Styx’s Dennis DeYoung slams ‘shameful’ Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in scathing post

New York Post ^ | 11/16/25 | Eric Todisco

[HYPOCRACY]

We Built this City is still worst song ever.

[shotgun]

Worse than Muskrat Love?

[Ransomed]

Yes. It’s been runny dog squeeze for decades. I think it’s cooler when acts don’t get in at this point.

Freegards

[RightWingNut]

J.Geils Band and Dr. Hook aren’t in

But Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Hank Williams Sr. are in

?????

[jerod]

The R&RHOF lost me when they inducted ‘OutKast’... Seriously??? The were essentially a ‘one hit’ wonder... So that makes them worthy?

What a joke... And a sad joke at that.

[GSWarrior]

Styx wasn’t gay enough.

[tumblindice]

Baby Blue was a good choice to end the TV series Breaking Bad, and Walter White. Straight Up album.
Weren’t they groomed by Paul McCartney (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

[gundog]

Mr. Roboto is the best song ever.

Only “We Built This City” can challenge that statement.

[HYPOCRACY]

Yes. Even worse than Seasons in the Sun. 1 800 Kars for Kids is close but that’s a commercial jingle.

[Joe 6-pack]

As bad as, "Mr. Roboto," was, it makes sense when viewed in the context that it was originally written as part of a rock opera. It never should have been released a a single.

DeYoung did do some great work with Styx and as I grow older, I become increasingly appreciative of this solo album, "Desert Moon."

On a cultural/moral note, DeYoung has been married to the same woman since 1970, which IMHO, sets him apart from the vast majority of this professional peers, and his remarks in this article are 100% on point.

[lone star annie]

Or too much time on my hands

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Paul Rodgers was one of the greatest vocalists in rock and roll history. DeYoung has a good point.

[Lurker]

I’m not sure we can be friends.

L

[dennisw]

Bad Company Rock Hall of Fame — Full Performance 2025 — Joe Perry, Nancy Wilson, Bryan Adams, Chris Robinson
Two Bad Company tunes, very well done. Joe Perry is blazing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ShD7hmBY0

[dennisw]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ShD7hmBY0

[maddog55]

The R&R Hall of Fame is run by idiots and many of their inductees are anything but R&R.

[DarrellZero]

Only the bass player.

[I-ambush]

Domo arigato-NOT-for that song.

[okkev68]

Exactly. R HOF is a joke and has rap and country artist in there over real rock artists. It’s like Rolling Stone publishing the greatest guitar players of all time. Look at the list. Keith Richards over Randy Rhodes and SRV. Please.

[Charles Martel]

Tommy Shaw added a lot to the band, but of the 23 Billboard-charted Styx songs, Dennis wrote or co-wrote around 16 (and wrote the majority of that number solo). DeYoung was the talent that kept the band on the radio.

As far as Mr. Roboto (one of the Billboard hits, BTW), the current iteration of Styx has put it back in its setlist for the past year or more. Dennis has a theatrical bent, for certain - but Kilroy was a concept album (with that dystopic stage show/video, it gets closer to rock opera) that missed the mark with its 1980s audience. Styx had prog rock tendencies, but not everyone can pull it off like Pink Floyd or Jethro Tull. I think some of today's fans have warmed to the album - and the song.

As for the HOF, that has never been likely for Styx. The "corporate act" label hobbled them long ago.