walking upstream…
Yes
Formed in London in 1968 by singer Jon Anderson and bassist Chris Squire, Yes fused rock instrumentation with symphonic ambition, stretching songs into side-length suites built on tight three-part vocal harmonies, virtuosic musicianship, and a revolving cast of world-class players (Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, Bill Bruford, Alan White, and others). Albums like The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close to the Edge (1971-72) defined progressive rock's commercial and artistic peak, wrapped in Roger Dean's psychedelic cover art; a leaner, synth-driven reinvention with guitarist Trevor Rabin brought the band back to the top of the charts with 1983's 90125 and its hit "Owner of a Lonely Heart."
the sound in question
1971
RoundaboutYes
walk the tributaries ↓
Simon & Garfunkel1960s · Folk rock / Folk / Pop
Jon Anderson and Chris Squire bonded when they first met in 1968 over a shared love of Simon & Garfunkel's close vocal harmonies, and that folk-duo blend became a direct template for the Anderson/Squire (and later Anderson/Squire/Howe) three-part harmony sound that defines Yes's records. The admiration ran deep enough that Yes turned Simon & Garfunkel's "America" into a decade-defining single, with Squire explaining the band covered outside material specifically so "the audience would recognize more what you did" by contrast.
listen: upstream & heresource: American Songwriter — the story behind Yes's cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "America" ↗
1968
AmericaSimon & Garfunkel
1972
AmericaYes
listen forSet the hushed, close-harmony blend of the 1968 original against Yes's 1972 reworking: the vocal stacking is the same intimate folk-duo sound Anderson and Squire loved, just dropped into a 10-minute suite with tempo shifts, a Mellotron wash, and (per Squire) a bass line that sneaks in a quote from West Side Story's own song called "America."
The Beatles1960s · Rock / Pop rock
Jon Anderson has said that "in the beginning we played pop music - the Beatles, Frank Zappa, the Beach Boys - and it was an extension of that experience" that pushed Yes toward "adventurous" rock built on symphonic structure. That debt shows up literally on Yes's 1969 debut album, which reworks the Beatles For Sale ballad "Every Little Thing" into a heavier, more theatrical arrangement.
listen: upstream & here
1964
Every Little ThingThe Beatles
1969
Every Little ThingYes
listen forThe Beatles' plainspoken 1964 "Every Little Thing" is a tidy two-minute pop song; Yes's 1969 remake keeps the melody and words but doubles down on drama, with fuzzed guitar, pounding timpani-style drum hits standing in for the original's tympani flourish, and an extended instrumental coda that previews the band's later symphonic ambitions.
The Who1960s–70s · Rock / Hard Rock / Mod
Chris Squire has said he "was a major Who fan when I was 16" and named John Entwistle alongside Paul McCartney, Bill Wyman, and Jack Bruce as one of the handful of bassists who shaped his playing. Squire filtered his admiration for Entwistle's loud, melodic, lead-like bass through his own choir-trained ear for harmony (he sang in his local Church of England choir as a boy), arriving at the trebly, distorted Rickenbacker sound and "bass as a second lead voice" role that became Yes's signature.
listen: upstream & here
1965
My GenerationThe Who
1971
The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)Yes
listen forEntwistle's rumbling, almost soloistic bass runs on "My Generation" are the clearest statement of the "bass as a lead instrument" idea Squire absorbed as a teenage Who fan; Yes's "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)," an entire piece built as a showcase for Squire's Rickenbacker 4001 (the title nods to his own nickname), is where that inheritance surfaces most directly on record.