Yesterday marked the 35th anniversary of Paradise Theatre's debut. Has it really been 20 years since the RTP tour? Dayum!
Billboard charts with Styx.
Yesterday at 12:39pm ·
1/31/81 debut on the album charts
Styx – Paradise Theatre
Paradise Theatre is the tenth album by the rock band Styx, released in January 1981.
A concept album, the album is a fictional account of Chicago's Paradise Theatre from its opening to closing (and eventual abandonment), used as a metaphor for America's changing times from the late 1970s into the 1980s. (Dennis DeYoung confirmed this in an episode of In the Studio with Redbeard which devoted an entire episode to the making of the album.)
Four singles from the album charted. "The Best of Times", written by Dennis DeYoung, went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Too Much Time on My Hands", written by Tommy Shaw, went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, Shaw's only top 10 hit for Styx. "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned", written by DeYoung, went to #54 on the US Pop Chart. "Rockin' the Paradise" — written by DeYoung, Shaw and James Young — went to #8 on the Top Rock Track Chart.
Paradise Theatre became Styx's only US #1 album. It was the band's fourth consecutive triple-platinum album, and (as of 2015) the last multi-platinum album by the band.