John Panozzo

John Anthony Panozzo (September 20 1948 – July 16 1996) was the drummer for the American rock band Styx.

Panozzo grew up in the Roseland neighborhood, the south side of Chicago, Illinois with his fraternal twin brother, Chuck (born 90 minutes apart). At age 7, the twins took musical lessons from their uncle in which John took an interest in drums and percussion. They attended Catholic school and eventually they were part of a 25-piece accordion band in which John played drums and Chuck played guitar. They would play weddings at age 12 and were paid $15 a piece.

Then, in 1961, John, Chuck, and their neighbor, Dennis DeYoung, formed a band called the Tradewinds in which John played drums, Chuck played guitar, and Dennis played the accordion and sang. They played local rock and roll gigs at bars and began gaining popularity as a garage band on the south side. In 1968, Chuck switched to bass and they added guitarists/vocalists James "J.Y." Young and John Curulewski, changing their name to TW4. The band signed to Wooden Nickel Records and changed their name to Styx.

Years of partying with Styx and excessive drinking began to take a toll on his liver. In the mid-1990s, as Styx was about to embark on its first tour with the classic line-up since 1983, John fell seriously ill and began battling cirrhosis of the liver, eventually dying of gastrointestinal hemorrhaging; he was 47 years old.

The band dedicated their 1996 Return to Paradise tour to him, and Tommy Shaw, who had earlier replaced Curulewski, wrote the song "Dear John" as the band's final tribute to their drummer and friend.

As far as his drum equipment goes, he was believed to have used first Premier from 1971 to 1978 and then Tama drums for the rest of his career and Zildjian cymbals from 1971-90 and then switched to Sabian in 1991.

Discography

tudio Albums

* 1972 "Styx"
* 1973 "Styx II"
* 1973 "The Serpent Is Rising"
* 1974 "Man of Miracles"
* 1975 "Equinox"
* 1976 "Crystal Ball"
* 1977 "The Grand Illusion"
* 1978 "Pieces of Eight"
* 1979 "Cornerstone"
* 1981 "Paradise Theater"
* 1983 "Kilroy Was Here"
* 1990 "Edge of the Century"

Compilations

* 1995 "Styx Greatest Hits"
* 1996 "Styx Greatest Hits Part 2"
* 2000 "Extended Versions"
* 2002 "20th Century Masters"
* 2004 "Come Sail Away - The Styx Anthology"
* 2005 "The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings"
* 2006 "Styx Gold" - see "Come Sail Away - The Styx Anthology" as this is the exact same release.