Born Glenn Burtnick on April 8, 1955, the youngest of three brothers, he was "forced" at an early age by his brothers into singing harmonies with them. He spent his formative years in the New Brunswick area of New Jersey, and by the time he was twelve, Glen already had ideas about his future. After high school, Glen wrote and performed a rock opera called "The Walls Of Walden" with his band, Albatross.

Beatlemania & beyond

He then answered a classified ad for the show Beatlemania. He became a part of the west coast cast of the show, playing Paul McCartney. During his tenure in Beatlemania, he forged a lasting friendship with Marshall Crenshaw, who played John Lennon. While still appearing in Beatlemania, Glen answered another ad in the Village Voice and was hired by Jan Hammer to be the singer for his band, Hammer. One of the other Beatlemania cast members then was given a record deal by Elektra Records for his band, Helmet Boy, and asked Glen to join the band. He did so, and the album, Helmet Boy, was released. Glen then began playing with local bands in the Asbury Park music scene. It was about this time that he decided to drop his first letter, shortening Glenn to Glen.

A&M Records & Styx

In 1984 he was offered a recording contract with A&M Records. He recorded two albums for A&M, 1986's "Talking In Code" and 1987's "Heroes and Zeros". After a couple of frustrating years, Glen was surprised to hear from Dennis DeYoung one day on his answering machine, asking him if he would like to audition for the band Styx. Since Tommy Shaw was busy with Damn Yankees, they needed a second guitarist and an additional songwriter. It seemed that this role was tailor-made for Glen, and he flew to Chicago to audition. Styx, with Glen, did go on to record "Edge Of The Century", which was released in 1990, and a tour followed in 1991. There were five Burtnik-penned tunes on the album, "Love is the Ritual," "World Tonite," "Love at First Sight," "All in a Day's Work," and the title track.

Solo career resumes

After his tenure with Styx, Glen continued to write for other artists. Finally, in 1996, Glen released another solo album, "Palookaville," on Deko Records. This album includes his original version of "Love is the Ritual," and all Styx fans can certainly listen to this song and see that VERY little was changed from the Styx album version.

Return to Styx world

In 1999, his return to Styx was heralded with a phone call from James Young. Setting aside his personal work, Glen accepted the offer to tour with Styx. Together, along with James Young, Tommy Shaw, Todd Sucherman, and Lawrence Gowan, played hundreds of dates in their quest to bring live Styx music to every corner of the globe. They released a live double CD (along with REO Speedwagon) called "Arch Allies," and in 2003 released their newest studio album "Cyclorama", which features Glen on lead vocals, backing vocals, bass, and 12-string acoustic guitar. He left the band in 2003, and was replaced by Ricky Phillips. Ricky Phillips is a bassist who has played in The Babys, Bad English, and Coverdale Page. ...

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