Early life & music career
Tommy Shaw was born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1953 and played with many local bands in his early years. He left Montgomery after high school to join MS Funk, a Chicago-managed outfit that he played with for 3 years, which gave him a chance to be noticed by the band Styx during a 2-week club gig in Chicago. After MS Funk disbanded, he went back to Montgomery to join a local group with his childhood friends called Harvest, which performed at a club in a bowling alley called "Keglar's Kove". Following Styx's move to A&M, guitarist and vocalist John Curulewski suddenly left the band shortly before they were to embark on a nationwide tour, and a frantic search to find a last-minute replacement was launched. While playing at the bowling alley bar, as a result of his previous experience with MS Funk in Chicago, Shaw got the call to audition for Styx and was quickly hired.
Styx — 1970s
The first album with Shaw, "Crystal Ball" (1976), was titled after his own composition and also includes his songs "Mademoiselle" and "Shooz". Its follow-up, The Grand Illusion (1977) became the group's breakthrough album, which went platinum and also featured a radio hit by Shaw, "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)".
Styx's 8th album, appropriately entitled Pieces Of Eight, was the breakout album for Shaw's songwriting talent with his rock-oriented contributions "Renegade" and "Blue Collar Man", which became `70's rock radio staples and perennial Styx concert favorites, reaching #16 and #21 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.It also featured a minor radio hit Shaw's tune "Sing For The Day".
[edit] 1980s — 1990s
Though the `80's brought the downfall of Styx, it began with Styx riding a wave of commercial success with the #1 pop ballad "Babe" from the 9th Styx album, Cornerstone in 1979, which was written by keyboardist Dennis DeYoung. However, tension mounted within the band as Shaw and other band members expressed dissatisfaction with DeYoung's desire to pull the band into a pop radio & theatrical direction, while other members preferred the rock direction of the songs written by Shaw and guitarist James "JY" Young. For this reason, unbeknownst to the public-at-large, Dennis DeYoung was fired from the group in early 1980 for a brief unpublicized moment and quickly rehired, but this conflict would arise again. Shaw's ascerbation was furthered with his disatisfaction of the theatrical-themed album Paradise Theater and brought to a boil with the tour for the next album Kilroy Was Here, which featured a progressive stage show combined with an 11-minute movie intro and theatrical performances by the band. Shortly after the tour ended, Shaw left Styx in 1983 to pursue his solo career.
Shaw released 3 solo albums in the 1980s: Girls with Guns (1984), What If (1985), and Ambition (1987), scoring a Top 40 hit with the title track from the 1st album.
1990s — present
In the early 1990s, Shaw, Ted Nugent, Jack Blades, and drummer Michael Cartellone formed the band Damn Yankees. Their biggest hit, "High Enough", was co-written by Shaw. The band had a strong concert following; however, even though the 2nd album went platinum, the band separated.
Shaw returned to a reunited Styx in 1995 and embarked on a subsequent tour with them in 1996. Tommy would later record a fourth solo record in 1998: "7 Deadly Zens". Shaw has also worked with other artists on a "Pink Floyd's The Wall" tribute album. He also worked on a KISS tribute album, "Spin The Bottle: An All-Star Tribute to KISS", on which he sang "Love Gun".
Tommy teamed up with Night Ranger's Jack Blades in a duo appropriately called Shaw Blades and released an album entitled "Hallucination" in 1995. A second collaboration entitled "Influence" was released in early March 2007 and the duo appeared live on VH1 Classic backed up by famed Nashville songwriter Gary Burr. Shaw Blades did a short tour in Spring 2007 that was well-received. The tour included songs from Night Ranger, Styx, Shaw's solo albums and Damn Yankees. The duo also recorded the classic Christmas song "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" which was released in 2002 on the album "A Classic Rock Christmas", a compilation of classic Christmas songs recorded by various Classic Rock artists.
As of 2007, Shaw leads Styx along with James "JY" Young. Shaw & Young are the only remaining members from Styx's heyday.
Hall of Fame
Tommy Shaw will be inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in February, 2008 at their awards banquet to be held in Tommy's hometown of Montgomery, AL..
Stop Knockin'
Tommy Shaw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm too old to toke
I'd pay somebody money
If they told me a joke
Don't let my dreams
Go up in smoke
Don't want to stare
'Cause I'm on the inside
Watching as the world goes by
And I'm trying to make it
If you'd only let me try
Every time I'm standing
You make me fall
Every time I'm running
You make me crawl
Every time you push me
You make me stall
You know you've got to stop
Knocking my heart against the wall
I always gotta stare
Right in your eyes
Lookin' for the truth
But you keep on telling me lies
It's too late to get crazy
Too late for alibis
You look me through the reasons
Until I got wise
I never leave you
Just keep coming back for more
Why must you keep me
With my feet dragging on the floor
Every time I'm standing
You make me fall
Every time I'm running
You make me crawl
Every time you push me
You make me stall
You know you've got to stop
Knocking my heart against the wall
I don't remember
Where we went wrong
Somebody tell me
And say we still belong
The lyrics of Tommy Shaw's song "Stop Knockin'" convey a sense of frustration, uncertainty, and vulnerability. The singer of the song is a person who has been through rough times, is facing financial difficulties, and feels lost in the world. He is looking for something to hold onto, whether that be a joke to make him laugh or a sense of purpose in life. At the same time, he is dealing with someone who is constantly pushing him down, preventing him from standing up and moving forward. This person is probably an external force, such as an oppressive societal structure or a toxic relationship, but it could also be an internal voice or mindset that is holding him back.
The chorus of the song serves as a powerful statement of the singer's struggle: "Every time I'm standing, you make me fall. Every time I'm running, you make me crawl. Every time you push me, you make me stall. You know you've got to stop knocking my heart against the wall." These lines express the sense of defeat and powerlessness that the singer feels, as well as his desire for the source of his struggles to stop impeding his progress. The final lines of the song, "I don't remember where we went wrong. Somebody tell me and say we still belong," suggest a willingness to confront the past and move forward, even if that means acknowledging uncomfortable truths and facing difficult conversations.
Overall, the lyrics of "Stop Knockin'" speak to the human desire for connection, purpose, and freedom from external and internal constraints. It is a song that is both relatable and inspiring, conveying a sense of hope and resilience in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
Busted and broke
I am financially and emotionally unstable
And I'm too old to toke
I cannot afford to indulge in drugs anymore
I'd pay somebody money
I am ready to pay to get rid of my sorrows
If they told me a joke
Humor is the only way I can escape my petty troubles
Don't let my dreams
Please do not shatter my aspirations
Go up in smoke
Do not let them go waste
Don't want to stare
I do not want to deal with a deceitful person
At the man who wears a cloak
I do not want to confront someone who hides his true intentions
'Cause I'm on the inside
I am stuck and cannot help myself
Watching as the world goes by
I feel paralyzed as everything happens around me
And I'm trying to make it
I am attempting to stand up and overcome my struggles
If you'd only let me try
If only you would not hold me back
Every time I'm standing
Every time I try to stand up for myself
You make me fall
You push me down
Every time I'm running
Every time I try to escape
You make me crawl
You force me to retreat
Every time you push me
Every time you test me
You make me stall
You slow me down so that I cannot make progress
You know you've got to stop
You must stop being a hindrance to my progress
Knocking my heart against the wall
Damaging my emotions and hope
I always gotta stare
I am always looking for honesty in you
Right in your eyes
Peering deeply into your eyes
Lookin' for the truth
Searching for sincere words and actions from you
But you keep on telling me lies
But you keep deceiving me with your actions and words
It's too late to get crazy
I cannot lose myself completely now
Too late for alibis
I am done with excuses
You look me through the reasons
You nitpick and question every argument I make
Until I got wise
I finally woke up to your ways
I never leave you
I cannot seem to escape you
Just keep coming back for more
I keep returning to your deceitful ways
Why must you keep me
Why must you keep holding me back
With my feet dragging on the floor
Making me feel like I am not in control
I don't remember
I do not have a clear view of what went wrong
Where we went wrong
Why we ended up in this situation
Somebody tell me
Please help me find the answer
And say we still belong
And tell me we can make it through
Contributed by Alice B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.