DDY backstory?

1to392831weretaken said:

I can't believe I had to Google this for you, but it's not hard to look up:

Life and career
1947–1970: Early life

Dennis DeYoung was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States,[1] to parents Maurice and Loraine DeYoung. Growing up in the Roseland area of Chicago, DeYoung started his career as an accordionist in 1962 at the age of 15 when he teamed up with his 13-year-old neighbors Chuck and John Panozzo in a three-piece combo originally called The Tradewinds.[1] The trio added guitarist Tom Nardin in 1964 and renamed the band TW4.[1] In 1968, Nardin was replaced by John Curulewski and in 1970 DeYoung hired James Young to become the second guitarist in TW4. The band changed the name to Styx in 1972,[1] upon signing their first record contract.

Before the band met with success, DeYoung spent time as a school teacher in the Southern suburbs of Chicago, where he was a music teacher in District 143. During this period, the band played a number of small venues and school auditoriums in an effort to secure a record deal.

DeYoung met his sweetheart Suzanne when he was seventeen and she was fifteen at a high school dance. They married in 1970.
1972–1984: Tenure with Styx

Within Styx, DeYoung acted as lead vocalist, keyboardist, accordion player, producer and songwriter. From the start of Styx's commercial success with the 1973 DeYoung-penned single "Lady", DeYoung became the creative force behind most of the band's hit songs. 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" (No. 9) being the sole exception. The seven DeYoung penned-and-performed top 10 Billboard hits, in order of their peak chart placement are:

"Babe", the band's only Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit to date. Also hit No. 1 on Radio and Records chart.
"Mr. Roboto" (No. 3 Billboard, No. 3 R & R)
"Show Me the Way" (No. 3 Billboard, No. 7 R & R)
"The Best of Times" (No. 3 and No. 1 R & R)
"Don't Let It End" (No. 6 Billboard, No. 3 R & R)
"Lady", the band's 1973 breakthrough hit (No. 6 in March 1975 Billboard and No. 7 R & R)
"Come Sail Away" (No. 8 Billboard, No. 9 R & R)

A self-taught pianist, DeYoung quickly became one of the most notable keyboard players in rock. Featured on the cover of the January 1981 issue of Contemporary Keyboard magazine (a story that was reprinted in Contemporary Keyboard's book on the greatest rock keyboardists), DeYoung described many of his steps along the way through his keyboard-playing career: He had never played an acoustic piano until the recording session for 1973's "Lady"; he recorded the track for 1979's "Babe" on a Fender Rhodes electric piano, an instrument he had never touched before, at Pumpkin Studios because the studio's grand piano was out of tune; when playing accordion for the song "Boat on the River" from the Cornerstone album, DeYoung discovered how small the keys felt to his fingers after years of playing pianos and Hammond organs.[2]

As a keyboardist in Styx, DeYoung was best remembered for his prominent lead synthesizer solos performed on the Oberheim 4 voice synthesizer that dominated the mix with a unique tone, a key element of the Styx sound. Influenced by the recent release of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's first album, DeYoung – a novice synthesizer player at the time – used a modular Moog to record the keyboard tracks for Styx's debut album in 1972. This album featured a rock version of "Fanfare for the Common Man", more than five years before ELP came up with a similar idea of recording this classical composition as a rock band featuring the synthesizer, that would later become one of ELP's best known recordings.

DeYoung's songs often had a grandiose style to them in the tradition of 1970s theatrical rock, which heavily influenced the group's direction in the late 1970s, culminating in the concept albums Paradise Theatre (1981) and Kilroy Was Here (1983). The dissent of some members in the band during Kilroy brought tensions between the group's members over the future direction of the band, leading to guitarist Tommy Shaw's departure in 1984 to pursue a solo career.
1984–1989: Early solo career

With Styx in limbo following Shaw's 1984 departure, DeYoung began a solo career of modest success. His first solo album, Desert Moon (1984), generated a top 10 hit, "Desert Moon", and the follow-up single, "Don't Wait for Heroes", cracked the Billboard Top 100 as well.[1] The Desert Moon album was certified gold in Canada in 1984.[3] To date, "Desert Moon" is the only solo single by any Styx member to hit the Billboard Top 10.

Personal life

On January 18, 1970, DeYoung married his longtime sweetheart Suzanne Feusi, and in 2021 celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary. The couple have two children, daughter Carrie Ann and son Matthew. Suzanne DeYoung frequently joined her husband on the road, and eventually their children came along as well, as a way to provide stability for their family.

DeYoung is an avid fan of the Chicago White Sox and personal friend of current manager, Hall-of-Famer Tony LaRussa.[20]