A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than per year, or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation. In the Köppen climate classification system, deserts are classed as BWh (hot desert) or BWk (temperate desert). In the Thornthwaite climate classification system, deserts would be classified as arid megathermal climates.

Geography

, the world's largest hot desert.]] Deserts are part of a wide classification of regions that, on an average annual basis, have a moisture deficit (i.e. they can potentially lose more than is received). Deserts are located where vegetation cover is sparse to almost nonexistent. Deserts take up about one fifth (20%) of the Earth's land surface. Other regions of the world have cold deserts, including areas of the Himalayas and other high altitude areas in other parts of the world. Polar deserts cover much of the ice free areas of the arctic and Antarctic.

Potential evapotranspiration supplements the measurement of rainfall in providing a scientific measurement-based definition of a desert. The water budget of an area can be calculated using the formula P − PE ± S, wherein P is precipitation, PE is potential evapotranspiration rates and S is amount of surface storage of water. Evapotranspiration is the combination of water loss through atmospheric evaporation and through the life processes of plants. Potential evapotranspiration, then, is the amount of water that could evaporate in any given region. As an example, Tucson, Arizona receives about 300 millimeters (12 in) of rain per year, however about 2500 millimeters (100 in) of water could evaporate over the course of a year. In other words, about 8 times more water could evaporate from the region than actually falls. Rates of evapotranspiration in cold regions such as Alaska are much lower because of the lack of heat to aid in the evaporation process.

There are different forms of deserts. Cold deserts can be covered in snow or ice; frozen water unavailable to plant life. These are more commonly referred to as tundra if a short season of above-freezing temperatures is experienced, or as an ice cap if the temperature remains below freezing year-round, rendering the land almost completely lifeless.

Most non-polar deserts are hot in the day and chilly at night (for the latitude) because of the lack of the moderating effect of water. In some parts of the world, deserts are created by a rain shadow effect in which air masses lose much of their moisture as they move over a mountain range; other areas are arid by virtue of being very far from the nearest available sources of moisture.

hills cut off Tirunelveli in India from the monsoons, creating a rainshadow region.]] Deserts are also classified by their geographical location and dominant weather pattern as trade wind, mid-latitude, rain shadow, coastal, monsoon, or polar deserts. Former desert areas presently in non-arid environments are paleodeserts.

Montane deserts are arid places with a very high altitude; the most prominent example is found north of the Himalayas, especially in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, in parts of the Kunlun Mountains and the Tibetan Plateau. Many locations within this category have elevations exceeding 3,000 meters (10,000 ft) and the thermal regime can be hemiboreal. These places owe their profound aridity (the average annual precipitation is often less than 40 mm or 1.5 in) to being very far from the nearest available sources of moisture. Montane deserts are normally cold.

Rain shadow deserts form when tall mountain ranges block clouds from reaching areas in the direction the wind is going. As the air moves over the mountains, it cools and moisture condenses, causing precipitation on the windward side. When that air reaches the leeward side, it is dry because it has lost the majority of its moisture, resulting in a desert. The air then warms, expands, and blows across the desert. The warm, desiccated air takes with it any remaining moisture in the desert.

Desert features

in Saudi Arabia showing different depositional features]]

Sand covers only about 20% of Earth's deserts. Most of the sand is in sand sheets and sand seas—vast regions of undulating dunes resembling ocean waves "frozen" in an instant of time. In general, there are five forms of deserts:

Mountain and basin deserts

Hamada deserts, which consist of plateau landforms

Regs, which consist of rock pavements

Ergs, which are formed by sand seas

Intermontane Basins

Nearly all desert surfaces are plains where eolian deflation—removal of fine-grained material by the wind—has exposed loose gravels consisting predominantly of pebbles but with occasional cobbles.

The remaining surfaces of arid lands are composed of exposed bedrock outcrops, desert soils, and fluvial deposits including alluvial fans, playas, desert lakes, and oases. Bedrock outcrops occur as small mountains surrounded by extensive erosional plains.

Several different types of dunes exist. Barchan dunes are produced by strong winds blowing across a level surface and are crescent-shaped. Longitudinal or seif dunes are dunes that are parallel to a strong wind that blows in one general direction. Transverse dunes run at a right angle to the constant wind direction. Star dunes are star-shaped and have several ridges that spread out around a point.

Oases are vegetated areas moistened by springs, wells, or by irrigation. Many are artificial. Oases are often the only places in deserts that support crops and permanent habitation.

Fauna and flora

flower]] cactuses in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona.]] Deserts have a reputation for supporting very little life, but in reality deserts often have high biodiversity, including animals that remain hidden during daylight hours to control body temperature or to limit moisture needs. Some fauna includes the kangaroo rat, coyote, jack rabbit, and many lizards. These animals adapted to live in deserts are called xerocoles. Many desert animals (and plants) show especially clear evolutionary adaptations for water conservation or heat tolerance, and so are often studied in comparative physiology, ecophysiology, and evolutionary physiology. One well-studied example is the specializations of mammalian kidneys shown by desert-inhabiting species. Many examples of convergent evolution have been identified in desert organisms, including between cacti and Euphorbia, kangaroo rats and jerboas, Phrynosoma and Moloch lizards.

Some flora includes shrubs, Prickly Pears, Desert Holly, and the Brittlebush. Most desert plants are drought- or salt-tolerant, such as xerophytes. Some store water in their leaves, roots, and stems. Other desert plants have long taproots that penetrate to the water table if present, or have adapted to the weather by having wide-spreading roots to absorb water from a greater area of the ground. Another adaptation is the development of small, spiny leaves which shed less moisture than deciduous leaves with greater surface areas. The stems and leaves of some plants lower the surface velocity of sand-carrying winds and protect the ground from erosion. Even small fungi and microscopic plant organisms found on the soil surface (so-called cryptobiotic soil) can be a vital link in preventing erosion and providing support for other living organisms.

Deserts typically have a plant cover that is sparse but enormously diverse. The giant saguaro cacti of the Sonoran Desert provide nests for desert birds and serve as "trees" of the desert. Saguaro grow slowly but may live up to 200 years. When 9 years old, they are about 15 centimeters (6 in) high. After about 75 years, the cacti develop their first branches. When fully grown, saguaro cacti are 15 meters (50 ft) tall and weigh as much as 10 tons. They dot the Sonoran and reinforce the general impression of deserts as cactus-rich land.

Although cacti are often thought of as characteristic desert plants, other types of plants have adapted well to the arid environment. They include the pea and sunflower families. Cold deserts have grasses and shrubs as dominant vegetation.

Water

, the world's driest desert]]

Atacama is the driest place on Earth and is virtually sterile because it is blocked from moisture on both sides by the Andes mountains and by the Chilean Coast Range. The cold Humboldt Current and the anticyclone of the Pacific are essential to keep the dry climate of the Atacama. The average rainfall in the Chilean region of Antofagasta is just 1 mm per year. Some weather stations in the Atacama have never received rain. Evidence suggests that the Atacama may not have had any significant rainfall from 1570 to 1971. It is so arid that mountains that reach as high as 6,885 meters (22,590 feet) are completely free of glaciers and, in the southern part from 25°S to 27°S, may have been glacier-free throughout the Quaternary, though permafrost extends down to an altitude of 4,400 meters and is continuous above 5,600 meters. , Utah]] Rain does fall occasionally in deserts, and desert storms are often violent. A record 44 millimeters (1.7 in) of rain once fell within 3 hours in the Sahara. Large Saharan storms may deliver up to 1 millimeter per minute. Normally dry stream channels, called arroyos or wadis, can quickly fill after heavy rains, and flash floods make these channels dangerous. Though little rain falls in deserts, deserts receive runoff from ephemeral, or short-lived, streams fed considerable quantities of sediment for a day or two. Although most deserts are in basins with closed or interior drainage, a few deserts are crossed by 'exotic' rivers that derive their water from outside the desert. Such rivers infiltrate soils and evaporate large amounts of water on their journeys through the deserts, but their volumes are such that they maintain their continuity. The Nile River, the Colorado River, and the Yellow River are exotic rivers that flow through deserts to deliver their sediments to the sea. Deserts may also have underground springs, rivers, or reservoirs that lie close to the surface, or deep underground. Plants that have not completely adapted to sporadic rainfalls in a desert environment may tap into underground water sources that do not exceed the reach of their root systems.

While deserts are well-known for their lack of water, some groups have adapted ways to find water in this harsh environment. The Bedouin, for example, turn over half-buried stones just before dawn so dew forms on them.

Lakes form where rainfall or meltwater in interior drainage basins is sufficient. Desert lakes are generally shallow, temporary, and salty. Because these lakes are shallow and have a low bottom gradient, wind stress may cause the lake waters to move over many square kilometers. When small lakes dry up, they leave a salt crust or hardpan. The flat area of clay, silt, or sand encrusted with salt that forms is known as a playa or a sink. There are more than a hundred playas in North American deserts. Most are relics of large lakes that existed during the last ice age about 12,000 years ago. Lake Bonneville was a 52,000-square-kilometer (20,000 mi²) lake almost 300 meters (1000 ft) deep in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho during the Ice Age. Today the remnants of Lake Bonneville include Utah's Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake, and Sevier Lake. Because playas are arid landforms from a wetter past, they contain useful clues to climatic change.

When the occasional precipitation does occur, it erodes the desert rocks quickly.

The flat terrains of hardpans and playas make them excellent racetracks and natural runways for airplanes and spacecraft. Ground-vehicle speed records have been established on the flat lakebeds of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada and Bonneville Speedway in Utah. Space shuttles and flight-test aircraft land on Rogers Lake Playa at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Formation of hot deserts

There are four main, interlinked causes of hot deserts:

The formation of the subtropical high-pressure cell.

The rain shadow effect in the belt of easterly trade winds.

The effect of the cold currents off the west coast of the continents at these latitudes.

The depositing sands of a desert along its border into the fertile land

It must be noted that also hot deserts (like cold deserts) may result in average temperature cooling because they reflect more of the incoming light (their albedo is higher than that of water or forests).

Mineral resources

, India]] Deserts may contain great amounts of mineral resources over their entire surface. This occurrence in minerals also determines the color. For example, the red color of many sand deserts is a result of the occurrence of laterite.

Some mineral deposits are formed, improved, or preserved by geologic processes that occur in arid lands as a consequence of climate. Ground water leaches ore minerals and redeposits them in zones near the water table. This leaching process concentrates these minerals as ore that can be mined.

Evaporation in arid lands enriches mineral accumulation in their lakes. Lake beds known as playas may be sources of mineral deposits formed by evaporation. Water evaporating in closed basins precipitates minerals such as gypsum, salts (including sodium nitrate and sodium chloride), and borates. The minerals formed in these evaporite deposits depend on the composition and temperature of the saline waters at the time of deposition.

Significant evaporite resources occur in the Great Basin Desert of the United States, mineral deposits made famous by the "20-mule teams" that once hauled borax-laden wagons from Death Valley to the railroad. Boron, from borax and borate evaporites, is an essential ingredient in the manufacture of glass, enamel, agricultural chemicals, water softeners, and pharmaceuticals. Borates are mined from evaporite deposits at Searles Lake, California, and other desert locations. The total value of chemicals that have been produced from Searles Lake substantially exceeds US$1 billion.

The Atacama Desert of Chile is unique among the deserts of the world in its great abundance of saline minerals. Sodium nitrate has been mined for explosives and fertilizer in the Atacama since the middle of the 19th century. Nearly 3 million metric tons were mined during World War I.

Valuable minerals located in arid lands include copper in the United States, Chile, Peru, and Iran; iron and lead-zinc ore in Australia; and gold, silver, and uranium deposits in Australia and the United States. Nonmetallic mineral resources and rocks such as beryllium, mica, lithium, clays, pumice, and scoria also occur in arid regions. Sodium carbonate, sulfate, borate, nitrate, lithium, bromine, iodine, calcium, and strontium compounds come from sediments and near-surface brines formed by evaporation of inland bodies of water, often during geologically recent times.

The Green River Formation of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah contains alluvial fan deposits and playa evaporites created in a huge lake whose level fluctuated for millions of years. Economically significant deposits of trona, a major source of sodium compounds, and thick layers of oil shale were created in the arid environment.

Some of the more productive petroleum areas on Earth are found in arid and semiarid regions of Africa and the Mideast, although the oil fields were originally formed in shallow marine environments. Recent climate change has placed these reservoirs in an arid environment. It's noteworthy that Ghawar, the world's largest and most productive oilfield is mostly under the Empty Quarter and Al-Dahna deserts.

Other oil reservoirs, however, are presumed to be eolian in origin and are presently found in humid environments. The Rotliegendes, a hydrocarbon reservoir in the North Sea, is associated with extensive evaporite deposits. Many of the major U.S. hydrocarbon resources may come from eolian sands. Ancient alluvial fan sequences may also be hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Solar energy resources

Deserts are increasingly seen as sources for solar energy. The Negev Desert and the surrounding area, including the Arava Valley, are the sunniest parts of Israel and little of this land is arable, which is why it has become the center of the Israeli solar industry. David Faiman, a world expert on solar energy, feels the energy needs of a country like Israel could be met by building solar energy plants in the Negev. Faiman also feels the technology now exists to supply all of the world's electricity needs with 10% of the Sahara. It recently signed a contract to build the Mojave Solar Park, which will be the world's largest solar generating plant.

Human life in deserts

Desert of southern Israel]]

A desert is a hostile, potentially deadly environment for unprepared humans. In hot deserts, high temperatures cause rapid loss of water due to sweating, and the absence of water sources with which to replenish it can result in dehydration and death within a few days. In addition, unprotected humans are also at risk from heatstroke.

Humans may also have to adapt to sandstorms in some deserts, not just in their adverse effects on respiratory systems and eyes, but also in their potentially harmful effects on equipment such as filters, vehicles and communication equipment. Sandstorms can last for hours, sometimes even days. This makes surviving in the desert quite difficult for humans.

Despite this, some cultures have made hot deserts their home for thousands of years, including the Bedouin, Tuareg and Pueblo people. Modern technology, including advanced irrigation systems, desalinization and air conditioning have made deserts much more hospitable. In the United States and Australia for example, desert farming has found extensive use.

In cold deserts, hypothermia and frostbite are the chief hazards, as well as dehydration in the absence of a source of heat to melt ice for drinking. Falling through pack-ice or surface ice layers into freezing water is a particular danger requiring emergency action to prevent rapid hypothermia. Starvation is also a hazard; in low temperatures the body requires much more food energy to maintain body heat and to move. As with hot deserts, some people such as the Inuit have adapted to the harsh conditions of cold deserts.

Most traditional human life in deserts is nomadic. It depends in hot deserts on finding water, and on following infrequent rains to obtain grazing for livestock. In cold deserts, it depends on finding good hunting and fishing grounds, on sheltering from blizzards and winter extremes, and on storing enough food for winter. Permanent settlement in both kinds of deserts requires permanent water and food sources and adequate shelter, or the technology and energy sources to provide it.

, Utah, United States is part of the larger desert the Colorado Plateau.]] Many deserts are flat and featureless, lacking landmarks, or composed of repeating landforms such as sand dunes or the jumbled ice-fields of glaciers. Advanced skills or devices are required to navigate through such landscapes and inexperienced travellers may perish when supplies run out after becoming lost. In addition sandstorms or blizzards may cause disorientation in severely reduced visibility.

The danger represented by wild animals in deserts has been featured in explorers' accounts but does not cause higher rates of death than in other environments such as rain forests or savanna woodland, and generally does not by itself affect human distribution. Defense against polar bears may be advisable in some areas of the Arctic, as may precautions against venomous snakes and scorpions in choosing sites at which to camp in some hot deserts.

See also

Arid Lands Information Network

Aridification

Desert greening

Desertification

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas

List of deserts

List of deserts by area (size)

List of North American deserts

Sediment precipitation

References

External links

, a report in the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) series.

Map with biodiversity scenarios for desert areas, from the Global Deserts Outlook.

Finding Water in the Desert - wikiHow page

* Category:Ecosystems Category:Geomorphology

Name	Émilie Simon
Background	solo_singer
Born	July 17, 1978
Origin	Montpellier, France
Genre	Electronic, Trip Hop, Experimental
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, composer
Years active	2003–present
Label	Universal (2003–present)Le Plan Music (US only)
Url	http://www.emiliesimonmusic.com

Émilie Simon (born 1978 in Montpellier, France) is a French singer and composer of electronic music. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Music

Émilie Simon

In May 2003, she released her debut album Émilie Simon. The electronic album was critically acclaimed and went on to become a commercial success. To promote her album, she did numerous live performances and TV appearances all over France. In 2004, she was rewarded with a Victoire de la musique in the 'Electronic Album category for the album.

Two music videos were made to promote Émilie Simon for the songs "Désert" and "Flowers". The English version of "Désert" had an identical music video to the French version. Émilie Simon was also re-released in certain parts of the world with additional tracks. Despite having been released for over three years, the album was still charting in the French mid-price album charts in late January 2007.

More recently, Émilie Simon has begun performing and releasing CDs in the United States. Her first U.S. release, The Flower Book, came out November 2006. The release was followed by a brief tour to New York and Los Angeles. In April 2007 Émilie released her second recording in the United States, The March of the Empress and a third, The Big Machine, is scheduled to come out in the spring of 2011.

La Marche de l'Empereur

Wishing to orient her second album towards a more wintry or polar setting, she proceeded to record sounds which relate to coldness such as the sounds of smashing ice and footsteps in the snow. Coincidentally, in the midst of her search for sounds for the album, she was contacted by producer Luc Jacquet to compose the original soundtrack for his documentary film La Marche de l'empereur (March of the Penguins in English), concerning the migration of emperor penguins during their annual migration.

The film came out in France at the beginning of 2005, featuring a soundtrack by Emilie Simon that was also released by Universal Music as her second album. In 2006 she won the Victoire de la musique in the “Film Soundtrack” category and was nominated for a César Award for the best film music composition. It should be noted however that the version of March of the Penguins that was released in the United States and in English Canada used a more traditional documentary soundtrack scored by Alex Wurman, the local producers fearing that the Émilie Simon soundtrack would be too challenging for North American viewers (the only cinemas in North America to screen the film with the Émilie Simon soundtrack were those of the French circuit in the province of Quebec). The Canadian DVD version of the film offers both the French version with Émilie Simons soundtrack and the American version with that of Alex Wurman.

Végétal and international success

In 2006, Émilie Simon released her third album, Végétal, in which she uses the sounds of plants, as hinted by the name. The lyrics play with words, always relating to flora. The album also contains more elements of rock music. This comes forward in some of the more lively tracks, such as "Fleur De Saison", where she plays an electric guitar. The sound remains nonetheless that of electronic music while her voice maintains its candor, softness, and beauty.

A music video has been aired for the first single "Fleur de saison", the second one called "Dame de Lotus" has also been already aired. The album utilizes Opendisc technology which enables access to special content such as songs and music videos on her official website. Végétal is her only album to have more than one cover image. Currently, three separate covers exist for the album.

In late 2006, she released The Flower Book in the USA (April 2007 in Canada), a compilation album of her first three records, with some added material from her short international tour which included stops in New York and Los Angeles. She also used MySpace to convey messages to fans. Furthermore, "Désert" was released in vinyl in the US. The track "Rose hybride de thé", originally from Végétal, will officially be the first single release intended for US audiences.

On 5 March 2007, Émilie Simon released her first live album, titled À l'Olympia. The set exists as a sole CD or DVD, and contains live footage from a concert recorded on 19 September 2006. Songs from all of three of her albums are present in the recording.

As a follow-up to Simon’s debut U.S. release, The Flower Book, La Marche de l'empereur was released 3 April 2007.

Concerts

Her first concert was given at l'Ubu in Rennes, France, where she played before electro singer Avril.

During her stage performances, she performs alongside IRCAM's Cyrille Brissot who directs the program and Medhi Parisot on the guitar.

On 1 July 2005, at the Eurockéennes of Belfort, she gave a live concert with the participation of Synfonietta de Belfort and the Lyon percussion group. She worked with both of these ensembles again in a second concert, 19 January 2006 at Le Grand Rex in Paris. She then toured with Placebo, doing the first part of their tour from 29 September 2006 until the 4 December 2006. She has also done numerous concerts abroad, in Germany, Australia and the U.S..

Discography

Albums

;Studio

Émilie Simon (2003)

Végétal (2006)

The Big Machine (2009)

;Soundtrack

La Marche de l'Empereur (2005 / 2007)

;Live & Compilation

The Flower Book (2006)

L'Olympia (2007)

Singles

Désert (2002)

Flowers (2003)

Song of the Storm (2005)

Fleur de Saison (2006)

Rose hybride de thé (2006)

Dame de lotus (2007)

Dreamland (2009)

Rainbow (2009)

EP

Live Session EP (2007) released exclusively on iTunes

Prizes and nominations

Victoires de la musique

2004: Electronic Music/Groove/Dance album of the year for Émilie Simon.

2006: Original Film or Television soundtrack of the year for La Marche de l'empereur.

2007: Electronic/groove/dance album of the year for Végétal

Nominations

At the Prix Constantin in 2003 for the album Émilie Simon.

At the Césars in 2006 for Best Original Soundtrack with La Marche de l'empereur.

External links

Official website

Émilie Simon's YouTube Channel

Category:French female singers Category:French composers Category:French-language singers Category:1978 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:People from Montpellier

Name	Edward Maya
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Eduard Marian Ilie
Born	June 29, 1986
Origin	Bucharest, Romania
Genre	House, electro
Instrument	Accordion, Guitar, Flute, Piano etc
Occupation	Musician, DJ
Years active	2005–present
Label	Mayavin Records
Associated acts	Vika Jigulina
Url

Ilie Eduard Marian (born 29 June 1986 in Bucharest), better known as Edward Maya, is a Romanian musician, producer, performer, and composer. He graduated from George Enescu Music High School in Bucharest and is currently a final year student at the Bucharest Conservatory.

Biography

In and around 2006, Maya worked with many Romanian artists (Akcent, Costi Ioniţă, Vika Jigulina, Cassa Loco, Studio One, Dj Rynno, Dj Sava, Marius Nedelcu, Blaxy Girls, Imba, Liviu Hodor). He worked also on the song Tornerò, which was performed by Mihai Trăistariu in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. He added in an interview on Beat-Town.com that this song "was the beginning of my career"

In the summer of 2009, Maya launched his first song as an artist, "Stereo Love", reaching number 2 in the Romanian singles charts. Later that year, "Stereo Love", became a hit in clubs all over the world. While this success was followed by concerts worldwide, the song entered the top-5 singles charts in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

"Stereo Love" received over 91 million YouTube views in less than 12 months. "Stereo Love" is the longest song in the history of European top Hot 100, accumulating 52 weeks.

In 2008 Edward Maya had been signed to produce Akcent's album: 'Fara Lacrimi' (No Tears) The international music hits: 'Stay With Me' , 'That's My Name' and Lover's Cry' were all under Edward Maya's brand / signature.

In 2010, Maya released his follow-up single, "This Is My Life," and "Desert Rain" as well as his first album, called The Stereo Love Show. To help maintain control of his career and provide opportunities for other artists, Maya has formed his own record label, Mayavin Records.

In an end of the year 2010 interview with Mizozo.com, Maya stated that he plans to release the song and video for Desert Rain on Christmas night worldwide. Maya is planning to release a new single: Mono In Love by mid 2011.

Discography

Singles

References

External links

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:Romanian composers

Name	Dennis DeYoung
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Dennis DeYoung
Born	February 18, 1947 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genre	Rock, progressive rock
Instrument	Vocals, keyboards, accordion
Occupation	Musician, songwriter
Years active	1962–present
Associated acts	Styx (1970-1999)
Url	http://www.dennisdeyoung.com/

Dennis DeYoung (born February 18, 1947, Chicago, Illinois) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and producer best known for being a founding member of the rock band Styx, a tenure which lasted from 1970 to 1999.

Early life

Growing up in the Roseland neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, DeYoung's career as a vocalist started in 1961 at the age of 14 when he teamed up with his 13 year old neighbors, Chuck and John Panozzo, in a three-piece combo. The trio later added guitarist James Young and John Curulewski to form the band Tradewinds in the late 1960s. The band renamed itself TW4 in 1968 before becoming Styx in 1970.

On January 18, 1970, DeYoung married his longtime sweetheart, Suzanne Feusi, to whom he is still married. The couple have two children, Carrie Ann and Matthew. Unlike many musical families, the growing family toured together throughout DeYoung's career in order to provide stability for the couple's young children.

Before the band met with success, DeYoung spent time as an elementary school teacher in the southern suburbs of Chicago, where he taught music at Springfield School in Midlothian, Illinois. During this period, the band played a number of small venues and school auditoriums refining their craft before the song "Lady" propelled them to national then international stardom.

Tenure with Styx

Within Styx, DeYoung acted as lead vocalist, keyboardist, accordion player, producer, writer and creative force behind many of the band's hit songs. A self-taught keyboardist, DeYoung quickly became one of the most notable players of that instrument in rock. Featured on the cover of the January 1981 issue of Contemporary Keyboard magazine (a story that was reprinted in Contemporary Keyboard's book on the greatest rock keyboardists), DeYoung described many of his steps along the way through his keyboard-playing career: He'd never played an acoustic piano until the recording session for 1972's "Lady"; he recorded the track for 1979's "Babe" in a friend's basement on a Rhodes electric piano he'd never touched before; the odd feeling of switching back to playing accordion for the song "Boat On The River" and discovering how small the keys felt to his fingers after years of playing electric organs and pianos.

As a keyboardist in Styx, DeYoung was best remembered for his prominent lead synthesizer solos performed on the Oberheim synthesizer that dominated the mix with a unique tone, a key element of the Styx sound. DeYoung pioneered the use of synthesizers in rock and roll. Influenced by the recent release of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's first album, DeYoung — a novice synthesizer player at the time — used a modular Moog to record the keyboard tracks for the first Styx album. This album featured a rock version of "Fanfare for the Common Man", more than 5 years before ELP came up with a similar idea of recording this classical composition as a rock band featuring the synthesizer that would later become one of ELP's best known recordings.

DeYoung's songs often had a grandiose style to them in the tradition of 1970s theatrical rock, which heavily influenced the group's direction in the late 1970s, culminating in the concept albums Paradise Theatre (1981) and Kilroy Was Here (1983). The dissent of some members in the band during Kilroy brought tensions between the group's members over the future direction of the band, leading to guitarist Tommy Shaw's departure in 1984.

Solo career

With Styx in limbo following Shaw's 1984 departure, DeYoung began a solo career of modest success. His first solo album, Desert Moon, generated a top 10 hit, "Desert Moon", and the follow-up single, "Don't Wait for Heroes", cracked the Billboard Top 100 as well. Desert Moon was certified gold in Canada in 1984.

It was followed by albums Back to the World (1986), which contained the song "This Is the Time", featured on Karate Kid II, and Boomchild (1988), which received a fair amount of music video airplay.

In 1990, Styx (minus Tommy Shaw, who was replaced by guitarist/singer-songwriter Glen Burtnik) returned to the studio for the album Edge of the Century. "Show Me the Way", a track written by DeYoung for his son Matthew, received extensive radio play, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (Styx's 8th top 10 single, and 7th written and sung by DeYoung) particularly after a number of radio stations mixed it with voice tracks of parents headed off to fight in the first Persian Gulf War. This success made the band one of only a handful of bands/artists to have a top ten single under four different Presidents in the United States. The group toured North America extensively before A&M; Records (which had just merged with PolyGram Records) dropped the group from its roster in 1992; the group broke up again shortly afterwards.

Between stints with Styx in 1993, DeYoung, a devout Roman Catholic, joined a touring revival of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar. He appeared in about 200 performances across North America as Pontius Pilate. The experience inspired him to record his 1994 album of Broadway standards, 10 on Broadway, and to begin work on a musical of his own based on The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Styx reunited once more in 1995, this time including Shaw but now without a terminally ill John Panozzo (who died a short time later in July 1996), and recorded a new version of the DeYoung-penned "Lady" for their 1995 Styx Greatest Hits album. The group toured in 1996 and 1997, and returned to the recording studio in 1998 to begin work on Brave New World, their first studio album in nearly a decade.

Departure from Styx through 2010

Creative differences between the band members, and a chronic fatigue syndrome-like disorder affecting DeYoung's trigeminal nerve—which left him overly sensitive to bright light and sound, making performing on stage nearly impossible—led to DeYoung being replaced by Canadian star Lawrence Gowan in 1999. A lawsuit between DeYoung and his former bandmates was settled in 2001, with the group being allowed to keep the name "Styx" and DeYoung able to use the name in descriptive phrases such as "the music of Styx" or "formerly of Styx" (but not "the voice of Styx"). When asked about any possible reunions with DeYoung, James Young of Styx commented on an edition of Behind the Music "maybe when they are playing hockey on the river Styx" and on an episode of VH1's Feuds 2000 "as The Eagles said 'when Hell freezes over'". However, in 2007, when asked about the possibility of DeYoung returning to Styx, Chuck Panozzo told tampabay.com, "Before any more of us die, I would hope that it could happen. Every year that it doesn't happen is another year that goes by. And if you wait too long, who will care?"

In February 2000, DeYoung was approached to perform a concert featuring his many songs from Styx, as well as his solo works and his 1997 stage musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame, with an orchestra. The show, performed at the Rosemont Theatre in DeYoung's hometown of Chicago, was a family affair for DeYoung. His wife Suzanne and sister-in-law Dawn Marie Feusi sang backup, his daughter Carrie Ann was in charge of publicity, while his son Matthew designed the stage lighting. The concert was well received and formed the basis for a touring version of the show, and eventually an 2004 album, The Music of Styx - Live with Symphony Orchestra.

Healthy once again, DeYoung returned to touring North America with a 50-piece orchestra augmented by a five-piece rock band which included Tommy Dziallo on guitar, Hank Horton on bass, and Kyle Woodring (from John Mellencamp and Deana Carter) on drums, all of whom also played shows with DeYoung with or without the orchestra.

DeYoung made his major motion picture debut in 2005's The Perfect Man, in which he played the lead vocalist in a Styx tribute band.

On April 20, 2006, at the Community Theatre in Morristown, New Jersey, DeYoung took to the stage once again with former Styx member Glen Burtnik as part of his Lost Treasures concert series. It marked the first time in nearly seven years the two had appeared together. On his website, DeYoung jokingly dubbed the performances "The Denny and Glenny Show." While on stage, the duo opened with the Beatles classic "We Can Work It Out" and also performed "Watching The World Go By", and "All For Love", songs that were originally written for the unreleased Edge of the Century 2 album.

On September 14 and 15, 2006, DeYoung appeared with Hal Sparks on Celebrity Duets, a show produced by Simon Cowell. They sang "Come Sail Away" and "Mr. Roboto." DeYoung was invited back to perform on Celebrity Duets on September 28, 2006 with finalist Hal Sparks. The pair performed the Styx breakthrough hit "Lady" written by DeYoung in 1973, with DeYoung serenading his wife Suzanne in the audience while Hal did the same for his long-time girlfriend.

On June 19, 2007, DeYoung released in Canada his fifth solo album, One Hundred Years from Now marking a return to his rock roots. The first single, the title track, was a duet with Québécois singer Éric Lapointe. The single reached #1 on the Québec Radio Single and Soundscan charts. The album was released in the U.S. on April 14, 2009 with slightly different tracks.

On New Year's Eve 2007, he performed "Mr. Roboto", "Come Sail Away" and many other classics to a large audience at Victoria Park in Niagara Falls, Canada, and millions of viewers via live television on CHTV Channel 11. Following his concert he did a brief live interview with CHTV's Mat Hayes.

On May 8, 2008, the long-awaited stage debut of DeYoung's musical version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame premiered at the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre in Chicago.

On September 20, 2008, DeYoung performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame benefit concert for the John Entwistle foundation. The benefit concert was held at the Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary, North Carolina and featured many other rock and roll musicians. He and his band performed many of Styx's hits.

On July 12, 2009, DeYoung was honored by his native Chicago with the "Great Performer of Illinois Award." Following the award ceremony in the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park in Chicago, DeYoung and his band performed many of Styx's hits in a free concert.

On October 13, 2009, DeYoung's sound creation the "ARF 2600" was given its world premiere at the opening of The 101 Dalmatians Musical in Minneapolis, MN.

Discography

Styx

Studio albums

Styx (1972)

Styx II (1973)

The Serpent Is Rising (1973)

Man of Miracles (1974)

Equinox (1975)

Crystal Ball (1976)

The Grand Illusion (1977)

Pieces of Eight (1978)

Cornerstone (1979)

Paradise Theatre (1981)

Kilroy Was Here (1983)

Edge of the Century (1990)

Brave New World (1999)

Live albums

Caught in the Act (1984)

Return to Paradise (1997)

Compilation albums

Best of Styx (1980)

Styx Classics Volume 15 (1987)

Styx Greatest Hits (1995)

Styx Greatest Hits Part 2 (1996)

Come Sail Away - The Styx Anthology (2004)

The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings (2005)

Solo

Studio albums

Desert Moon (1984)

Back to the World (1986)

Boomchild (1989)

10 on Broadway (1994)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1998)

One Hundred Years from Now (2007/2009)

Live albums

The Music of Styx - Live with Symphony Orchestra (2004)

Compilation albums

The Ultimate Collection (1999)

Video

Caught in the Act (1984)

Return to Paradise (1997)

Dennis DeYoung - Soundstage (2003)

Symphonic Rock Music of Styx (2003)

The Best of Styx - 20th Century Masters (2004)

The Best of Dennis DeYoung - 20th Century Masters (2005)

Other appearances

Music written by DeYoung has been featured in the following films:

Kilroy Was Here (1983)

''The Karate Kid, Part II (1986)

The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Big Daddy (1999)

Detroit Rock City (1999)

Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

Shrek 2 (2004)

The Perfect Man (2005)

Music either written by DeYoung or performed by him has been featured in the following stage productions:

"Pilate and Jesus" (Jesus Christ Superstar) (1993) (Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics: Tim Rice)

"Pilate's Dream" (Jesus Christ Superstar) (1993) (Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics: Tim Rice)

The debut of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in May 2008 brought DeYoung's music and songs to the theatrical stage, finally made its stage debut in Chicago, Illinois in May 2008.

Music written by DeYoung has also been featured in television shows and commercials. Among the more notable are:

The Simpsons

My Name is Earl

Arrested Development

That '70s Show

Freaks and Geeks

Dharma and Greg

ER

Chuck

King of Queens

Sex and the City

South Park

Family Guy

The Office

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

References

External links

Dennis DeYoung official website

Dennis DeYoung fan site

Interview with Dennis DeYoung

Category:Living people Category:People with chronic fatigue syndrome Category:1947 births Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois Category:American male singers Category:American rock singers Category:American tenors Category:American rock pianists Category:American rock keyboardists Category:American keyboardists Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American pianists Category:American pop pianists Category:American pop singers Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Styx members