Sing for the Day

"Sing for the Day'" is the second single that Styx released from their album Pieces of Eight. It reached #41 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in February 1979. It was later the B-side of their next single “Renegade”. Tommy Shaw used the name ‘Hannah’ in the song, to represent his fans. Several years later, he named his newborn daughter Hannah. The album version that lasts 4:57, was edited down to 3:40 for the single version.

"Sing for the Day"
Single by Styx
from the album Pieces of Eight
B-side	"Queen of Spades"
Released	October 1978 (EU)[1] December 1978 (US)[2]
Recorded	1978
Genre	Progressive rock pop rock
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Tommy Shaw
Styx singles chronology
"Blue Collar Man" (1978) "Sing for the Day" (1978) "Renegade" (1979)

Reviewing the single version, Billboard felt that the "swirling keyboards and searing guitars" made it sound like a Yes song.^[3] Cash Box said that it has "a bright soaring vocal arrangement and musical backing of acoustic guitars, mandolin, tambourine, moderate beat and excellent synthesizer work."^[4] Record World said that "The strong vocal harmony hook is pop perfect."^[5]

A promotional video was filmed directed by Bruce Gowers which has Styx playing on stage with Tommy Shaw on mandolin and vocals, James "J.Y." Young on acoustic guitar (even though he does not play on the track), Chuck and John Panozzo on bass guitars and drums respectively, and Dennis DeYoung on tambourine and backing vocals (for the band performance scenes) and keyboards (during the keyboard solos).^[6]

Personnel

• Tommy Shaw – lead vocals, guitar, mandolin, autoharp
• Dennis DeYoung – keyboards, backing vocals
• Chuck Panozzo – bass guitar
• John Panozzo – drums, percussion

Charts

Chart (1978-1979)	Peak position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7]	27
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8]	18
US Billboard Hot 100[9]	41

References

1. "Styx singles".
2. "Styx singles".
3. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. December 23, 1978. p. 116. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
4. "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 23, 1978. p. 18. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
5. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. December 23, 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
6. Styx - Sing For the Day Original 1978 Promo Film on YouTube
7. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0119a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
8. "Styx – Sing for the Day" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
9. "Styx Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2024.