B-side "Snowblind" Format 7" Genre Rock, pop rock | Released 1981 Recorded 1980 Label A&M | |
"A.D. 1928 / Rockin' the Paradise" is the fourth single release from Styx's 1981 triple-platinum album Paradise Theatre. It was released to rock stations as defined by Billboard Magazine. "A.D. 1928" is a short, piano-based song by Dennis DeYoung, set to the same melody as "The Best of Times", that segues into the song "Rockin' the Paradise". This and the preceding track would serve as the opening songs of not only the Paradise Theater album but also its subsequent tour and the 1996 Return to Paradise reunion tour. Tommy Shaw played the guitar solo on the studio version, but subsequent live versions include a second guitar solo from James Young towards the end.
A video for the song was the tenth to air on MTV when it debuted in the U.S. on August 1, 1981.