Happy Birthday, Chris Squire!

Is today the birthday of a founding member in one of the greatest British prog-rock bands from the 70s? Because the answer is Yes (sorry for the bad pun, someone had to). The amazing Chris, the "Fish," Squire was born on the 4th of March 1948. He was the longest-serving original member and appeared on every studio album released from 1969 to 2014 which resulted in him being the most rooted member. Born and raised in Kingsbury, London, Squire developed a special interest toward church music which ended up with him singing in the local church and school choirs. The emergence of Beatles and other British band influence him to "be in a group that doesn't use music stands." When he was at the age of 16, a school friend suggested him to play the bass because he had big hands. He took up the bass guitar and started to go on gigs since 1964 with a rock and blues band called Selfs which later turned into the Syn. Squire with the band's singer Jon Anderson formed the famous prog band "Yes" and changed the prog-rock scene forever.

Squire said this about the band's formation: "I couldn't get session work because most musicians hated my style. They wanted me to play something a lot more basic. We started Yes as a vehicle to develop everyone's individual styles." His melodic bass lines and incisive sound indeed influenced his peers and the next generations. He mostly played on his signature Rickenbacker 4001 which he first bought in a guitar store he worked in. He used multiple pedals and amplifiers to create his perfect tone. With his technique, he was able to have a growling sound while maintaining the Rickenbacker's powerful bass tone which ended up with growling high-ends and clean bass frequencies.

Until his death in 2015 caused by leukemia, he was the main part of Yes and gave an amazing prog band to millions of prog fans. He died in the late evening of 27 June 2015. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes in 2017.