Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - GGACP Classic: Dennis DeYoung

Episode Date: February 15, 2024

GGACP celebrates the birthday of rock/pop icon and former Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung (b. February 18) by revisiting this in-depth interview from 2020. In this episode, Dennis talks about the birth of the Beatles, the death of rock n’ roll, opening for Stevie Wonder and Frank Zappa and teaming with Julian Lennon for his new album “26 East, Volume One.” Also, Dean Martin mocks the Stones, Alice Cooper pulls out the stops, Eric Cartman covers “Come Sail Away” and Dennis reveals the biggest downside to being a rock star. PLUS: Dr. Demento! In praise of Antony Newley! Bob Hope wears love beads! Slim Pickens joins a Styx tour! And Dennis serenades the boys with “Babe” and “Lady”! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TV comics, movie stars, hit singles and some toys. Trivia and dirty jokes, an evening with the boys. Once is never good enough for something so fantastic. So here's another Gilbert and Franks. Here's another Gilbert and Franks. Here's another Gilbert and Franks. Here's another Gilbert and Franks. Colossal classic. Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried.

This is Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast with my co-host Frank Santopadre. Our guest this week is a musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, occasional actor, theatrical composer, raconteur, and a genuine rock and roll icon. He started out playing the accordion to please his mother, and just a few decades later, he was selling millions of records and albums and performing to sold-out arenas all over the world as both a solo artist and a founding member of the creative voice behind the wildly popular pop and rock band Styx. You know his distinct voice from hit songs like Lady, The Grand Illusion, Mr. Roboto, Babe, This is the Time, Show Me the Way, Don't Let It End, The Best of Times, and Come Sail

Away, among others. He was also the band's most successful writer, composing seven of the band's eighth Billboard Top Ten singles, as well as a solo Top Ten single. His sense of showmanship and his grandiose theatrical style heavily influenced the group's sound in the 1970s. He's also released seven well-received solo live albums, including a Broadway Standards album. As well as a theatrical performer,

he's starred in productions of Jesus Christ, Stupid Star, and composed an original stage musical based on the Hunchback of Notre Dame. But there's more. His recent YouTube videos made right in his living room and created to provide comfort to those affected by the current pandemic, have garnered over a million views and generated thousands of responses. And his brand new solo album, 26 East Volume 1, will be released on May 20th. Volume 1 will be released on May 20th. Please welcome to the show an artist of many interests and talents and a man who says that growing up he wanted to either play center field for the Chicago White So, or be Jerry Lewis. The pride of Roseland, Illinois, Dennis DeYoung. Oh, my God, Frank, give Gilbert a break.

That introduction was longer than my career. Were some of those things true, Dennis? None of it. I didn't even know what you were talking about. By the way, I've got nothing to add to that. See you guys. Good night. Jesus. Gilbert, I mean, I don't even know how you read all that stuff. Oh, it's torture. Thanks. Thanks, though.

Oh. I know. Gilbert likes to say they double as an obituary. You forgot to mention I'm kind to animals. Oh, I'll start all over and include it. Yeah, please. Go from Paradise Theater, anywhere in there. What about this Jerry Lewis business, Dennis?

You're in the midst of a fan, a lifelong fan, and somebody who knew Jerry. Yeah, I mean, I was in an elevator, Gilbert, one day with my little daughter, and it was in it was some hotel in in uh in la i just stepped there and he was there and he had a lozenge i think at the time and so he he turned to my said he turned my daughter said how oh you're so beautiful and i stood there and i never said a word because i thought to myself, that's Jerry Lewis. Shut up.

I didn't know what to say to him because I wanted to be him. He's like one of those people when you'd see him in person, you go, no, he can't exist in real life. Gilbert, you didn't know this, but this song was originally written for one of his movies. Ready? Lady! Jenny, lady! Have you done that in concert, Dennis? I have done, I don't know if I've ever done an on concert but for many years I used it as a routine

on radio shows because nobody nobody expects me to be funny they expect me to be hi I'm a rock star I'm posing and very serious but really the guys in Styx were the the nuttiest guys ever and Jerry for me was like um you know this one that's baby Anyway, so I love Jerry Lewis. I just, you know, and I was always, till one day I was practicing falls, you know, all these bad falls. I hit my rib cage so hard on the side of a building, I thought I broke a rib. I stopped doing that.

But I wanted to be Jerry. He's just, you know, I don't know what he is like as a person, but there was no one ever like him, ever. He was one of a kind. I was always lucky because I could use that famous line, well, he was always nice to me. Yeah.

Yeah, he was nice to my daughter, and so I didn't give him an opportunity to not be nice. What did you listen to growing up? I know the albums you bought, Dennis, but were you a movie guy as a kid? Because I know you're a movie guy now. You're a movie buff. We talked about Blazing Saddles. Did you go to the Paradise Theater in Chicago?

Or what was the other big show place, the Granada? Paradise Theater was, the story behind it, as quickly as I walked into an art gallery, Merrill Chase in 1980, and there was a painting, a serigraph actually, of the Paradise Theater by Robert Addison. And it said Paradise, you know, closed indefinitely. And I said, wow, that seems like a metaphor for America in 1980. We were going through big changes. So I bought it, took it home. But the actual Paradise Theater was torn down in 1958 when I was like 11 years old. I never saw it. I see.

And I just used the image as a metaphor. Did you go to movies as a kid? I know you were a White Sox fan. No, I was held in cap—I never went to the movies. I was held captive in my base by my parents. Frank, did I go to movies? Of course, yeah. The movie theater was the State Theater.

The State. The State Theater. And we used to go there and, you know, try to sit down and have some popcorn and then, you know, get our feet up off the floor when we left. They were stuck so bad. But yeah, I love movies. And, you know, like every kid you dreamed,

well, someday maybe I'll be an actor or something. But never happened. Well, it did eventually. Was the State Theater the John Dillinger Theater? No, that's the Biograph. The Biograph. Yeah, that's on the north side, way far from where I lived. Good Chicago history.

Was he watching a Clark Gable movie? Manhattan Melodrama. That's what he was watching? Yeah, that's movie. Manhattan melodrama. That's what he was watching? Yeah, that's right. That's right. Very good. Wow. Manhattan melodrama.

What, Myrna Loy? I don't know. I know some stuff. But at 73, Gilbert, I'm forgetting everything. Right now, all I have on is this hoodie and my cup. You know, you never know when a ball could take a bad bounce in the infield. Going back to the, go ahead. I found out something that really disappointed me because I wanted to hear stories about groupies making plaster casts of your dick and stuff like that. And instead, to my horror, you've been happily married for how many years?

50. Jesus. 50. Yeah, I know. Well, I met her in high school. She was 15 and I was 46. And no, that's ridiculous. I can't even do that joke anymore.

We met at, listen to this Gilbert. On 2-9-64, I was supposed to go to a Catholic high school dance. And my best friend loved, he was into the Beatles already. Meet the Beatles. I said, it sounds like hype, not interested. And so he made me stand in my parents' home and watch them at seven o'clock before we went. And so I watched it and, you know, my life was changed. I knew exactly at that moment what I wanted to do. And that was being waste management. But anyway,

I looked at that and I said, I was already a musician. I had formed the band in 1962, the nucleus of the band. The Panazzo brothers lived across the street. And I played accordion, you know, if you want to hear Lydia Spain. I played accordion. And we weren't a rock band. Then I saw that Gilbert Frank. I just said, that's it. I'm going to do that. And so two weeks later, I went to that Catholic high school dance. I met my wife. So in two weeks in 1964, my professional and my personal life was set.

Good thing I didn't know it. Wow. It all happened. Yeah. And you and Suzanne celebrated 50 years, what, in January? We tried to, but I had food poisoning. Oh, Jesus. Yeah. We were down in, uh, we were down in Boca because I'm old enough now to go down there. And we've been there and I, and I had dinner reservations booked and, uh, I got, I ate something bad. And and and so we celebrated our 50th uh not that

great but 50 years um she's uh look she's she's a drunkard's dream if i ever did see one you know up on cripple creek she defends me i don't have to speak you know she's been supportive uh you know don't pick a fight she's she's italian like i'm half italian unfortunately it's the it's the upper half but so she's um she says to me you know she her children and her family off limits you know so she's been with me the whole time uh she loved me before i was uh anything um and uh and at the time i was actually a greaser. So that shows you her devotion. Wow. But we've been married, raised two kids, and they've traveled with us.

Dara, are you there? I'm here. She's there. We raised two children from 1976 on the road, three of us at first in a hotel room all the time. So this this pandemic child's play you guys got kids don't you gilbert you have kids uh yeah two yeah well two of us were in the road for like three or four years at the very end all the time. And, you know, it was a testimony to the fact that I could run very fast. Out the fence!

I think his first disappointment was that you didn't live a life of rock and roll debauchery, Dennis. And his second one was that you're not able to actually play the accordion. I can play the accordion. Gilbert, if you come over here and lift it up for me,

I can't lift anything yet. That's what I mean mean I can play it no listen to this I have a brand new video that that that premiered today on YouTube it's called to the good old days it's a duet with Julian Lennon beautiful song and at the very it's all old home videos and you know the kind of stuff the first time I saw it I said this looks like a Ken Burns documentary for Christ's sake but it's really very charming and the very last scene

is me sitting on the floor, bare feet playing an accordion because it ends with an accordion on the record and it's everybody's favorite part and the reason I'm sitting on the floor is because I couldn't lift it up, I dragged it on the floor is because I couldn't lift it up. I dragged it on the carpet and put it on my things.

And then I played it. And then I put it off. And coincidentally, the one musical I've read is written is The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Anyway. So we're recording this on May 11th. No one's ever going to hear this, are they? Yeah. No.'s ever going to hear this, are they? Yeah. No.

Well, probably. We're recording this on May 11th. So today is the day that the video dropped. It did. Right. Okay. So by the time this is up, people can actually go find it. And it's very touching.

Yeah, I sent it to you. Yeah, it was good. And I sent it on to Gilbert and Dara. It was very sweet. Honestly, it brought tears to my eyes and i well oh go ahead i'm listening i'm listening no i noticed uh an interesting similarity to you and the beatles is like because the beatles stopped touring and wanted to be creative and wanted to do more stuff in the studio. Yeah. And they, and we were all, we all have penises. That's where the similarities end.

Listen, those guys are gods and they should be. Gilbert, Lennon and McCartney were Adam and Eve from which all the rest of us bands were begat. That's just it. They really invented the modern rock band, self-contained, writing songs, singing them, arranging them. The things they did in that short period of time, for most of us musicians, it's unfathomable. You think about it and you go, if you take one of their albums, that's like the entire hits of the sticks catalog that's the minutes how good they were you know uh were you a beetle fan when you were oh absolutely okay yeah you know it was just remarkable yeah what's interesting too is that a

couple of times with with some of the some of sticks's concept albums i mean and i saw this in interviews with you you were you were kind of chasing a Beatle thing. Always. There's at least three albums you were trying to do your own take on Abbey Road. I was, and I failed miserably, but we still had success. I mean, you know, it was,

those two, we made good records. And, you know, Gilbert, you're a very funny man, and you're a great comedian. Thank you. But, you know, you had your idols. You looked at Jerry Lewis and said, well, I'm Gilbert, I'm not Jerry. Isn't that how you feel?

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, you watch someone and you go, I want to be in the, profession as them and I want to be connected with them. But yeah, I got to be my own person. Yeah. And so, you know, for me, I was trying to, our records didn't sound like Beatles records. I was just trying to conceptualize the way it did. And as I directed the band myself, it was, what I learned from the Beatles was, as long as you write a great song and make a good record,

that's all you need to do. You don't have to fit in one mode, one genre. And they did everything. Because if you think about Beatlemania as much as I loved it, if they'd have stayed there, they wouldn't have lasted the way they did. And so I remember the first If they'd have stayed there, they wouldn't have lasted the way they did. And so I remember the first time I got Rubber Soul and I put it on and it was so different.

I thought, oh my God, what have they done? They've ruined everything. And then after the third listen, I realized it was goodbye Beatlemania, hello the future. That's, it was just, they were gonna do anything they wanted. And so when I was trying to direct my guys in my band, I thought, write a great song, baby. People will come to hear great songs. And that's all I tried to do.

And the Beatles were like influenced by the Beach Boys. There was always there's. Yeah, competition. Yeah, because they would... Yeah, Brian Wilson. When they heard Pet Sounds, I think that influenced Sgt. Pepper. Yeah, they became very competitive. Same thing happened to me when I went to Pet Smart. I wrote a bunch of songs.

So Beatlemanian 64 was one impression, Dennis, but then when you heard Rubber Soul and Sgt. Pepper and it blew your mind, you realized that anything was possible. Yeah, and we were crappy when those records came out. We weren't any good at all. We were still just kind of shedding the skin of being a wedding band.

And we were just getting into the rock and roll. And then in 68, we got John Serlesky, one of the original members of Styx. And then J.Y., James Young came in 1970. And that's when we really started to come together as a real authentic rock and roll band. But listen, when you heard Sgt. Pepper,

when I heard it, I still remember where I was. And John, the drummer, and myself, we listened to it. And we went, oh, my God. Because what that record said was, musicians, anything is possible. Do whatever, you know, whatever you want to do. And it was a miracle. But, I mean, unless Paul McCartney starts sending me some residuals,

I'm not going to talk about him anymore. I want to talk about that band, the early band. First, The Trade Wins, and then what? You guys, you changed your name after that. You became, what, TW4? Yeah. What kind of venues were you guys playing, Dennis? You were playing weddings, high school parties?

Mostly weddings in those days, you know. Plenty bar mitzvahs? Yes, yes, yes. Wait a minute. I forgot it. I used to play bar mitzvahs back then. Oh, here's the one I know. I'm sorry.

There weren't as many Jewish people in our community as... You know, I play the tanantella. That's us. Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Santo Padre. So Styx was basically a cover band. Yeah, in the worst possible sense. We were covering songs from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.

We became a rock and roll cover band later. That's why we got signed, because we were very, very popular in Chicago at imitating other bands. And then we started trying to write our own music. I like the part of your career where you say you guys played for potato salad first um the very first show we played it wasn't a show three kids in a corner um at a wedding a lot of hot sweaty women in the kitchen and uh they gave us you know fried chicken and potato salad they fed us and that was it it was a friend seriously it was my my parents my parents friend's daughter got married didn't have a lot of money and so they said come on kids play but

it was it was the chance of a lifetime and i saw a picture i'm going through all these pictures of me throughout my life of this video and there's a picture of me and i saw this picture and i saw an expression on my face i rarely see i looked at looked at myself. I didn't recognize myself. What the it was abject fear. Wow. It was taken before we went to play. And I was thinking, oh, my God, can I do this? You know, try to entertain all these people. Gilbert, did you perform for food in those days, Gil, at some point in the early days? Not not only didn't I get you didn't get money and you

didn't get food please what one time a waitress slipped me a potato and and they yelled at her she almost got fired yeah you couldn't get food you couldn't get a glass of soda you had to pay for it. Here's the odd thing, Gilbert. When you need stuff, no one will give it to you. Once you become famous, everybody wants to give you things. Yeah, it's like the richer you become, unless you have to buy. I know. It's great, and I like that.

Just going through a little bit of the group. Go ahead, Dennis. Honey, honey, honey, make sure we stay rich. I like getting shit. Tell us about Wooden Nickel. And I did a little research into the record company Wooden Nickel. Jerry Weintraub was one of the partners, the legendary Jerry Weintraub in Wooden Nickel. A scout saw you guys playing? I met him.

We met him once. He was in town for Led Zeppelin. And Elvis had been there. He was the manager of both. Well, he was the promoter. And he was a character. We spent like about 15 minutes with him. And I respected him.

He was a smart guy. But the record company itself wouldn't nickel. Think about that. Do I have to define it after that? No. Ironically named. Yeah, they were imbeciles. And tell us the story about how Lady became a big hit.

All right. Gilbert, I wasn't a songwriter. And most of the singing I had. What happened? Everybody have my right? Earthquake? Yeah. Yeah.

What was that, Gilbert? Yeah, I have no idea. Your face lit up. Yes. So Wooden Nickel scouted you guys and signed you to a record deal. Okay, so the first album, I didn't really have any songs that I had written by myself or that I actually sang by myself that I had written. So I wrote this song for the end of the first album called Lady.

I played it for the producer and he said, well, we'll save that for the second album. So the second album comes out, and it's on there. And it's released. It's a stiff. It's just nothing. Zip, bupkis, no, nothing. Don't like you.

Don't care for your voice. Your piano playing sucks. So for the next two years, I thought, you know, I was the reverse of Sally Fields. I thought they hated me. They really hated me. I didn't understand that there was a business involved. So two and a half years after it was released, WLS, a very big, powerful radio station in

Chicago, we were going up there to promote our fourth album called Man of Miracles. Me and my buddy, J.Y., were in there. We were going to just leave an album because they never saw people like us they were too big you know we were not important we said hi we're sticks can we leave this album and he said oh come right this way jim smith would like to talk to you he's the program director which means he decides what music's being played we walk in there we said we're in wls we're in this big room so So he comes out. We give him the album.

He says, I'm not going to play anything from this. He says, but tonight at 8 o'clock, I'm going to play John on John Records' Landecker show. I'm going to play Lady once a night because I think it's a hit. He did that, Gilbert. If he didn't do that, you would have never heard of me and I would not be on this show today. So through my entire life, I knew the difference between success and failure was so ephemeral. You just don't know how it's going to happen. And then he played it and that's what happened. It became a hit. And then we went on to record a bunch of albums. It was great. But at that time, so all you kids out there, I can tell you is you just don't know.

The only thing you can do, I said this in the lyric of one of my songs was, winners are losers who got up and gave it one more try. If you don't keep getting up, Gilbert, you know this, because people are going to suck you in the jaw because they don't want to admit you're any good. They're going to tell you you stink until the minute something good happens for you. Then they're all going to say we knew it, but they didn't know nothing. So to be successful is really about perseverance, isn't it, Gilbert?

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Because I've been on stage more times having people yell, you suck. Usually family members. Yes. Yeah. You know, there's a lot of stories like that, Dennis, in music history. And we've had guests on the show that have told stories like that, haven't we, Gil, where one DJ fell in love with a song and was determined to push that record?

Right. Before I lose my voice. Lady, when you're with me I'm smiling Give me all, all, all your love Your hands build me up when I'm sinking Just touch me and my troubles will fade Just touch me and my troubles will fade Lady, from the moment I saw you Standing all alone You gave all the love that I needed So shine like the shining sun Come on baby, come on honey

Love shines in your eyes Smartly, clear and lonely You're my baby Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you. Wonderful. Wonderful. Delightful.

That was the first song I ever wrote and sang by myself on a record. And I wrote it about my wife. So I've had a lot of luck writing songs about my relationship with my wife. And she's only taken 70% off the back end. That's generous of her. Was that the first one you heard played on the radio? Was there a moment? We asked the musicians that have been on the show, Dennis. That moment where, there it is. I heard one of our first songs on the first album and played a little bit on a radio station that didn't matter. But you have to understand, WLS was the most powerful radio station in America,

located in the center of the country, 50,000 clear watt channel, broadcasted from Denver all the way to Little Rock. So to get on that station, it was a miracle. So when he told me that, I went home. We're in this little house that we lived in, my wife and I. And 8 o'clock, there was a little radio on top of the refrigerator. We thought, this can't possibly happen. And it came on, and I just got the chills right now thinking about that moment. And we danced in the kitchen right there, a little kitchen, not really an eat-in kitchen. And anytime something good happens, we have to run to a kitchen and dance. It's just

like a tradition that we, you know, because it was like, man, it was like, what was the first time you were on The Tonight Show, Gilbert? What was that like? I was never on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Me neither. I was on with Jay Leno. Yeah, same with me. I did a lot with Jay Leno on there. They used to have me mainly for those sketches in the beginning of the show. Oh, yeah? Not because, yeah. Well, look, it's, you know, look, guys like you and me and you too, Frank, we get a dream, right?

Whatever it is. And we're ambitious because I always think, this is crazy, you don't get too deep, but I think people like us that work really hard and are driven and ambitious are trying to please somebody who can't be pleased. It's probably a mom or a dad. We know who they are. If you want to lay down on my couch, we'll do an hour. But the deal is for me, I played accordion. I wanted to please my mom so bad. So when the dream comes true, even in the smallest sense, you know, you think, oh, my God, it happened. I'm going to feel different.

I'm going to feel better and special. And you know what? You don't. You feel the same. So what you have to do then is you pile on another dream because you keep setting goals for yourself. But the first time I saw a lady, I'll never, ever forget it. Saw a lady. Heard lady.

I'll never, ever forget it. Saw Lady. Heard Lady. I'll never, ever forget it. And to this day, if I'm driving someplace and one of my songs comes on the radio, I make myself sit in the car until it's over with because I'm afraid it'll end if I don't. Oh, that's cool. I've heard so many stories about comedians and actors growing up, going out, seeing either a vaudeville show or a movie, and then acting it out for their mother. Yeah, sure. You know, listen, all that Jerry Lewis stuff,

I just wanted attention. I wanted the approval and love of a parent. That's what it is. And my mother, she loved me. But I was, you know, boy, this is getting deep. Anyway, the thing about my mom, my mom was, she loved me dearly, but all her dreams were in my basket, if you know what I mean. I was everything to her, and I didn't want to disappoint her. Her parents were both deaf. So she grew up in a house where

no one spoke. and she always thought my singing ability was the universe giving back to the roller family you know so i could sing and play music isn't that wild it is how much of your success did she get to see dennis oh plenty no she saw plenty yeah good yeah then the guys in uh the panazzo brothers, their dad died like the year before things broke. Oh, that's a shame. Yeah, because, you know, we think we're doing it for ourselves. But come on, Frank, who is it? Mom or dad? You want one of them to... Well, trying to make my mother laugh because she was depressed.

There you go. Which we've heard a lot on this show, right? Yeah. A lot of comedians have come on and told us that they got into comedy because they were trying to cheer up or one parent or the other. Gene Wilder. I used to entertain his mother, Jan Murray. A bunch of them. Tons. Yeah. Yeah, of course. You know, it's a great motivator. That's it is. everything, you know, my mom was a, she was a hard task master. But the truth of the matter is I wouldn't have what I have. You know what I mean?

If you have perfect parents that are very encouraging and loving at all times and everything you do is good, you'll never amount to nothing. You know, a little context, too, for getting that song on the radio, Dennis, is your guys, your backs were to the wall. I mean, you'd had, what, four albums at this point that weren't getting any traction? That's it. We were out of record. That was it. That was it. It was not only a turning point, but one came at the absolute right time. Yes. And I was teaching school. I taught school for three years. And then we got a record deal. So here's why I'm a little different, Gilbert, is because I had a wife and a baby girl before I had a record deal. I like to think that my parents raised me good to take responsibility for the people around you. And so the whole doing drugs and alcohol and all that stuff, it didn't interest me. It just didn't.

I mean, now everyone shut off the radio. Now, yeah. So you didn't use drugs or get laid? No. This is a guest you can connect to, Gilbert. Exactly. Quick, somebody get Ralph Edwards in here. Before we get off those early albums, Dennis, explain Plexiglas Toilet, which I know became a favorite of Weird Al Yankovic.

Dr. Demento.. Dr. Demento. And Dr. Demento and then Weird Al, yeah. Well, the thing is, it was JC, John Serleski. He was one of the original guitar players. He's wacky. Guy was whack. He was whack, the guy.

And he said, what do you think it is? And I said, you know, we're all jerks i said okay we'll do it but when we put it on the album uh it's not listed it's the inner cut without any listing secret track yeah and then i i don't i only play i only did it one time in my whole life it was in the studio and we did it with a bunch of friends. Don't sit down on the plexiglass toilet, said the mama to her son.

Wait. Wipe the butt clean with the paper. Make it nice for everyone. And don't sit down on the plexiglass toilet, yeah. I like knowing sticks recorded as toilet. Frank, you guys

gotta be, no one's ever got me to do that. Ha ha ha! We take pride. Now, another song we could thank your wife for is Babe. Yes. The story goes like this.

It was her birthday in 1979. She supported me. I thought, I'll write her a song. But is your wife listening? She's right next to us. Yeah, I was just trying to get out of buying jewelry. Anyway, so I sat down and I wrote this song and I called up the Panazzos.

I said, you guys do a demo with me. I want to give this to her and play it at a birthday party and nothing else. But it's not for sticks. So they said, yeah, we go. We do the demo. No guitar players are there, so we don't put any guitars on it. And I sing all the background harmony parts. Nobody's going to hear it. It's not who gives a shit nobody's gonna hear it in fact i wrote it i wrote it on the grand piano we got into the grand piano was out of tune so there was a fender

roads in the corner and and bobby whiteside i don't know who that is but it was his they rolled it out i'd never played one and I went you know I just started noodling and then rolling tape so I did it I I gave it to my wife and everyone at the party went oh my god oh my god that doesn't suck as much as we thought it would so um people started saying we love this song we love We love it. It was just for her, not for nobody. And the demo became the song you've heard on the radio for 40 years. All those harmonies are me singing by myself. We were so afraid to change that record.

All we did was Tommy Shaw came in and played a guitar solo. That's the record. So that's why there's no guitars on it. Otherwise, if I'd have brought it to Styx, we'd have sat in the room and recorded it much differently. And so it was just dumb, you know, the best kind of luck, dumb, stupid. And that's what that was. So it was for her. And it went on to win the People's Choice Award for best song, which was pretty cool. How different would it have been if it had been a Sty stick song? Would it have been a power ballad?

Yes. It would have been more guitar-driven. And, you know, it would have cost more to have to be the guitar players. No. Okay. Everybody, are you ready? If I'm leaving,

I must be on my way The time is drawing in The train is going I see it in your eyes The love that needs your tears I'll be lonely without you I need your love to see me through Please believe me My heart is in your hands

Cause I won't be missing you. Everybody! You know it's you, babe. Whenever I get weary and I've had enough. Feel like giving up You know it's you, babe Giving me the courage and the strength I need Please believe that it's you

Babe, I love you Wonderful. Yeah, to take my headsets off. You know, you told me to wear these headsets, but I can't hear myself playing. Take them off, you can't hear nothing. We appreciate that you did that we will return to gilbert godfrey's amazing colossal podcast after this now listen uh you can you can you can cut

this part if you want all right because i was thinking gilbert whenever i think you the first three words that pop into my mouth, you're never going to guess. Oh, what? Catherine Zeta-Jones. Oh, I am so flattered. Thank you. Here's the thing about you, buddy. Sometimes comedians say things we're thinking, right?

But you say things nobody's thinking, and it's funny. I go, where the hell did he get that? There you go, Gilbert. Did you see the documentary? Is that where you came up? You saw that Catherine Zeta-Jones thing? Who, me? Yeah.

No, I used to sneak in when he was doing Catch a Rising Star. Just kidding. What is this? Frank, what now, Frank? I have to reveal my sources for you. You don't have to reveal your sources. Tell us about some of the acts you guys opened for and backed up in those days, because it was everybody, Stevie Wonder and Queen and the Doobies and Genesis and Frank Zappa.

And, you know, you like to say in those days that Styx was always the bridesmaid. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. And we played in front of all those bands you know we were there on on this easy tour with on either side they had cherry pickers with um texas longhorn on one side you know and they had a buffalo on the other the backstage area was a bit rank but um i think they came and stopped that because they're not supposed to have those animals up there. We played with Aerosmith. We were at the famous Aerosmith show in Philadelphia where somebody threw an M-80 on the stage right at Steven Tyler and boom, stopped the show.

I was literally sitting in the seats behind and I saw it and I said, time to go, taxi. Wow. Wow. Wow. Yeah. So, yeah, we did it with all of you. What's the story about opening for Stevie Wonder or backing Stevie Wonder and you decided to go out into the audience

and do like Baptist minister shtick? Oh, please save me from myself. We can cut it if you don't want to tell it. No, it's hysterical. First of all, we got booked with Stevie Wonder. That's the story in itself. And that time, we were going through our glam period where we had all these sparkly tops and bell bottoms and platform shoes.

And the audience was at a college in Illinois. And the audience was like, well, we expect at least 75, 80%, you know, African-American. And I thought, well, what are we doing up here? So we start playing this music that has nothing to do with the audience. And we're thinking, oh boy. So there's this one thing called Children of the Land.

And so it's a rock and roll song. And back in the club days, I used to do kind of like, you know, a rabble rousing, crowd pleasing, like a spring team. I'm the Rock and Rock and Rock and Rock and Rock and all that kind of crap. Right. To keep the drunks happy. And so suddenly I felt so desperate. I run off the stage in the audience with the mic in my hand and I'm doing my rap to this, you know, this black audience. And soon as I was out there, I said, this is the biggest mistake of your career. That's a great one. I like the Zappa story, too. He was threatened by you guys,

so we only gave you three mics. I don't know if he was threatened. Here's what happened. It was at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. Frank was, you know, he was Frank. And nobody told Frank there was an opening act. Oh, dear. And so it was right around the same period. Here come these, what's wrong with those guys? Do they think they're David Bowie. That's what we looked like. And we go up and for the sound check in Zappas, he's furious. Where's the promoter? I'm going to talk to you, son of a bitches. There's no, there is no opening at my, my, all right. So he decided Kiel Auditorium holds 10,000 people. And he decided he was going to give us give us three microphones no amplifiers were no drums were amplified now if you have no idea what that sounds like so we played the whole show with basically you heard three singers in this that would be the music and then three guys singing

and so at the very end, they were booing. And then like 14 months later, our album broke, Equinox. And we went down there and sold out the Kiel Auditorium ourselves. But, you know, these things happen once in a while. And Frank wasn't, he wasn't really mad at us. He was mad at the. And I think you've said that rock and roll is dead now. Oh, absolutely.

It's been dead for, it's dead in this way. Not that there aren't people that still want to play it, young people who want to make it. It's dead in that the fundamental mechanism by which rock music was always delivered was through radio. And rock radio has disappeared. They don't play new music. They'll play people like Styx, classic rock. But they don't have new rock stations.

There's almost none. Because pop is king right now. You know, you've got one person's cute, and they go in there and they produce them, and they have 30 dancers. Nothing wrong with it. It's all entertainment. If people like it, who am I to say don't like that? Life is short, as we know right

now. Entertain yourselves. If you like it, you like it. But rock and roll as a viable source, gone, dead. Talk to Gene Simmons. Get him on. He'll tell you. You know, we were lucky. I lived at the greatest time in the history of mankind to be a musician. That period, that sweet spot. Never before and I don't think ever after were as many musicians have the opportunities that we had through that whole period to have long and fruitful careers. I was lucky by birth.

I was there when no internet, no distractions. You know, Gilbert, at that time, Frank, music was lucky by birth. I was there when no internet, no distractions. You know, Gilbert, at that time, Frank, music was everything to you. You got the albums. You looked, you read. Absolutely. You were immersed. Liner notes. Yeah. If you could have got porn on the internet, boom, we're out of there. You don't care about it. It was a great time. It was also the time of Top 40 radio and DJs with personalities. And it was a golden age of radio as well as rock and roll. The good guys. On what station?

Oh, WMCA. Yes, yes. You knew each one. They were your friends. Yeah. Now, you guys are both from New York, right? Yeah. Yeah, we grew up with Cousin Brucie and those guys.

Sure. Harry Harrison and Ron Lundy. I don't want to sound like three guys sitting on Miami Beach talking about our blood pressure, but really, we were lucky. Because if you in any way kind of denigrate the music of today, then, you know, you sound like Dean Martin did the first time he saw the Rolling Stones. The change was coming. You weren't going to stop it.

Same thing now. People like pop music. We can't stop them. That's a rather ugly moment when the Stones were on that Dean Martin thing. And he I know I know exactly what you're referring to. Yeah, I know. I know exactly what you're referring to. Yeah. And he was mocking them. Well, can you imagine Dean Martin and Mick Jagger? That just goes to show you the human voice, a person's voice, the way it sounds when they're singing is so subjective, right? How can, how can millions of people like Mick Jagger and Dean

Martin? That's odd. Yeah. And I heard you talking about your favorite singers, and this connects to something we've talked about a lot, Gilbert. I heard you talking about favorite singers, and you said as much as you admired somebody like Sinatra, you don't want to hear Sinatra attempting a rock song or even a pop song because he wasn't as suited for it. And it brings to mind, of course, Gilbert, our favorite, Sinatra's cover of Mrs. Robinson. Yeah. You cuckoo bird, Mrs. Robinson.

That's what it reminded me of. When you were talking about your favorite singers, you were talking about McCartney and Stevie Wonder and Elvis. and Elvis. And when you'd see like, not even with music, when you'd see like Bob Hope do one of his specials and he'd dress up like a hippie in one part,

you'd go, oh, he don't do that. Yeah, it was quite authentic. Artists driving out of their lanes. Yeah. Well, you know, we're all trying to make a buck. Yeah. Here's a good question from a listener for you, Dennis, from Ray Garten.

Can Dennis tell us the one big negative thing about being a rock star that nobody warns you about in advance? You know, probably contracts. Contracts. Yeah. Be careful what you sign when you're young. You know, you'll sign anything because you want the opportunity. And those things always come back to cause havoc in your life.

So that's the most important thing. The rest of it, when I was, you know, in the heyday of all that stuff, it would be, it's pretty tough to find any real negative, except for the fact that you had to constantly be in motion. And you had to be, like being a comedian, you've got to be, when you walk out there, you know this, Gilbert, nobody gives a shit if you don't feel good. They don't care what's going on. You're there,

but nobody gives a shit if you don't feel good. They don't care what's going on. You're there, you know, to please an audience. And that, it starts out joyous. But after a while, you know, it's a job. It really is a job. So the dream is, any dream is always better than the reality of the dream. I think show business became a job

for all of us a long time ago. Yo, absolutely. I think it's fair to say. Well, it's like, I love when people say to me, what do you do on times when you don't want to be funny and you don't want to tell? And I think, well, there, you know, if you work in a grocery store and you don't feel like working in the grocery store, you still have to go there. That's right. And we're lucky, though. I mean, look what we're doing.

People assign far too much credibility and love to us who do this thing. They don't know us. I wrote an album in 77 called The Grand Illusion, which dealt with that same problem where I told the audience, clearly, don't be fooled by the radio, TV, magazines. We create an illusion to divert people so they can be entertained and help them not be so,

like right now, perfect example. The universe doesn't care about us the universe doesn't it's about you know repeat wash and replenish change and uh we we don't want to think about that and so they say let's go see Gilbert tonight he'll make us laugh let's go see Dennis tonight he's going to sing us a song and we'll feel better that's what we do and I used to think it was frivolous bullshit. But now that my audience is in their 60s, they'll tell me just how much what I did for a living made a difference in their life. And I think, how did that happen? I was just trying to beat Aerosmith and Queen. I was just trying to beat Aerosmith and Queen.

Yeah, I've had people come up to me and say, you know, when my brother or my mother was dying, we would listen to our recordings of your comedy bits. And it's like you go, oh, my God. I thought I'm like doing meaningless shit, you know? Someone's dying and they put on the aristocrats, Gilbert. Does that blow your mind? But yeah, they said how much it meant to them.

Gilbert, do we know each other well enough right now? Because I want to ask you a question. Okay. Dara. She's there. She never leaves his side. Listen, this is a question many people in the audience have been dying to ask you.

What does it sound like when Gilbert Gottfried whispers sweet nothings in your ear? Oh, Lord. I don't think he has a whisper. Dennis, would you like to do an imitation of me whispering sweet nothings? Dara! Dara, where are those blue pills?

Where are the blue pills? That's hilarious. Gilbert, the last three guests have done impressions of you. I know. I like to turn everything over to me. Gilbert, the last three guests have done impressions of you. I know. I like to turn everything over to me. Dennis, talk about your sense, we put it in the intro, your sense of the theatrical and your desire to create concept albums for Styx.

I mean, albums like The Grand Illusion and Paradise Theater are idea-driven. Welcome to The Grand Illusion. Come on in and see what's happening. Pay the price, get your tickets for the show. That kind of stuff. Well, look, it's show business, I think. Rock and roll is entertainment. And for me, I think early on, don't laugh,

I really did like Dean Martin. I thought there was something about him. We love him. We wouldn't laugh. He always made you feel you were in on the joke and it made you feel at ease. He seemed to have the ability to not take himself seriously and i always loved that he was a real entertainer and believe it or not some of my nonsense i do on stage was a combination of um anthony newly i loved anthonyley as a kid. I love it. I love him.

Think about it. All this, right? But he had it down to, it felt right. And then along came guys, when I was just beginning to become a lead singer, Joe Cocker, the incredible face maker himself. And so you kind of take all those little things and they become a persona. Now, Freddie Mercury, for instance,

has also been, you know, rightly categorized as very theatrical. But I was doing that stuff in 72 and the first Queen album was in 73. I was doing it without the tights. But still, you know, it's

show. And what I did for Styx many times, our lighting designer, who became Bruce Springsteen's LD and still is to this day, after Styx broke up, Jeff Ravitz, he went to a theater school at Northwestern and had a degree. And he and I would talk about the theater, the scrims, the way the lights move, how to light things to make them look theatrical. Not like Meet Me in St. Louis theatrical, but just drama. And so we incorporated a lot of that stuff. And really, I have to say

this, Alice Cooper, we went to see him. we were on the road and i'd never seen him was 73 i don't know 70 somewhere and his show was oh my goodness it was just the guillotine on stage and the whole thing everything yeah he had this he had this giant white screen and it was a movie projected on it he was running like from way back here, forced perspective toward the front of the stage like he was coming at you. And what you couldn't tell was there were slits in the screen. So as soon as he gets right up to the screen, he busts through the screen because it wasn't solid.

And there he was on stage. I went, I love this guy. So I love the theatrics. And if you want to go see bands that stare at their shoes, there's plenty of them. But when you came to see Styx, it was show business. Absolutely. I love those albums for that reason.

And another thing, getting back to, you know, it always amazes me. Like, I'll be on stage doing and or an actor doing a really dramatic scene or you belting out a song, how your mind could be like, gee, I wonder what I'll have for a late night act or it's just the way it is. You go out there and people say, what's it like when 20,000 people are applauding you? I said, they're not part of it. It's about me. I better do my job and then they'll react properly

if I've done my job. So I go out there. The hardest thing, as you know, Gilbert, is when you don't feel well. That's always, and it's deadly for a singer. That's the thing where you go and you feel, oh, man, you get the flop sweat. But most of the time, I've been on stage since I was 14. It's like walking out.

It's like walking into the next room, ain't it? You're just going there. You're just doing it. So, and you, sometimes when my mind wanders, like what you just said, right? I say, don't do that. Don't do that, you asshole.

It's so funny because after a while, you find yourself going on autopilot. Yeah, but you know what the difference is? Listen, Gilbert, I've seen you. You go out there, autopilot for you is great because you've honed the skill to fake everybody out. You've got it down.

Sincerity is the key, and once you can fake it, you're going to be home free. You know, I miss those days of rock and roll, Dennis. Queen shows, stick shows, you know, I miss those days of rock and roll, Dennis. Queen shows, stick shows, you know, something like the Kilroy Was Here album, which opened up with the film and the performance. I miss the rock, even something like Tommy. I miss rock operas and the theatricality and the showmanship of that era of rock and roll. I don't know if we'll see it again.

Well, you know, truthfully. Elton John to a certain extent, too. These pop stars now, they have 30 people on stage. It's the most theatrical thing I have ever seen. I watch the Grammys, and there's like, who pays all these people? I can't even believe it. They're dancing here, and there's sweatpants over there. I can't even believe it. They're dancing here and there's, you know, there's sweatpants over there. I go, this is unbelievable.

But as far as that goes, I mean something like a story where a concept album and it's like a play. It's like a rock play or a rock opera. The kind of things you were trying to do with a Kilroy album. Yeah. Okay, here we go.

Are you ready? Oh, no! Oh, no! Tell me what he got to Mr. Roboto. Domo. Domo. Tell me what he got to Mr. Roboto. Tell me what he got to Mr. Roboto.

Tell me what he got to Mr. Roboto. Tell me what he got to Mr. Roboto. Thank you very much, Mr. Roboto, for doing the job. Oh, that's enough of that shit. Okay. Where's Mr. Yeah, look. Yeah, I had a great interest um in in theatricality not in being you know shuffling off the buffalo kind of musical theater but combining rock and roll the power of it with the with the ability to tell a story and entertain an audience. And I was, and one of my heroes,

Pete Townsend, thrill of a lifetime, I went to the opening of Tommy in Chicago when he was there at the auditorium, and I got a chance to meet him. I said, Pete, I owe you money. I've been ripping you off for now 15 years. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

Well, think about it those guitars on come sail away that's pete townsend i told the guitar players i wrote that i said i want pete i want pete townsend here i did tell him that anyway he said i know i know you dennis i know your work i thought you were very bold to try to do that Kilroy was here thing. He said those words to me went. I was so happy. And I said, tell J.Y. and Tommy. They hate me. No, just kidding.

They don't hate me. So, you know, look, it's entertainment. The album sold a million copies, we should point out. Two. Two million, excuse me. But it wasn't... But who's... But who's counting?

It wasn't... What, maybe a fewer albums, a couple of fewer albums than Cornerstone or than Pieces of Eight, but it was a big success, just to kind of dispel that myth, right? I'd like to, yes. And thank you for helping me, Frank. I do what I can. When you were saying you were a fan of Dean Martin, it's so funny.

Growing up, remember when a performer with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other was the coolest thing on the planet. Right. My aunt, my aunt B took that real serious, though, with that. She always had a drink in one hand. Yeah. Your aunt B was underrated, by the way. Yeah.

Yeah. Actually, it was Andy's aunt B. But nonetheless, I'd say that. yeah, listen, there's still, I know back in the day, our day, people would be swinging, you know, beer, Jack, for real on stage. They did that. I don't know how they did that stuff. And well, they're all dead now.

But no, I love Bon Scott. You know, Bon Scott, you know him, Frank? I love Bon Scott. You know Bon Scott? You know him, Frank? No, I don't. Daddy D's and they're done that cheap. Daddy D's. Oh, ACDC. Yeah, sure. Original singer.

Sure. Well, he was nuttier than a fruitcake. I mean, the guy was great. He was such a great singer and such a fantastic showman. But he had a quart of Jack Daniels. He'd just drink it on stage. I thought, how the hell does,

how did they do that? I don't know. I didn't do that. You didn't indulge in rock and roll excess yourself, but you certainly witnessed it. I couldn't. I was a pussy. It's interesting.

You know, I was worried about my voice all the time. And cause I sing all this, you know, this, I'd sing a lot of songs all by myself with no band. No place to hide if you suck. So I was afraid of, I never liked to smoke anyway. But I just didn't.

And alcohol, man, dries you out. It's tough. I don't know how Sinatra sang so long. It was unbelievable. We had Jimmy Webb and Paul Williams on the show. And this is interesting, too. And I was discussing this with Gilbert that you say two things. You say the melody is king. The song is king, much more so than a lyric, but also that songwriters, you believe, are born great songwriters. Yeah, I think so, because I know scores of great musicians who can't really write songs.

And I know a lot of songwriters who are just average musicians. Irving Berlin, one of the great songwriters of all time, was just he was just OK on piano. What makes a great songwriter is it's still a mystery because songwriting is a mystery. Nobody knows. I say that I have a piano in my living room that's got a bunch of great songs in it. I just have to sit behind it and whack at the keys until one falls out. But it's a very, very mysterious profession. Ask any songwriter.

They don't even know where they come from when they do come. Well, you've said that about Lady. You don't know where it came from. No, I think back. What was I thinking? What made me do that? I didn't come. Well, you've said that about Lady. You don't know where it came from. No. I think back, what was I thinking? What made me do that? And I don't know. I have no idea.

None. It's fascinating. Gilbert, are great comedians born? Or can it be learned? Oh. Well, I don't believe in comedy classes. No, not classes per se. But is it something that can be acquired over time?

Or is it innate? I think, I guess there has to be some part of it that's innate. Because some people, you know, it's like anything. It's like singing, dancing. You could become acceptable at it. You know, if you practice singing enough, you could become a passable singer. I think Gilbert's right, particularly with comedy. I think, like in Gilbert's brain, there are synapses and connections that everybody doesn't have. And they just automatically see the

world, everything that happens, they see the world in terms of comedy, of what see the world, everything that happens, they see the world in terms of comedy, of what's the joke, what's the punchline. I know a lot of people, they don't see it that way. I'm one of those people who's not a comedian, certainly. People think I'm funny. I'm funny because I can sing.

But the truth is, to be funny all the time, I think your brain works that way, Gilbert. I think you you didn't learn it you were born with it it's interesting interesting theory we will return to gilbert godfrey's amazing colossal podcast but first a word from our sponsor quick question from dave johnston what does dennis think of the South Park, Eric Cartman's version of Come Sail Away? You guys! Here you go, buddy. You got it all wrong. He's got it all wrong.

So I don't know what South Park is never heard of it and i gotta i get a call and um oh my god i'm doing a 73 year old thing in my brain it's what what are the two guys names you get trey parker and matt stone matt matt stone sorry matt what do you expect so I get a call from Matt Stone and he says um we'd like to do uh Come Sail Away and I said uh you're not going to do a Barbra Streisand anime uh yeah and I said no no no we're fans I said when I was in eighth grade first first year high school he had a radio show called the Paradise Theater he was a fan I said go ahead have fun smartest thing i ever did in my life because no watch this i they were the hippest of the hip right oh sure they did come sail away and the minute they did that the doors flew open and i would get request after request.

We want to use one of your songs in this movie, in this commercial. We want to do it over here. When these people are in the corner singing, begging for money, we want to do it there. We don't care. So I've had the most lucrative career because I said yes to South Park. So some people have thought, is that an insult? No, Cartman. The point is, here's the song.

He starts singing it. He can't stop till the end. That means it's memorable. It's catchy. And so people have misconstrued that. And to Matt and Trey, I say, thanks, buddies. Man, my kids, I should have them write you a letter because you brought a lot of money into the family.

That's fun. I think Lady turns up in an episode of The Office as well, a karaoke version. All over the place, everywhere. I think, what do you call it? Will Ferrell screams it. He's drunk in a wedding band. Yes.

It's been used on Simpsons. Yes, and Adam Sandler movies. Oh, yeah. Adam's a great guy. He's a real fan. What? I can't hear you. You got these earplugs on.

That's my wife yelling in the other room. You know. Oh, she's yelling other shows and movies that have used your song. Yeah, but you guys got me wearing these earmuffs. I can't hear anything. Tell us about getting Julian Lennon on the new album. Because you didn't know him. No.

You wanted some kind of connection to the Beatles who had inspired you so many years ago. Yeah, so I wrote a song for him and I to sing. And I did a demo for he and I to sing. Um, and I did a demo right at this piano. I just wrote it. I thought, what would it be like if Jules and I sang and I wrote it and I just send him the demo. I thought I'll never hear from this guy. And, uh, I get a message. I'd be honored. My God, what? How about that? So, yeah. So I went to New York and we recorded it at Brooklyn Sound. And I came back and I finished the record.

And I can't, you know, Gilbert, it'd be like Jerry Lewis decided he wanted to do a comedy bit with you. Oh, it's not the same thing. I mean, listen, Julian, he's the greatest. But you know what I'm saying? You don't expect this to happen. Yeah, yeah. You don't expect it. Don't you still think

you're somewhere underneath everything? You're just, you're not worthy of people's attention somehow. You always fight that idea that you're, I'm still an Italian kid with an accordion in a dream.

People come and say, Dennis, you're the greatest. And I say, I can only feel like I'm that kid with the accordion saying, please love me. I don't get it. But, you know, anyway. I always feel like show business is a party I snuck into. And any minute someone's going to go up with a clipboard and say, your name's not on our guest list. Yeah. Get out of here. What are's not on our guest list. Yeah.

Get out of here. What are you doing in here? Right? Yeah. So that's it. I can't shake that. And maybe that's, I think it's good if you still have a desire to be the best you can be and you still have some self-doubt because that's what makes you good. Well, we had Bruce Stern on the show.

And Bruce Stern, I mean, he's, you know, a billion movies. He's been acting God knows how long. And he said that every time he gives a performance, his goal is to be a better actor. And you figure how much better can you get? That kind of thing comes up a lot. It's just workmanlike artists, they're still doing it. They're still plying their trade and trying to get good.

They got to. 150 movies later, he's trying to get good. Yes, yeah. Yeah. You sent me the video. Gilbert and Dara saw it as well, too. I thought the song was so sweet to the good old days. And it reminded me, what was interesting about it is it reminded me a little bit thematically and emotionally of In My Life from Rubber Soul.

What I was thinking when I wrote it was, how do I pay tribute to these giants without, you know, seeming like some leech? I had to be very careful. I could have produced the record so beatily because I had Jules's voice there, for God's sake. He sounds like his dad. But I avoided all that. I just said, you don't do that. You go with the song. It's kind of a combination between In My Life, Let It Be, Day in the Life, you know. You know, that low piano stuff. But I didn't go hog wild on it because I wanted it to be a song for Jules and I. Oh, listen to that, for goodness sake. He's being his dad and Dennis is just a poo-poo face.

So, but that's my family. It wasn't supposed to be that video. It was supposed to be Jules and I were going to sing it, and slightly conceptual. Then the pandemic hit. He ended up in Europe. I ended up here. So I tore my house apart

looking for old home movies and photos because I had to do something. Yeah. I think it works. It's very touching. Yeah, I love it. But how am I not going to love it? Those are all people I loved in there.

I got to put my friends and family and the original three guys that formed Styx, they're in there. You know, it makes me very emotional and people are responding the same way. It makes them emotional. And I'm not ashamed to say it. If I make people cry and they spend money, I'm in.

And the song that opens the album could not be any more different. With all due respect, it's a rather angry song. You've got to play that for Gilbert. That's for him. I'm going to play that for Gilbert. Gilbert, if you heard that, you'd jump right

through the screen and give me a big kiss. I'm going to send him what you sent me. And the album drops on May 22nd. It does. Or, I'm sorry, May 20th. Is it May 20th or May 22nd? May 20th. No.

Try again. 22nd. 22nd. 22nd. So, okay, we'll fix that in the opening. And people have to find the video. And tell us about what you did recently, Dennis. Tell us about the YouTube videos.

The first one that you just made is a lark playing the best of times right in your living room. And the reaction that you got that knocked you over. People were saying. That you didn't expect. My fan base, both of them, were writing in and saying, you've got to do one of these home needy celebrity videos. And I thought, do I? And then they reminded me of the lyrical content of Best of Times, where I sang, when people lock their doors and hide inside,

rumor has it it's the end of paradise. Okay, I went, put the iPad right up here, out of tune piano, can't get it tuned. And I sang Best of Times, gave it to a friend, because I don't know how to put it on YouTube. He stuck it on YouTube. In the next couple of days, it'll have a million views, you know, in like three and a half, four weeks. I am not Lady Gaga. I don't get a million views like that.

It happened and it just opened, you know, everyone's's calling me there's extra wants to talk to me it's you know access tv boom rachel ray you know all these people are calling because i i just did that little thing and the comments i wish everyone in the world could read the comments like 7 000 of them i think i've read almost all of them, they are the kindest, the sweetest, most loving comments, that when I read them, I don't know who in God's name they're talking about. I see my name in there, but they have now attributed things to me that doesn't make any sense. But I wish everyone could just take their name and stick it where those people said those things about me and i don't have that kind of fans this is not false i don't have a million people at my beck and call but they went there and they did that and i still don't know how that happened

um but it happened then i did another one and a hundred thousand people in a week it does make sense because if i tour all year all year right i'm lucky to play in front of 75 85 90 000 people and and it's you explain it to me but it's crazy but i i just have to say thank you to everybody that that that that that did that for me i i'm gonna work on trying to feel worthy it's great the. When I saw it, we hadn't booked you yet. We want to thank our pal Gino Salamone, too, for helping to get Dennis on the show. Gilbert loves it. Is he Sicilian?

You know, I think he is. Are you? My mother was La Mano, the hand. And she was Sicilian. She is Sicilian. She's 93. Oh, yeah, yeah. You know how to make a Sicilian omelet?

Tell me. Steal Sicilian. She's 93. Oh, yeah, yeah. You know how to make a Sicilian omelet? Tell me. Steal the eggs. Anyway. Well, my father always thought he was slumming, that he was marrying down by marrying a Sicilian woman. But before we booked you, we saw you doing Best of Times on YouTube. And I just thought, how the hell is this guy in such great voice? You just sounded like you did 25 years ago. I don't know. Don't ask me that. People ask me then, I say,

they keep asking me. I don't know. I took care of it, you know, but really, it's dumb, stupid luck to some point. That's just it. It's also, and I know this, go ahead. No, I was going to say, I know this is a delicate thing, but I don't know how Styx isn't in the Rock Hall of Fame. Me neither. I mean Journey and Kiss and Rush. I mean, you guys certainly belong in that company and rise above some of that company, in my opinion, and I don't understand it.

Dara's nodding in the background. Styx is an influential act. Dara, do they allow cursing on this program? Please. Absolutely. I'd like to quote Max Bialystock. Who do I got to fuck around this town again? It'll happen, Dennis.

I believe it will happen. So how are you and Styx getting along nowadays? We haven't spoken in 21 years. There's only two guys in the band, really. So there's three of us. When they replaced me when I was sick in 1999, there was just the three of us left. Now, the bass player, Chuck, oddly oddly on this day that you asked me this

Gilbert I have all these old photos of the original band so sweet three little kids with their tuxedos and bow ties looking like complete assholes smiling and I reached out to Chuck the bass player and said Chuck I got these photos

I'd really like to use these from our from our youth I reached out to Chuck, the bass player, and said, Chuck, I got these photos. I'd really like to use these from our youth. And he wrote back about a month ago. He said, absolutely, Dennis, go ahead. We hadn't talked in 20 years. And so I sent him the video this morning, and he wrote me, he said, it's just so beautiful. Thank you.

Love, Chuck and John. we loved each other we were like brothers and uh things happen sometimes crazy things but the three of us were we were thick as thieves and so um i haven't talked to the uh jor tommy in quite a long time but look i love those guys i'm not mad at them and there should be one more tour, one more reunion tour. I've been standing for about five years. Should be. For the fans, for the fans. I don't need the money. Kids, I'm telling you the truth. No, there's nobody going to be standing, you know, at the stoplight trying to sell you a sucker in my behalf. That's not going to happen. But I just want to do it one more time. Say thanks to the fans, wave goodbye and exit.

time, say thanks to the fans, wave goodbye, and exit. That's what I want to do. But so far, no soap. But nonetheless, you know, I made an album. I have a career. You know, I'm a lucky guy just to have what I have. That's nice. I hope that reunion comes on stage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Well, I'm going to be the first one to let you guys in on this. I just got a call a few minutes ago. There's going to be a reunion. Paul, Ringo, and myself. Well, and speaking of the Beatles, this is just a little fun trivia note.

50 years ago today, The Long and Winding Road was released the final beatle single it was the inspiration to a song i wrote on cornerstone called first time and i think i told you the story real quick there's a there's a the strings come in you know the cha-, cha-cha. I love the song. And so I wrote First Time, and I put that same kind of string thing in First Time. And then I find out three years later, Paul McCartney hated those strings. Phil Spector put them in there, and he didn't know he did it. So here I'm imitating Paul McCartney, and he hates it.

Imagine. Weren't you doing a little bit of McCartney and he hates it. Imagine. Weren't you doing a little bit of McCartney at the end of Babe or am I crazy? Woo, woo, woo, babe, that's it. Yeah. Okay. Of course. What do you think? Now, here's something I like to put every singer-songwriter on the spot.

Can you remember like a song that was the worst song you ever wrote that you're embarrassed by oh several um i have a sport kilbert after lady was a hit wasn't a hit because that album had five songs there were seven songs I wrote five of them and it was rejected heartily. I thought they don't like me. So I tried to be somebody else. So the next album, I wrote a song about a pirate. Then I wrote a song called The Grove of Eglantine. I listened to this.

This is how stupid people are. I'm talking about me. My friend Dave, I think he had Penthouse magazine and the Penthouse Forum, right? And I thought I read in there that in Victorian England, the reference to a woman's privates was the Grove at Eglantine. What?

Oh, God. Stop the music. I wrote a song called The Grove at Eglantine. And it sounds like it's about one thing. I say, in the Grove of Eglantine, just south of man's delight. I like boobs. So sue me. So just south of man's delight is straight down. You got it?

That's hilarious. Could you sing some of that for us? It's been too long. Hey you there. I don't remember. I never played live. Let's plug this album, Dennis. 26 East, Volume 1.

It's a good one. The title has to do with what? It was the address of my parents' home where the band was founded in my basement in 1962. Wow. That's it. And there's three locomotives on the cover on the way to the stars

and it's representative of the three guys, the three mooks who founded the band. I hope there's a, I do hope there's a reunion and so do millions of other people.

Hey, guys, listen, Gilbert and Frank, you guys are the, you know, I do these interviews all the time. It's been a blast to be with you guys.

Honestly, guys, usually I'm like this, oh God, someone stab me. I do these interviews all the time. It's been a blast to be with you guys. Honestly, usually I'm like this, oh God, someone stab me. Well, we have genuine love and affection for the people we invite on here, Dennis. So thank you for doing it. I appreciate it. And because you're the world's biggest Blazing Saddles fan, which I told the co-writers,

Andrew Bergman and Norman Steinberg, and they're very flattered. You think you could take us out with a little bit of the French mistake? Oh, God. Throw out your hands. Hands on your hips. Pave en devant. Who are you? Yes, that's all.

I had it memorized. I did. Push and throw out your tush. About five years ago. Give him a push. Yeah, throw out your tush. Yeah, I had it memorized five years ago. I did it on stage.

It was a rock audience and I did it, right? And the people had an expression on their face that said, I want my money back. And I told you, Gilbert, the man brought Slim Pickens on stage.

Yes. Flew him to Buffalo. Yeah, we hired Slim and... Oh, Burton Gilliam. Mr. Tiger. Yeah, Burton Gilliam. Yeah, we hired Slim and... Oh, Bert and Gilliam. Mr. Tiger. Yeah, Bert and Gilliam. Yeah, Bert.

And they came out, and it was the last show of our Paradise Theater tour. It was a Blazing Saddles party, and we had long tables set up for the whole crew, and everybody had their cowboy hats and their red kerchief, and we had beans for dinner. And we got to sit and shoot the shit with Slim for about two, three hours. It was glorious.

And at the end of the show, I brought Slim out. And he came out and he talked to the audience. It was unbelievable. Here he is in front of about 15,000 people. I don't know if the kids even knew who the hell he was. But he was the best. We just had just such a ball. And I love Mel Brooks.

I love Mel Brooks. I don't know. We love him. I don't know what stranger, Gilbert, slim pickings on stage with sticks or knowing. Why didn't somebody tell me my ass was this big or knowing that Styx was partly inspired by Anthony Newley. Yeah, I wish Tony was alive. I wish Tony was alive to hear that. What kind of fool am I?

Dennis, you're a blast and a lot of fun. And the album is 26 East, Volume 1. We can't wait for Volume 2. Please keep writing songs. Don't retire. Thank you, guys. And keep doing those YouTube videos, won't you please? I will do that. And we will send you the feedback to this

one as well, which we know will be wonderful. So we want to thank Gino again. We want to thank Suzanne for her help and her shouting off camera and her iPhone. And our pal John Murray who makes the trains run on time. Well, this has been Gilbert Gottfried's amazing

colossal podcast with my co-host Frank Santo Padre. And we've been talking to the one rock and roll star who never got laid. Never even, he never even got a handjob. Dennis DeYoung.

Oh! Thank you, Dennis. Thank you, Dennis. Thank you, Dennis. This has been a blast. This is Dennis the Youngsting. If I talk like this for five seconds more, I'll never sing again. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. It's so hard to say goodbye

So I promise not to cry But any tears that might be shed Are only tears of joy And I thank my lucky stars That we've come so very far Rising up against the odds To where we are today Though there may be sadness

Let's all raise a glass Cheers to us And all that's passed To the good old days When the world was new When we still believed Dreams could come true To the good old days

And to all our friends May the memories last, may they never end. So we'll go our several ways, wishing somehow we could stay, safe again, so safe again. Safe again, so safe again In all our innocence When we all would sing along As they played our favorite song Dreaming of tomorrows That seemed so limitless

So as we come together Let's make this moment last. Here's to us. Yeah, here's to us. And to the past. To the good old days. To the sweetest years. To the ones we love.

Through the laughs and tears To the times ahead, may we all forgive To the good old days, long may they live Funny how the years have slipped away Always there beyond our grasp Funny how it all seems lucky math Oh, oh Mr. Dennis Dio

See everybody's face in there? We all in there? Everyone smile. Let's say hi everybody. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Happy Halloween. May our songs be sung To the times ahead May we all forgive

To the good old days May they always live Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, And so my friends I'll say goodbye For time has claimed its prize But the music never dies Just listen and close your eyes And welcome to paradise © transcript Emily Beynon