On 7/7/77 The Grand Illusion album was released and brought forth the song Miss America. It was track #5, after Come Sail Away and followed by Man in the Wilderness. The song begins appropriately with the soft theme from the Miss America pagaent and the immediately breaks into a hard rocking guitar lick. James "JY" Young's voice on this track sounds stacatto like a cross between singing and speaking.
James Young offered this insight into the song in a TV interview on ABC:
I love the approach to this song. It's kind of that radical, on-the-edge type of vocal. Inspired. It was part of the concept of The Grand Illusion. I said, "Miss America, that's one of the grandest illusions we have in our society". I think that song really represents all the good elements of New Wave and doesn't have any of the bad.
Sample lyrics:
You were the apple of the public's eye as you cut the ribbon at the local mall
A mirage of both you and us - how can it be real
(The "official" lyrics from Styx substitute "The pride" for "A mirage" above, but if you listen to the version on The Grand Illusion you can clearly tell that "a mirage" is correct.)
...
Well aren't you Miss America
Don't you Miss America
Won't you Miss America
Our love
Song: Miss America
Artist:
Styx
Album:
Grand Illusion
Written by: James Young
James Young (guitar, vocals), Tommy Shaw (guitar), Dennis De Young (vocals, keyboards), Chuck Panozzo (bass), John Panozzo (drums).
Sources:
http://www.styxworld.com
http://www.thegrandillusion.com
http://www.styxnet.com
http://www.styxcollector.com