "Suite Madame Blue", "The Grand Illusion", "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)", "Come Sail Away", "Miss America", "Renegade", "Blue Collar Man", "Babe", "Borrowed Time", "The Best Of Times", "Too Much Time On My Hands", "Snowblind", "Mr. Roboto", "Don't Let It End", "Show Me The Way" and more. Despite that, STYX has yet to even appear on a ballot for consideration.

Back in 2021, Sterling Whitaker, author of "The Grand Delusion: The Unauthorized True Story Of Styx", stated about STYX's hypothetical Rock Hall induction: "In recent years we've seen some of the internal politics of the Hall change, and they've finally inducted some long-overdue artists including GENESIS, ALICE COOPER, KISS, JOURNEY, RUSH and YES. STYX has long been one of the most critically misunderstood, under-reported and incorrectly reported bands in rock music history. But the music has always been enough to carry the day with the fans, who have supported the band religiously for nearly fifty years now. Their legacy touches on progressive rock, hard rock, arena rock, ballads, folk, blues, European and American influences ... it really is a band with something for everyone , and the music still plays all day, every day across multiple radio formats all across the U.S. and the world," he added. "It's also a fixture of television and movies, a testament to how ubiquitous the music of STYX has truly become. STYX for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is the easiest argument in the world to make. Not only is it high time, it's way past time."

Even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal groups like IRON MAIDEN and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N' ROSES in that band's first year of eligibility.

Four years ago, STYX guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw told WRIF about a possible Rock Hall induction: "I'm kind of numb to it now. And I've been to some of them before. It was nice to see a bunch of people that I know.

"You know what it's good for? When you go out later and they say, 'members of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.' That's what's great about it," he continued. "But the idea of going there and going through that process, I'm not really looking forward to that. I'd love to be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and I'd go do it, but that part, it just doesn't appeal to me. It's one of those things where you sit in judgment there, and our fans have voted with their feet and with their wallets time after time. So it's the fans that I respect more than a bunch of guys [going], 'Thumbs up, thumbs down,' year after year.

"I just don't understand their standards," he added. "They'll have some songs that aren't a rock and roll song — one guy had one song, and they put them in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. And I'm not bitter about it. But it's just frustrating to be held up to those kinds of standards when all we really care about is our fans."

Still, if he does one day get the call that STYX is being inducted into the Rock Hall, "I'll be honored, I'll go [and] I'll do it," he said. "But I kind of stopped paying attention to whether we qualify for being in there."

Earlier in 2020, Young told the Arizona Republic that original frontman Dennis DeYoung "deserves" to be in the Rock Hall along with the rest of the band if they eventually get inducted. But he ruled out a possible reunion with the singer, saying: "Highly unlikely. The man sued us in federal court over the use of the name. We settled out of court. So we control the name and he can use it in limited ways, which are very strictly outlined.

"Dennis hates being away from home," Young explained. "I don't need to be next to unhappiness. We have a joyful thing now and I have no economic incentive to do it. It would be throwing the Joker back into the deck to bring him in. And I'm not interested in that.

"A lot of times great works of art come from tortured souls or tortured situations," he added. "And being in STYX was a tortured situation. It really was. A lot of us were very unhappy. In all the success we had, there was no joy. And now there's nothing but joy. From what I've read, a lot of these great works of literature were made by tortured souls. And Dennis is kind of a tortured genius."