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Earliest: Aug 3, 1968
Latest: Sep 25, 2024
[
WikiPedia] Yes are an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by lead singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Peter Banks, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and drummer Bill Bruford. The band has undergone numerous lineup changes throughout their history, during which 20 musicians have been full-time members. Since February 2023, the band has consisted of guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Geoff Downes, bassist Billy Sherwood, singer Jon Davison, and drummer Jay Schellen. Yes have explored several musical styles over the years and are most notably regarded as progressive rock pioneers.
Yes began performing original songs and rearranged covers of rock, pop, blues and jazz songs, as showcased on their self-titled debut album (1969), and its follow-up, Time and a Word (1970). A change of direction later in 1970 led to a series of successful progressive rock albums, with four consecutive U.S. platinum or multi-platinum sellers in The Yes Album (1971), Fragile (1971), Close to the Edge (1972) and the live album Yessongs (1973). Further albums, Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973), Relayer (1974), Going for the One (1977) and Tormato (1978), were also commercially successful. Yes toured as a major rock act that earned the band a reputation for their elaborate stage sets, light displays, and album covers designed by Roger Dean. The success of "Roundabout", the single from Fragile, cemented their popularity across the decade and beyond. The early 1970s also saw lasting lineup changes, with Banks, Kaye, and Bruford being replaced by Howe, Rick Wakeman, and Alan White. In 1979, growing musical differences led Anderson and Wakeman to leave the group; after Drama (1980) and its tour, Yes disbanded in 1981.
In 1983, Squire and White reformed Yes with Anderson, Kaye, and guitarist Trevor Rabin. Rabin's songwriting helped move the band toward a more pop-oriented sound, the result of which was 90125 (1983), their highest-selling album, which featured the band's only U.S. number-one single, "Owner of a Lonely Heart". Its follow-up, Big Generator (1987), was also successful. In 1989, Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, and Howe formed a separate group and released a self-titled album. At the suggestion of the record company, both groups merged into an eight-piece line-up for Union (1991) and its tour. The combined group was short-lived, and from 1994 to 2001, Yes regularly released studio albums with some line-up changes and varying levels of success.
After a second hiatus, Yes once again resumed touring and releasing new albums in 2009, with Trevor Horn as producer and Downes as keyboardist, both having previously played with the group for Drama in 1981. The band later settled on Davison as lead singer. Squire died in 2015, and White in 2022, leaving Howe as the only remaining member from the 1970s era. Their latest album, Mirror to the Sky, was released in 2023. Former members Anderson, Rabin, and Wakeman also collaborated from 2016 to 2018, but did not release a studio album.
Yes are one of the most successful, influential, and longest-lasting progressive rock bands. With a discography spanning 23 studio albums, they have sold 13.5 million Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)-certified albums in the U.S., as well as more than 30 million albums worldwide. In 1985, they won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance with "Cinema", and received five Grammy nominations between 1985 and 1992. They were ranked No. 94 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. In April 2017, Yes—represented by Anderson, Squire, Bruford, Kaye, Howe, Wakeman, White, and Rabin—were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
