Born October 25, 1944 in
Lancashire,
England. In 1954, at age ten, John (who will later drop the "h" in his name) founds "
Little John's Skiffle Group". John plays the
washboard. In 1959, John's father becomes ill and he quits school to go home and help the family as a
farm hand. In 1962, after working as a
truck driver for two years, John joins
The Warriors and shares lead vocal duty with his brother Tony. The drummer for this band was
Ian Wallace, who would later play for
King Crimson. In 1964, The Warriors are signed by
DECCA and release two singles: "
You Came Along", and "
Don't Make Me Blue". In 1967, Jon quits the band in
Germany because the lifestyle of the band is too rowdy for him.
In 1968 Jon releases two singles on a solo album in which he dubbed himself "
Hans Christian"- "
Never My Love" (a remake of
The Association's 1967 hit) and "
The Autobiography Of Mississippi Hobo". In the summer of 1968, Jon and bassist
Chris Squire are introduced. They hit it off, and Jon joins Chris's band,
Mabel Greer's Toyshop.
Later that summer MGT disbands, and Anderson and Squire, along with
Peter Banks,
Bill Bruford, and
Tony Kaye found
Yes. Between autumn of 1968 and Summer of 1969, Yes opens up for
The Who,
The Small Faces and
Cream, on their farewell concert. Also in 1969, Yes is signed by
Atlantic Records, and record their self-titled album which is released in the UK later than year, and by winter in the USA. By fall of 1969, Yes was back in the studio to record another album. During 1970 they tour Europe extensively and move into a farm in
Devon, England to record their third album,
Time and a Word with new guitarist
Steve Howe. They score producer
Eddie Offord, who will remain with them for several years. Jon Also records "
Lizard" with King Crimson. In the winter, Jon's daughter Deborah Leigh is born.
In January of 1971,
The Yes Album is released in the UK and reaches number 6 on the charts. In April they begin their first American tour with
Jethro Tull. In August, Tony Kaye leaves the band and is replaced by synth-god
Rick Wakeman. In January 1972,
Fragile (arguably their most important and influential work) is released. Jon also appears in
Johnny harris's "
All to Bring You Morning". It is here that Anderson meets
Alan White, who will later become Yes's new drummer.
In June, they begin recording their fifth album,
Close to the Edge. After recording, Bill Bruford leaves Yes with little warning to join King Crimson, Alan White joins, and Yes goes on a month-long tour of America. Jon's second child, Damion James is born. In 1973, Yes tours Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the US.
Yessongs live is released, and later that year,
Tales from Topographical Oceans is released. After touring for several months in 1974,
Rick Wakeman leaves the band. After a lengthy audition process,
Patrick Moraz replaces him. In late 1974,
Relayer is released.
In early 1975,
Yesterdays, an early compilation is released. In August, Jon records "
So Long Ago, So Clear" for
Greek composer and multi-instrumentalist
Vangelis. The song appears on Vangelis' release "
Heaven And Hell", and begins a
collaborative relationship that will last for years. In late 1975 and early 1976 Jon records his first solo album, "
Olias Of Sunhillow". He plays all of the instruments. Jon also contributes
vocals to
Alan White's solo release, "
Ramshackled".
In 1976 Yes once again tours the USA. In late 1976, Yes travels to the mountains of
Switzerland to record their eighth studio album. During recording, Patrick Moraz quits the band and Wakeman rejoins. in 1977
Going for the One is released. The band tours, then takes some much-needed time off. They re-enter the studio in 1978 to record
TORMATO, their ninth studio work. In October, 1979
Yes enter the studio in Paris with producer
Roy Thomas Baker (
Queen) to begin work on their tenth studio album. The band has trouble getting along, and it is agreed by all that
Paris was a time of "
dark days" for all involved.
In 1980, both Jon and Wakeman leave the band, which releases
Drama, the only album in the Yes discography not to include Jon. His third child, Jade, is born. Jon goes back to work with Vangelis, releasing "
Short Stories" in the summer of 1980. Jon's second solo work "
Song of Seven" is released in November. In November of 1981, Jon & Vangelis release "
The Friends Of Mr. Cairo". Jon also appears on Wakeman's
1984. In June of 1982, Jon's
Animation is released. In early 1983, Jon appears on
Mike Oldfield's
Crisis. Chris Squire visits Jon to ask him to re-join the band.
He agrees.
Back in the studio, Yes records a new album,
90125, with
Trevor Horn (who had replaced Jon in his absence) as producer. Jon and Vangelis release
Private Collection. "
Owner of a Lonely Heart" becomes Yes's first number 1 single. Yes toured through 1984 in promotion of 90125. In 1985, Jon's vocals are featured on the soundtrack for
Ridley Scott's film "
Legend" (composed by Tangerine Dream). Then Jon is featured on the soundtrack for "
Scream For Help", composed by
John Paul Jones of
Led Zeppelin. In December of 1985, John releases
3 Ships. In 1986, Jon again works with
Mike Oldfield, this time on his album
Shine. Later than year, Jon records some material with Vangelis, and on November 6th makes a live guest appearance at a Vangelis concert at UCLA in
Los Angeles.
In the spring of 1987, Jon experiences a profound spiritual awakening when he meets
Flora Nomi, known as "
Divine Mother" to followers of the teachings of the 19th century Indian spiritual leader
Sri Ramakrishna. In September, "
Big Generator" is released. In 1988, Jon's next solo work,
In the City of Angels is released. In September of 1988, Jon leaves Yes and joins with former bandmates Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe to begin work on a new project, aptly titled
Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (also known as "ABWH"). Jon, Bill and Rick travel to the island of
Montserrat for recording sessions, while Steve Howe records his parts in
London. In June of 1989, the album is released. The band is short-lived.
In late 1990 and early 1991, ABWH and the remaining forces of Yes agree to join up, and record "
Union". The now eight-man group tours the world for a year, playing in the round, with Jon at the nexus. In August of 1991, the
Yesyears boxed set is released. In September 1991, Jon and Vangelis release
Page of Life. Jon provides guest vocals on the "
Dream" release by
Japanese New Age artist
Kitaro. Jon joins Kitaro on a short Autumn tour of the U.S.,
Japan &
Thailand, where they perform for the Thai queen. In the Spring of 1993, Jon tours South America with his daughters singing back-up vocals. In late 1993, Jon joins Rabin, Squire, White and Kaye to record the next Yes album. All of the music is recorded to hard disk in Rabin's computer studio system.
Talk is released early the next year. In May of 1994, Jon's solo release
Deseo, is out, and then
Change We Must is released in October.
In May of 1995,
Trevor Rabin and Tony Kaye leave Yes. Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman agree to rejoin Yes after a meeting with Jon, Chris and Alan in Los Angeles. The newly reformed Yes issue a statement describing how, in 1974, they had all signed an agreement to unite in 1995 to "take the band and its fans into the 21st century and beyond."
In December of 1995, Jon's
Angel's Embrace is released, followed by
Toltec in early 1996. In April 1997, Wakeman once again leaves Yes. In June,
The Promise Ring is released. Long-time Yes side-man, producer, engineer, and guitarist
Billy Sherwood joins Yes. Yes enter the studio to work on their next project. Russian-born virtuoso
Igor Khoroshev is hired by Yes as supporting keyboard player after Jon hears his audition tape. In September, 1997, Jon's album
EarthMotherEarth is released. In late November, Yes's
Open Your Eyes is released. In March, 1998, Jon's
The More You Know comes out. In November of 1998, Yes enter Armoury Studio in
Vancouver, BC, Canada to rehearse and record their next album, under the supervision of legendary producer
Bruce Fairbairn. Fairbairn dies of natural causes. His body is discovered by Jon, who traveled to Fairbairn's home after the producer failed to appear at the studio for a mixing session.
In September of 1999,
The Ladder is released. One track, "
Homeworld" is included in a videogame of the same name. In the spring of 2000, Billy Sherwood leaves Yes. Jon's guest vocals appear on
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones' release, titled "
Outbound". In July, Yes "
House of Yes - Live From House of Blues" is released. This is a live album, recorded in
Las Vegas during The Ladder tour.
Yes enter the studio in
Santa Barbara, CA to begin work on their next project. Like "Time And A Word" recorded thirty-one years before, the band is accompanied by a full orchestra. From July to September, 2001, Yes tour the U.S. and
Canada on what is dubbed the "Yessymphonic Tour". At each show, they are accompanied by an
orchestra. Yes's
Magnification is released. It features Yes accompanied by a full orchestra, arranged and conducted by
Emmy award winner
Larry Groupé. In April of 2002, Rick Wakeman rejoins Yes, and the band announce their "Yes 2002" summer tour of North America. In July of 2002, The "In A Word: Yes (1969-)" box set is released.
whew!
http://www.jonanderson.com/life.html