Fans Petition for Styx’s ‘Long Overdue’ Rock Hall Induction
A group of Styx fans has created an online petition calling for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to enshrine the band. “For over 20 years, Styx has been eligible for induction into the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame,” notes the recently uploaded petition. “We as fans believe the recognition for their achievements and influences in rock music is long overdue.”
The petition then lists some of Styx’s notable career highlights, including the hit songs “Lady,” “Come Sail Away,” “Babe,” “Too Much Time on My Hands” and “Mr. Roboto.” It also notes that Styx were “the first musical act to be certified by the RIAA as achieving four consecutive multiplatinum albums.”
"We created our online petition to demonstrate to the Hall that fans of Styx want to see them receive this recognition,” Ken Shafer, one of the fans spearheading the petition, explained in a press release. “Our hopes are that the Hall will recognize this and at the very least put Styx on a ballot for inclusion."
Despite the band’s resume, Styx have never been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 2014, cofounder and former singer Dennis DeYoung opined that Styx were simply not the type of group the Hall looked upon with favor.
“Fans of bands like Styx, Journey, Boston, Foreigner and others, are stuck with the fact that the people who decide who is worthy of induction are for the most part the same ones who never liked these bands,” DeYoung explained on Facebook. “Anything said by any of us who were in those groups in defense will sound like sour grapes no matter how valid the statistics, how persuasive the arguments."
While there may be some wisdom to those words, one of the bands DeYoung named in 2014, Journey, has since been inducted, seemingly giving hope that Styx will receive the honor one day as well.
To that end, DeYoung knows fan support will aid the band’s cause. "Hey, it worked for Rush, why not Styx? They both have four letters," he said of the new petition, while referencing the fan campaign that helped get the Canadian rockers inducted.
The petition supporting Styx’s is currently live at Change.org.