Born on this day in 1953: Tommy Shaw, guitarist and singer from Styx and Damn Yankees.

Shaw joined Styx in December 1975. His first album with Styx, Crystal Ball (1976), was titled after his own composition and also includes his songs “Mademoiselle” and “Shooz”. Its follow-up, The Grand Illusion (1977), became the group’s breakthrough album, which went platinum due in part to Shaw. He personally went from studio to studio, coast to coast and pleaded with radio stations to play the band’s single “Come Sail Away” (written and sung by Dennis DeYoung). The album also featured the radio hit “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)”, penned by Shaw.

Styx’s eighth album, Pieces of Eight, was the breakout album for Shaw’s songwriting talent. His rock-oriented contributions “Renegade” and “Blue Collar Man” were the only major hits from this release, reaching #16 and #21 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, and they became 1970s rock-radio staples and perennial Styx concert favorites. The Shaw-sung ballad “Sing for the Day” also became a moderate hit, hitting number #41, making Shaw the writer and singer of all three singles pulled from the album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XcKBmdfpWs