John Curulewski

I’ve said this before – I was (still am) a huge fan of STYX.  The first album I ever owned was Equinox.  That album was the foundation for the huge commercial success the band would become over the following 8 years.  It would also be the last album recorded with the original members of STYX.

John Curulewski was one half of the duo that made up the double-guitar driven sound of the band.  He was also responsible for many of the high squeaky background vocals – particularly the high part on their mega hit Lady.

His guitar technique was solid, and his songwriting unique and clever.  Standout songs for me from the first five records are: “As Bad as This” (with the hidden track “Plexiglass Toilet”) from The Serpent is Rising, “A Day” from Styx II, “Mother Dear” and “Prelude 12” from Equinox, and “22 Years” again from The Serpent is Rising.

I first heard “22 Years” on the band’s tour in support of the Crystal Ball album, but by then John had left the band.  Even though never achieving the album sales of the later recordings, the first five records of the band are full of great songwriting and performances.  It really is unfortunate the band never gained strong support from their record label at the time.

Had it not been for John Curulewski, Tommy Shaw would never have joined the band and helped them to their crazy success of the late 70s and early 80s. While I do enjoy the albums from Crystal Ball through (parts of) Kilroy Was Here, I also really love the early stuff.

John left us too early.  He died of a brain aneurism in 1988.