• Writer: Dennis DeYoung
• Producers: Styx
• Recorded: Early 1977 in Chicago, Illinois
• Released: Summer 1977
• Players:
  Dennis DeYoung — vocals, keyboards
  Tommy Shaw — guitar, vocals
  James “J.Y.” Young — guitar, vocals
  Chuck Panozzo — bass
  John Panozzo — drums
• Album: The Grand Illusion (A&M, 1977)
• Also On:
  Classics (A&M, 1987)
  Greatest Hits (A&M, 1995)
  Return To Paradise (CMC International, 1997)
  and other live albums and compilations
• The title track of Styx’s seventh album, “The Grand Illusion” discusses the theory that fame and wealth are indeed merely illusions, and that “deep inside we’re all the same.”
• Though a popular album track that received heavy radio play, “The Grand Illusion” was never a hit single for Styx.
• The Grand Illusion album itself was not an immediate hit. Though it charted when it was released in 1977, it didn’t take off until early 1978 when “Come Sail Away” hit the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at Number Eight.
• The album followed up the charts, hitting Number Six on the Billboard 200 chart and giving the band their first platinum album award.
• The album’s success also allowed Styx to perform for the first time in the U.K., in May 1978.
• The Grand Illusion was also a coming of age album for singer-guitarist Tommy Shaw, who had joined the group in 1976. His “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” was the album’s second single and a Top 40 hit.

FAST FORWARD:

• Styx broke up in 1984 and reunited in 1990, without Shaw. The group reunited again with Shaw in 1995.
• Shaw has also recorded solo and has worked in the band Damn Yankees and as a duo with Yankees partner and Night Ranger bassist Jack Blades.
• Singer-keyboardist Dennis DeYoung and singer-guitarist James “J.Y.” Young have also released solo albums.
• Drummer John Panozzo died of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage in 1996 at age 47.
• Bassist Chuck Panozzo gave up his full-time duties with Styx in 1998, though he still makes some concert appearances with the band. After publicly acknowledging his sexuality and health status, Chuck Panozzo is now active in the AIDS and HIV-positive communities.
• DeYoung was forced off the road by a mysterious illness in 1998. However, Shaw and Young took a version of Styx on tour, and DeYoung has sued his former bandmates, and they remain estranged.

DeYoung re-recorded “The Grand Illusion” with an orchestra for his 1999 Ultimate Collection album.