Chris Squire, Yes Bassist and Co-Founder, Dead at 67
Chris Squire, the co-founder and longtime bassist of prog rock icons Yes and
the only member of the group to feature on every studio album, has
passed away just over a month after revealing that he was suffering from
a rare form of leukemia. Squire was 67. Current Yes keyboardist Geoff
Downes first tweeted the
news, “Utterly devastated beyond words to have to report the sad news
of the passing of my dear friend, bandmate and inspiration Chris
Squire.”
Yes
confirmed Squire’s death on their official Facebook page. “It’s with
the heaviest of hearts and unbearable sadness that we must inform you of
the passing of our dear friend and Yes co-founder, Chris Squire. Chris
peacefully passed away last night in Phoenix Arizona, in the arms of his
loving wife Scotty,” the band wrote in a statement.
“For
the entirety of Yes’ existence, Chris was the band’s linchpin and, in
so many ways, the glue that held it together over all these years.
Because of his phenomenal bass-playing prowess, Chris influenced
countless bassists around the world, including many of today’s
well-known artists. Chris was also a fantastic songwriter, having
written and co-written much of Yes’ most endearing music, as well as his
solo album, Fish Out of Water.”
Yes
was formed in 1968 after Jon Anderson met self-taught Chris Squire at a
London music-industry bar; the pair were soon joined by guitarist Peter
Banks, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and drummer Bill Bruford. Yes released
their self-titled debut in 1968. However, it wasn’t until Steve Howe and
Rick Wakeman replaced Banks and Kaye, respectively, that the prog rock
group really hit it big with 1971’s The Yes Album and 1972’s Fragile.
Over
the ensuing decades, Yes would see a parade of band members depart,
enter and reenter, but Squire was the lone constant in the
shape-shifting band, serving as their bassist for nearly 50 years.
Squire is also credited as a co-writer on many of Yes’ greatest cuts,
including “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Starship Trooper,” “Owner of a
Lonely Heart,” “Yours Is No Disgrace” and “Heart of the Sunrise.”
In addition to his work with Yes, Squire was involved in other side and solo projects. His 1975 solo LP Fish Out of Water
is revered among prog fans. Squire also teamed with Yes part-time
guitarist Billy Underwood teamed for their Conspiracy project in 2000
and, more recently, formed Squackett with Genesis guitarist Steve
Hackett. Yes’ current incarnation featured singer Jon Davison, and as
Squire told Rolling Stone, the vocalist was hired based on a recommendation from Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins.
In
May, Squire revealed that he was recently diagnosed with acute
erythroid leukemia, which would force him to miss the band’s summer
co-headlining tour with Toto. The absence marked the first time in the
band’s history that Yes performed without their longtime bassist.
“This
will be the first time since the band formed in 1968 that Yes will have
performed live without me,” Squire said in a statement. “But the other
guys and myself have agreed that Billy Sherwood will do an excellent job
of covering my parts and the show as a whole will deliver the same Yes
experience that our fans have come to expect over the years.”
In February 2013, Rolling Stone
spoke to Squire about Yes’ legacy and the fact that Rush, but not Yes,
were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “Logistically, it’s
probably difficult for whoever the committee is to bring in Yes,” Squire
said. “Rush is fairly simple. It’s the same three guys and always has
been. They deserve to be there, no doubt about that. But there still
seems to be a certain bias towards early-Seventies prog rock bands like
Yes and King Crimson… In our case, we’re on our 18th member. If we ever
do get inducted, it would be only fair to have all the members, old and
new. So that may be a problem for the committee. I don’t know.”
Comments
Post a Comment