Editing Styx (band) (section)

===Early A&M Years and addition of Tommy Shaw (1975–1978)===
On the heels of its belated hit single, Styx signed with [[A&M Records]] and released ''[[Equinox (Styx album)|Equinox]]'' (1975), which sold well and yielded a minor hit in "[[Lorelei (Styx song)|Lorelei]]", which reached No. 27 in the U.S. More importantly, it contained the rock anthem "[[Suite Madame Blue]]", which gained the band considerable recognition and airplay on [[FM radio]] in the relatively-new [[Album-oriented rock|Album Oriented Rock]] (AOR) format. Following the move to A&M, guitarist [[John Curulewski]] suddenly left the band as they were to embark on a nationwide tour in December 1975, due to his desire to spend time with his family. After a frantic last-minute search, the band brought in guitarist [[Tommy Shaw]] as Curulewski's replacement.<ref name=clark />

''[[Crystal Ball (Styx album)|Crystal Ball]]'' (1976), the first album to feature Shaw, was moderately successful, but was overall a disappointment, failing to achieve the sales of its predecessor. The album showcased the band's newest member, as Shaw's "[[Mademoiselle (song)|Mademoiselle]]" reached No. 36.

Styx's seventh album, ''[[The Grand Illusion (album)|The Grand Illusion]]'', was released on July 7, 1977, and became their breakthrough album, reaching [[gold album|Triple Platinum]] [[RIAA certification|certification]]. It spawned a top-ten hit and AOR radio staple in the [[Dennis DeYoung|DeYoung]]-written "[[Come Sail Away]]", which reached No. 8 in 1978. Shaw's "[[Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)]]" was a second radio hit and reached No. 29 the same year.

Through the late 1970s and early 1980s, the band enjoyed its greatest success. Their 1978 album ''[[Pieces of Eight (album)|Pieces of Eight]]'' found the group moving in a more straight-ahead hard-rock direction and spawned three Shaw sung hit singles "[[Renegade (Styx song)|Renegade]]" (No. 16 in the US) and "[[Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)]]" (No. 21 in the US), plus "[[Sing for the Day]]" that reached No. 41.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}