Grammy Award-winning bass guitarist, vocalist, and founding member of YES, Chris Squire, has passed away the age of 67.
Squire was diagnosed with acute erythroid leukemia and had announced he was taking a hiatus from the group back in May.
Squire‘s YES bandmate Geoff Downes wrote on Twitter: “Utterly devastated beyond words to have to report the sad news of the passing of my dear friend, bandmate and inspiration Chris Squire.”
YES has also released a statement on Squire‘s passing: “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.
“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’. Outside of YES, Chris was a loving husband to Scotty and father to Carmen, Chandrika, Camille, Cameron, and Xilan.
“With his gentle, easy-going nature, Chris was a great friend of many … including each of us. But he wasn’t merely our friend: he was also part of our family and we shall forever love and miss him.”
He was the only member to appear on each of their 21 studio albums released from 1969 to 2014.
He was widely regarded as the dominant bass guitarist among the early seventies British progressive rock bands, influencing peers and later generations of bassists with his incisive sound and elaborately contoured, melodic bass lines.
