Dennis DeYoung Takes On The News Media In New Solo Single, Music Video

Dennis DeYoung has released a new single from his latest solo album, 26 East, Vol. 1, called "With All Due Respect."

As the name suggests, that album is the first of two LPs — what DeYoung says will probably be his final studio efforts. The records are named for his childhood address in Roseland, Illinois, where Styx began.

Appropriately, DeYoung says there are a number of moments on the new album that evoke or reference ideas from his past with Styx. The new single is no exception.

"In 1979, I wrote the following lyric in a Styx song called 'Borrowed Time': 'I'm so confused by the things I read / I need the truth but the truth is I don't know who to believe / The left says yes and the right says no, I'm in between and the more I learn the less that I know / We're living High, Living fine, Living high on borrowed time.'"

The sentiment is as true today as it was in the '70s, DeYoung continued: "The news establishment has given into partisanship reporting masquerading as truth in a quest for more listeners, readers and viewers. They exacerbate our political differences into grand theater making us believe we are more divided than we are and for one reason: money. Money from advertisers. Higher ratings no matter the cost. Both sides are to blame."

DeYoung says he only intended to release one final album, not two, but he wrote so many songs, his record label encouraged him to make it a two-part affair.

"This is Volume 1, which sounds pretentious to me, but the marketing folks wanted you to know there are going to be two of them, so hey, kids, there are two of them; this is Volume 1."

Also included on Volume 1, is DeYoung's collaboration with Julian Lennon, "The Good Old Days."

DeYoung has also been keeping fans entertained with semi-regular performances from his living room piano via his new YouTube channel.

In a recent conversation on Ken Dashow's Beatles Revolution podcast, DeYoung gushed about how engaged his fans are online and how encouraging it is to know that people are still enjoying his work.

"...I can't grasp how much love people have for this whole thing. It doesn't make sense to me," he said.

Photo: Getty Images