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John J. Curulewski (October 3, 1950 – February 13, 1988) was an American musician who was one of the original members of Styx. Career Curulewski's grave at St. Benedict Catholic Cemetery. In 1969, Curulewski joined the Chicago-based band TW4, featuring college friends Dennis DeYoung, Chuck Panozzo, and John Panozzo.
The original line-up comprised Dennis DeYoung, James "J.Y." Young, John "J.C." Curulewski and brothers Chuck and John Panozzo. Debuting with Styx in 1972, the band usually released an album every year throughout the 1970s. Styx II (1973) had the sleeper hit "Lady", a power ballad, which reached No. 6 in the US, helping the album make the top 20.
This is also the first album on which John Curulewski wrote and sang on two songs: the proggish, jazzy "A Day," which has an unusual sound for the band, and the boogie humor song "You Better Ask," whose outro features a snippet of "Strangers in the Night" on calliope organ and an evil laugh.
Guitarist Tommy Shaw, who joined the band in 1975 (replacing John “J.C.” Curulewski) is from Montgomery.
Jan 23, 2017 · DeYoung: I wrote my choruses, and from the beginning—with J.Y. Young and our original guitar player, J.C. (John Curulewski)—when the three of us sang high, it sounded like no one else. That was the most unique thing I thought of the early Styx sound, was the three of us singing.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the members of Styx at the time of the Wooden Nickel label signing, as seen in the above vintage of-era photo, were, from left to right: bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer John Panozzo, guitarist/vocalist John “J.C.” Curulewski, keyboardist/vocalist Dennis DeYoung, and the aforementioned James “JY” Young.
After a frantic last-minute search, the band brought on guitarist Tommy Shaw as Curulewski's replacement in 1976. [2] Curulewski later died of a brain aneurysm in February 1988. JC, as he was known, was an excellent guitar teacher and also formed the group "Arctic Fox" playing the Chicago area clubs.
