Jon Anderson | |
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.jpg) Anderson performing withYes feat. ARW in 2018 | |
| Born | John Roy Anderson (1944-10-25)25 October 1944 (age 81) Accrington,Lancashire, England |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom United States (since 2009) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1963–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, includingDeborah andJade |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
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| Works | |
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| Formerly of | |
Musical artist | |
| Website | jonanderson |
Jon Anderson (bornJohn Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944)[n 1] is an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded theprogressive rock bandYes with bassistChris Squire in 1968 and rose to prominence as their lead vocalist. The band pioneered progressive rock in the 1970s, particularly with their critically-acclaimed albumsThe Yes Album,Fragile (both 1971) andClose to the Edge (1972) which display Anderson's role in crafting the group's sound as one of the main songwriters and lyricists. Known for his high tenor vocal style, Anderson was a member of Yes across three tenures until 2004.
Born and raised inAccrington in northern England, Anderson gave up manual labour in the early 1960s in favour of singing inThe Warriors with his brother. He moved to London and after several unsuccessful singles as a solo artist, co-formed Yes with Squire. Anderson left the band in 1980 due to growing internal friction and continued his solo career, which he had started in 1976 with his debut album,Olias of Sunhillow. He went on to collaborate with other musicians, including Greek keyboardist and composerVangelis asJon and Vangelis,Roine Stolt asAnderson/Stolt,Jean-Luc Ponty as the Anderson Ponty Band, andThe Band Geeks asJon Anderson and the Band Geeks, with whom he has toured repeatedly and released two albums in recent years. He has appeared on albums byKing Crimson,Toto,Lawrence Gowan,Tangerine Dream,Iron Butterfly,Milton Nascimento,Battles,Mike Oldfield andKitaro.[2] Anderson was a member of the offshoot Yes groupsAnderson Bruford Wakeman Howe andYes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman.
In 2009, Anderson acquired American citizenship. In 2017, he was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes.[3]
John Roy Anderson was born on 25 October 1944 inAccrington,Lancashire, England.[4] His father Albert was fromGlasgow, Scotland, and served in the army in the entertainment division[5] and later worked as a salesman; his mother Kathleen was ofIrish andFrench ancestry[4] and worked in a cotton mill, cotton being the biggest export from Lancashire at the time.[4] Together they became county champions inballroom dancing, winning several awards.[5] Anderson said they named him after an English singer who toured as "John Roy the Melody Boy" and the Scottish name Royston.[4] Anderson grew up on Norfolk Street with brothers Tony and Stuart, and sister Joy. He is the third youngest.[4] As a youngster, Anderson became a fan of several musicians, includingElvis Presley,Eddie Cochran,the Everly Brothers, andJon Hendricks.[6]
Anderson attended St. John's School where he organised daily football matches during lunch break. He was not a strong academic, and remembered he "was always getting into trouble for messing around and singing too loud".[7] There, he made a tentative start to a musical career, playing thewashboard in Little John'sSkiffle Group[8] who performed songs byLonnie Donegan, among others. At fifteen, Anderson left school after his father became ill and took up work on a farm, as a lorry driver transporting bricks, and as a milkman to help support the family.[5] A keen football fan, he tried to pursue a career atAccrington Stanley F.C., but at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall,[9] he was turned down because of his frail constitution. He remained a fan of the club,[10] and was a ball boy and mascot for the team for one year.[7]
Anderson had no particular desire to become a singer at first until his brother Tony took up singing and joinedthe Warriors, a local group also known as the Electric Warriors.[2] After one of the backing vocalists left the group, Anderson filled in the position, and found music more enjoyable and a better choice for money than manual labour. The group performed mainly cover songs from several artists, includingthe Beatles,[8] and performed across Lancashire[6] and the club circuit in Germany for over a year.[11][12] "We wanted to be Beatles. That’s all we ever wanted to be in the '60s," he recalled.[13] Anderson is heard on their first two recorded songs, "You Came Along" and "Don't Make Me Blue", released in 1965.[11][12] After the Warriors split in Germany in late 1967, the band returned to England while Anderson stayed behind. He briefly became singer in the Gentle Party, a band from Bolton who were in Germany.[12]
After returning to London in March 1968, Anderson met Jack Barrie, owner of the La Chasse drinking club inSoho who befriended the rest of the Warriors after they had relocated to the city.[14] With no money or accommodation, Barrie allowed Anderson and Warriors keyboardist and vocalistBrian Chatton to stay with him. Anderson helped out by working at La Chasse; during this time he spoke toPaul Korda, a producer forEMI Records who took him on to sing several demos.[14] During the search for material to record, Barrie contactedElton John andBernie Taupin ofDJM Records to put some music together, but felt Anderson did not like much of it. Meanwhile, Anderson travelled to the Netherlands to join Les Cruches, a band he met in London, but promptly returned when he found out some of his demos were to be released as singles byParlophone Records.[14][15] Released under his pseudonym Hans Christian, the first, an orchestrated cover of "Never My Love" bythe Association with "All of the Time" on itsB-side, received a positive reception fromNew Musical Express andChris Welch forMelody Maker who wrote in March 1968, "A blockbuster of a hit from a young fairy tale teller with an emotion packed voice."[15][16] Anderson's second single, "(The Autobiography of) Mississippi Hobo"/"Sonata of Love", was released two months later; neither song was successful.[16] Barrie and Korda then took Anderson to see local groupthe Gun and together rehearsed for well received gigs at theUFO andMarquee clubs in London, the latter as an opener forthe Who, which led to several gig offers.[15] However, the rest of the group believed they could reach success without a lead vocalist and sacked Anderson.[17]
In May 1968, Barrie introduced Anderson toChris Squire, bassist of the London-based rock bandMabel Greer's Toyshop, which had previously included guitaristPeter Banks.[15] The two talked, and found they shared common musical interests such asSimon & Garfunkel and the idea ofvocal harmonies. In the following days, they developed "Sweetness", a song later recorded on the first Yes album.[18] Anderson found himself on lead vocals for some Mabel Greer gigs afterwards, and talks of the formation of a new, full-time band developed. In June 1968, Anderson and Squire hiredBill Bruford to replace founding drummer Robert Hagger, and Anderson secured £500 from John Roberts, owner of a paper manufacturer,[19] to rent space in The Lucky Horseshoe cafe in Soho so a new, full-time band could rehearse. At their conclusion a month later, a line-up of Anderson, Squire, Bruford, Banks, who replaced a departing Clive Bayley, and keyboardistTony Kaye, who Anderson met inLeicester four years prior, was formed.[20] They then renamed themselves Yes, originally Banks' idea. Anderson's first gig with Yes followed on 3 August 1968 at a youth camp inEast Mersea inEssex.[21]
Although the band had no formal leader, Anderson served as its main motivating force in their early days, doing most of the hustling for gigs and originating most of their songs. He played a key role in initiating their more ambitious artistic ideas, serving as the main instigator of some of the band's more popular songs, including "Close to the Edge", "The Gates of Delirium", and "Awaken",[2] and the concept behind theirdoubleconcept albumTales from Topographic Oceans (1973).[22]
Despite his initial lack of instrumental skills, Anderson was strongly involved in the selection of successive Yes members chosen for their musicality – guitaristSteve Howe (who replaced Banks in 1970), Kaye's successive replacementsRick Wakeman andPatrick Moraz, and drummerAlan White, who replaced Bruford in 1972.[22]
Ambitious and nicknamed "Napoleon" by the rest of the band, Anderson was also fond of sonic and psychological creative experiments, and in so doing contributed to occasionally conflicted relationships within the band and with management. An example of this was his original desire to recordTales from Topographic Oceans in the middle of the woods. When the band voted to record in a studio, he decided to arrange hay and animal cut-outs all over the floor to create atmosphere.[22] Anderson described the album's supporting tour as one of the low points of his career, as a portion of the audience and the band were unhappy with the album.[7]
In addition to Yes, Anderson appeared as a guest singer onLizard byKing Crimson for "Prince Rupert Awakes", the first part of their 23-minute title track recorded in 1970. He was chosen for the part as the desired vocal range was unattainable by the group's then-lead vocalist,Gordon Haskell. In 1974, Anderson co-wrote "Pearly Gates" withIron Butterfly drummerRon Bushy on the band's albumScorching Beauty. This was followed by his first collaboration with Greek musicianVangelis, singing on "So Long Ago, So Clear", the last section of "Heaven and Hell Part I" on his 1975 albumHeaven and Hell.
In August 1975, Yes took an extended break for each member to release a studio album. Anderson chose a concept album,Olias of Sunhillow, about an alien race of four tribes and their journey to a new planet as theirs is under threat from destruction. Olias, one of the three main characters, builds the Moorglade Mover, an aircraft formed of living organisms to transport everyone to their new home.[23] Anderson gained inspiration from science fiction and fantasy novels, works byJ. R. R. Tolkien,The Initiation of the World byVera Stanley Alder, and the art work from Yes'sFragile.[24] He recorded the music from his garage in six months, learning to play all instruments himself, including several types of drum, stringed, and percussion instruments associated withworld orethnic music,[24] which took up as many as 120 track recordings in its original form.[25] Anderson found the experience a valuable one in learning about music.Atlantic Records released the album in July 1976, and it reached number 8 in the UK and number 47 in the US.
Between 1976 and 1979, Anderson recordedGoing for the One andTormato with Yes and completed their supporting tours. In February 1979, he reconvened with Vangelis to start recording asJon and Vangelis. Their first album,Short Stories, was recorded in a matter of weeks with minimal preconceived ideas which Anderson found to be a refreshing experience.[26] Released in January 1980,Short Stories went to number 4 in the UK. In 1979, Anderson played the harp on "Flamants Roses" on Vangelis's albumOpéra sauvage[27] and wrote music for Ursprung, an act for a three-part modern ballet named Underground Rumours performed by theScottish Ballet company, that also featured music byIan Anderson.[28] The choreographer wasRoyston Maldoom and the lighting designer wasDavid Hersey.[29]
In October 1979, Anderson travelled toParis to record a new Yes album with producerRoy Thomas Baker. Progress staggered early into the sessions following disputes over the band's musical direction. Material prepared by Anderson and Wakeman was not met with enthusiasm by their bandmates, who started to put down tracks without them. These appeared on the Yes albumDrama. "Very quickly", recalled Anderson, "the mood changed from enthusiasm to frustration and then complete confusion". Matters failed to improve when they reconvened in February 1980, and Anderson and Wakeman left in the following month.[26] They were replaced byTrevor Horn andGeoffrey Downes ofthe Buggles.
Anderson acquired Jannis Zographos as his new manager, who also handled Vangelis.[26] He continued his collaboration with Vangelis by singing on "Suffocation" and "See You Later" for Vangelis's albumSee You Later, released in 1980.[30] After he secured a recording deal withVirgin Records, Anderson retreated to southern France to write material for a solo album. His proposals for albums based on the Russian-French artistMarc Chagall and the bookA True Fairy Tale by Daphne Charters were not enthusiastically received by the label's management, who lost interest and requested their advance back.[31] Anderson spent much of 1980 recording a collection of songs forSong of Seven with a group of musicians he named the New Life Band, which Atlantic agreed to release. When it was put out in November, it reached number 38 in the UK and number 143 in the US. Anderson completed his first solo tour with the band, performing a mix of solo and Yes material in Germany and England.[citation needed]
In 1981, Anderson played on Wakeman's concept album1984 and released his second album with Vangelis in July 1981,The Friends of Mr Cairo. The album produced two singles, "I'll Find My Way Home" and "State of Independence"; the latter became a hit forDonna Summer in 1982.[32] The album was also notable for the title track, which was an ode to classic Hollywood gangster films of the 1930s and 1940s with voice impressions ofHumphrey Bogart,Peter Lorre andJames Stewart which paid homage toThe Maltese Falcon (1941). In 1982, Anderson releasedAnimation, and in 1983 appeared on "In High Places" fromCrises byMike Oldfield.
In early 1983, Anderson was contacted byPhil Carson of Atlantic Records who suggested that he hear a tape of demos thatCinema, a new group formed of Squire, White, Kaye, and guitaristTrevor Rabin, with Horn as producer, had developed for a new album. Anderson was invited to sing lead vocals on the album and join the group, which he accepted. Cinema then changed their name to Yes, and90125, released in November 1983, became Yes's best selling album. In 1987, the group released its successor,Big Generator.
Anderson appeared on the song "Cage of Freedom" from the 1984 soundtrack for a re-release of theFritz Lang filmMetropolis. In 1985, his song "This Time It Was Really Right" was featured on the soundtrack forSt. Elmo's Fire. He also sang "Silver Train" and "Christie" on the soundtrack toScream for Help byJohn Paul Jones. Along withTangerine Dream, he appeared on the song "Loved by the Sun" forLegend (1985). Anderson released a Christmas-themed solo album,3 Ships (1985).Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986) features two songs sung by Anderson. In early 1986, Anderson recorded a single with Mike Oldfield (Shine) and later shot a video with him in Barbados.[33]
During 1986, Anderson recorded some demo tracks that would later be reworked. He and Vangelis also started writing new songs and recording demos for another album. Though the album was not made, they performed live together on 6 November 1986. The last three years of the 1980s saw Anderson sing on "Moonlight Desires" onGowan's albumGreat Dirty World (1987), record his fifth solo albumIn the City of Angels, sing on "Stop Loving You" on theToto albumThe Seventh One (1988), and record an album that would later be released asThe Lost Tapes of Opio. He also sang on the songs "Within the Lost World" and "Far Far Cry" for theJonathan Elias albumRequiem for the Americas.[34][better source needed]
In 1988, after Yes'Big Generator tour, Anderson reunited with Bruford, Wakeman, and Howe to formAnderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (ABWH) with bassistTony Levin. They recorded one album and supported it with a world tour.
In 1990, after the ABWH tour, a series of business deals caused ABWH to reunite with the then-current members of Yes, who had been out of the public eye while searching for a new lead singer. The resulting eight-man band assumed the name Yes, and the albumUnion (1991) was assembled from various pieces of an in-progress second ABWH album, as well as recordings that Yes had been working on without Anderson. A successful tour followed.
Jon and Vangelis released their fourth album,Page of Life, in 1991. In 1992 Anderson appeared onKitaro's albumDream, adding both lyrics and vocals to three songs: "Lady of Dreams", "Island of Life" and "Agreement". He also toured South America with a band that included his daughters, Deborah and Jade. He appeared on the song "Along the Amazon" which he co-wrote for violinistCharlie Bisharat's album of the same name. In 1993, Anderson started work onChange We Must, his seventh solo album, featuring a mixture of original and orchestrated versions of songs he had sung with Yes, Vangelis, and his solo career. It was released in October 1994 on EMI andAngel Records.
From 1992 to 1994, Anderson recorded the Yes albumTalk (1994). "Walls", written by Rabin andRoger Hodgson, reached number 24 on theBillboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[35] In July 1994, Anderson releasedDeseo, a solo album of Latino-influenced music. There were plans to release a live album calledThe Best of South America, but it was not released due to management issues (though some copies were already released byYes Magazine). Anderson sang on the7th Level children's video gameTuneland. Also, his son Damion released a single called "Close 2 the Hype", which featured him and Jon on vocals.
In August 1995, Anderson relocated toSan Luis Obispo in California.[36] His eighth studio album,Angels Embrace, was released on 26 September 1995 on theHigher Octave Music label.[37] His first primarily instrumental album, it displays Anderson performingambient music with assistance fromSteve Katz and Keith Heffner on keyboards and his two daughters on vocals.[38] Anderson followed this withToltec, a concept album released on 30 January 1996 onWindham Hill Records that tells the story of Toltec, "aNative American concept of a group of people who have been all over the Earth, existing within different cultures throughout the centuries".[39] The album was meant to be released in 1993 asThe Power of Silence, minus the sound effects and narration added later, but it was cancelled following issues withGeffen Records.
In the mid-1990s, Anderson had planned to tour and record in China, but abandoned the idea in favour of writing and recording new music with Yes after Wakeman and Howe rejoined the band. Anderson's move to San Luis Obispo influenced the decision for Yes to record their three-night stint at the town'sFremont Theater in March 1996, as part of their subsequent studio and live album setsKeys to Ascension andKeys to Ascension 2, released in 1996 and 1997, respectively.[36] On 12 May 1996, Anderson performed an 80-minute set at aMother's Day concert inPaso Robles, California, formed of Yes, Jon and Vangelis, and solo material.[40] Anderson's next album,Lost Tapes of Opio, was released in 1996 on audio cassette through his Opio Foundation. Formed of songs recorded since the 1980s, proceeds from the release were donated toUNICEF.
In 1997, Anderson released theCeltic-influencedThe Promise Ring with his second wife, Jane Luttenburger, sharing vocals. The album is a live recording of music performed by them and members of the Froggin' Peach Orchestra, the name given to a group of 28 musicians based in the Frog & Peach pub in San Luis Obispo. During their honeymoon in 1997, Anderson and Luttenburger recordedEarthmotherearth which was followed byThe More You Know in 1998, recorded in Paris with French artistFrancis Jocky. It was Anderson's last studio release for 13 years. Anderson appeared on the song "The Only Thing I Need" by act4Him in 1999; it was recorded forStreams, a multi-group album.Steve Howe's tribute albumPortraits of Bob Dylan also featured a cover of theBob Dylan song "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" with Anderson's vocals. He also recorded with the Fellowship on their albumIn Elven Lands, inspired by the works ofJ. R. R. Tolkien.[41]
In 2000, Anderson had started work on a sequel album toOlias of Sunhillow namedThe Songs of Zamran: Son of Olias.[42] Development on the project slowed since then; in 2011, he reasoned the delay as it spans up to three hours in length, of which he has written the majority of it, but needs additional time "to figure out how to recreate it correctly". Anderson expressed a wish of putting out an interactive album with "an app that allows people to go on a journey, [to] choose a new journey every time they open it up, and hear it in a different way every time".[43]
In September 2004, Yes wrapped their 35th Anniversary Tour and they entered a four-and-a-half year hiatus. In the tour's last week, Anderson was suffering from stress, asthma, bronchitis, and exhaustion.[44]
In 2004, Anderson appeared with theContemporary Youth Orchestra of Cleveland and returned in 2010 for a second performance.[45] A show broadcast from Washington, D.C., on satellite radio was released on a DVD calledTour of the Universe in 2005.[46] This release coincided with the release of Anderson's single "State of Independence".[47]
In 2006, Anderson performed "Roundabout" with theTrans-Siberian Orchestra. Later that year, Anderson and Wakeman toured the UK.[48]
In 2007, Anderson sang onCulture of Ascent byGlass Hammer, and appeared as part of avocal ensemble on "Repentance" onSystematic Chaos byDream Theater. Also in 2007, Anderson toured as part ofthe Paul Green School of Rock Music.
In 2008, Anderson releasedFrom Me to You, an ambient album of his vocals with birdsong, which was added toThe Lost Tapes. He appeared on "Sadness of Flowing" which he co-wrote forPeter Machajdík's albumNamah and he made similar contributions to a re-mastering ofTommy Zvoncheck's albumZKG.
In May 2008, during plans for a Yes tour to commemorate the band's fortieth anniversary, Anderson suffered an asthma attack, and was diagnosed with respiratory failure. In 2009, Anderson had regained enough strength to complete a solo European tour named Have Guitar, Will Travel. This was followed by a North American leg through 2010. A sample of Anderson's vocals fromMike Oldfield's "In High Places" is prominently featured on "Dark Fantasy" byKanye West.[49]
In 2010, Anderson and Wakeman resumed touring as Anderson/Wakeman and released their first collaborative album,The Living Tree. In June 2011, Anderson released his fourteenth solo albumSurvival & Other Stories. He invited people to submit music to him online and used them as the basis for the new material. In October 2011, Anderson released a single-track EP entitledOpen, a 20-minute piece with a group of additional musicians including orchestral arrangements and a choir.[50] In 2012, Anderson continued work on a sequel toOlias of Sunhillow. In January 2013, he announced that the project is namedThe Songs of Zamran: Son of Olias.[51][52]
In 2013, Anderson performed solo shows worldwide, including Australia, North America, Europe, and Iceland, followed by a North and South American tour from February 2014. Later in 2014, a charity single featuring Anderson andMatt Malley entitled "The Family Circle" was released.[53]
From 2014 to 2016, Anderson collaborated on a recording and touring project with violinist and composerJean-Luc Ponty named Anderson Ponty Band.[54][55] He announced the project in July 2014, with the intent on releasing an album of original songs and music the two had written in their own careers with new arrangements. Ponty stated: "The idea is to keep our musical personalities and the original sounds, but the production will be more modern".[56] The pair toured with a backing band from 2014 to 2016 and released a live album and DVD,Better Late Than Never directed by Anderson collaborator Sean McKee.[57][58] The concert film aired nationwide in America on American Public Television stations.[59]
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During his time collaborating with Ponty, Anderson was also working on a studio album with Swedish guitarist and songwriterRoine Stolt. Their albumInvention of Knowledge was released in 2016, and features various members of Stolt's bandthe Flower Kings as additional musicians.[60]
In 2016, Anderson and Emmy-nominated composer and multi-instrumentalist Sean McKee performed at theNAMM convention to demonstrate music software Lumit Audio, which was used for the writing and recording of their song entitled "You Are The Computer".[61] The performance saw McKee play a then prototype Inspired Instruments Lineage MIDI Guitar.[62]
In January 2016, Anderson announced the formation ofAnderson, Rabin and Wakeman, a new group formed together with Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman, with the intention to tour and record new material.[63][64][65] They completed two concert tours and a live album release in September 2018. A studio album of new material was attempted but not completed.[66][67][68] The group had disbanded by 2020.
In April 2017, Yes were inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame. Anderson sang "Roundabout" and "Owner of a Lonely Heart" at the ceremony. Anderson released his solo album1000 Hands: Chapter One in March 2019. He had started it almost 30 years prior and named the album accordingly due to the many musicians that play on it,[69] includingSteve Howe,Jean-Luc Ponty,Chick Corea, andBilly Cobham.
In December 2018, Anderson released a video for a new song, "Love Is Everything", to promote1000 Hands, though it did not appear on the album.[70]
Anderson has been working with Emmy-nominated composer and multi-instrumentalist Sean McKee on an upcoming double concept albumJeremiah and the Magister Ludi. Guests includeCarl Broemel of the bandMy Morning Jacket,John Hermann of the bandWidespread Panic andJordan Rudess of the bandDream Theater. In 2019, Anderson and McKee involved students atColumbia College Chicago in the 5.1 surround sound mixing for parts of the album with engineer Ryan Black as part of an educational partnership with the college’s Audio Arts and Acoustics program.[71] The duo were interviewed onWGN-TV to discuss the project.[72]
On 30 June 2021, Anderson announced a Summer 2021 11-city tour of US theaters with thePaul Green Rock Academy that kicked off 30 July inPatchogue,New York, and wrapped up 20 August inWoonsocket,Rhode Island.[73]
Backed by The Band Geeks, Anderson toured in Spring 2023 under the title "Yes Epics and Classics" with a setlist devoted to early 1970s Yes material. About Yes, Anderson toldRolling Stone:
I have this feeling that, in my mind, in my thoughts, I’m still in Yes, even though I got very ill and [Yes] had to carry on.
Anderson also expressed his wish for a Yes reunion and stated that he was feeling in a very creative mode all the time and that he had a lot of music due to come out over the coming five years as he was then finishing four projects.[74][75]
The tour withThe Band Geeks continued from late May through September 2024 with the words "and more" appended to the tour title "Yes Epics and Classics tour", and with new songs performed on the tour side-by-side with Yes material.
Anderson confirmed in May 2024 the forthcoming release of a new nine-track solo album entitledTrue, recorded with The Band Geeks (with whom he had been touring America since 2023) and co-produced, engineered, and mixed by Band Geek bassist and musical directorRichie Castellano.[76]True was released on 23 August 2024 throughFrontiers Records.[77] The album contains some longer-form works, including the nine-minute "Counties And Countries" and the sixteen-minute "Once Upon A Dream". It was preceded by two singles: "Shine On" which was released with an accompanying video on 13 June 2024[78][79][80] and "True Messenger" which was released with an accompanying video on 29 July 2024.[81]
On 12 December 2024, it was announced that a live album entitledLive - Perpetual Change would be released on 14 March 2025 in various formats (CD/DVD, vinyl and Blu-ray). Composed entirely of tracks from Yes's classic seventies era, it was recorded and filmed with The Band Geeks atThe Arcada Theater,St. Charles, Illinois in May 2023.[82] It was ranked byGoldmine as one of the 11 top prog albums of 2025.[83]
On 10 November 2025, it was announced that a second studio album with The Band Geeks would be released in the second half of 2026, and that a multi-leg 2026 tour would commence in April with US dates.[84]
It is a commonly held misconception that Anderson singsfalsetto, a vocal technique which naturally produces high, airy notes by using only the ligamentous edges of thevocal cords; however, this is not the case. Anderson's normal singing/speaking voice is naturally above thetenor range.[2] In a 2008 interview with thePittsburgh Post-Gazette, Anderson stated, "I'm analto tenor and I can sing certain high notes, but I could never sing falsetto, so I go and hit them high."[85]
According to Anderson's web site, he is also responsible for most of the mystically themed lyrics and concepts which are part of many Yes releases. The lyrics are frequently inspired by various books Anderson has enjoyed, fromTolstoy'sWar and Peace toHermann Hesse'sSiddhartha. A footnote inParamahansa Yogananda'sAutobiography of a Yogi inspired an entire double albumTales from Topographic Oceans (1973). Recurring themes include "environmentalism,pacifism andsun worship."[2][86] Anderson has said elsewhere that his lyrics are designed less with literary intent than to add tone and texture to the music, and his works often make use ofassonances and emphasis onopen vowels to this effect.[87]
Anderson married Jennifer Baker on 22 December 1969;[88] they divorced in 1995. They have three children, includingDeborah andJade.[89][90][91][92][93]
In 1997, Anderson married American Jane Luttenberger.[94] Yes drummerAlan White was his best man at the ceremony.[95] In 2009, Anderson became anAmerican citizen.[96][97]
His goddaughter was Ariane Forster, better known asAri Up, lead singer ofthe Slits.[98]
He is a supporter ofManchester United Football Club.[99]
Anderson was a smoker in the 1960s and 1970s and once triedcocaine, but "didn't like it."[7] He now lives a healthier lifestyle, particularly in his later life, with vitamin supplements and meditation.[7] In the mid-1970s, Anderson became a vegetarian, as did most members of Yes; however, in an interview he stated, "I was a veggie for a while, but again I grew out of that. But I do eat very healthy."[100] In a 16 August 2006 interview onThe Howard Stern Show, Anderson said he eats meat, mostly fish, on occasion. In the interview, he also stated he had a spiritual adviser that "helped him see into thefourth dimension". Before live performances, he often meditates in a tent withcrystals anddreamcatchers, a practice he started in the 1980s. Anderson's religious beliefs aresyncretic and varied,[101] including respect for the Divine Mother Audrey Kitagawa.[102]
On 13 May 2008, Anderson suffered a severeasthma attack which required a stay in hospital. According to Yes' website, he was later "at home and resting comfortably."[103] Yes' planned summer 2008 tour was subsequently cancelled, with the press release saying, "Jon Anderson was admitted to the hospital last month after suffering a severe asthma attack. He was diagnosed with acute respiratory failure and was told by doctors to rest and not work for a period of at least six months."[104] Further health problems continued through 2008, resulting in Yes permanently replacing Anderson with vocalistsBenoît David (2009–2012) andJon Davison (2012–present). In September 2008, Anderson wrote that he's "so much better...so grateful and so blessed...I look forward to 2009 for the "Great Work" to come."[102] He started singing again in early 2009.[105] He returned to touring (solo) that year, performing along withPeter Machajdík and an ensemble of Slovakian musicians on Tribute To Freedom, an event to commemorate thefall of the Iron Curtain in former Czechoslovakia atDevin Castle nearBratislava, Slovakia, and continued touring in 2010 and the autumn of 2011, withRick Wakeman for a UK tour (2010) and the eastern US (2011).[102]
On 14 May 2021, asteroid48886 Jonanderson, discovered by astronomers with theOCA-DLR Asteroid Survey in France, wasnamed in his honour.[106]
Notes
References
Sources
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