Atlantic City Weekly

Chris Squire isn’t getting his hopes up just yet. But the only original member still working with the 1960s rock band Yes admits it’s probably just a matter of time before his long-running group is finally voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The hall’s perceived bias against progressive rock bands will ease somewhat later this year when the band Genesis is inducted into the ranks of legendary artists who left their imprint on the musical landscape.

“People used to ask me why we’re not in [the hall of fame], and I’d remind them that neither is Genesis, neither is Jethro Tull, neither is Emerson, Lake & Palmer,” Squire says. “It turns out there’s a whole block of prog-rock bands that have been ignored.”

Not that the hall of fame would ever admit it, but Squire says the rumor that’s circulated for years is that hall co-founder Jann Wenner, the publisher of Rolling Stone magazine, isn’t a fan of progressive rock, hence the slight.

“But the good news is that they’re putting Genesis in this year, so there might be hope for us,” Squire adds, with one tiny caveat. “Even though it should be the other way around.”

If album and concert ticket sales were the only criteria used to pick new inductees to the hall, then Yes would have earned its place years ago.

The band has sold tens of millions of copies of the 19 studio albums, nine live recordings, 15 compilation albums and 32 singles since Yes was formed in England more than 42 years ago. Its 1971 album Fragile, which contained the monster hit single “Roundabout,” was the first of the band’s seven platinum recordings.

And when it came to touring in the mid-1970s, Yes was among the small handful of artists who could fill 100,000-seat stadiums.

If the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame decides to induct Yes, one of the dilemmas will be choosing which members get in. Squire, who’s been playing bass with the group since it was formed in 1968, says there’s been a revolving door of members over the past four decades.

“Some guys left to do [solo] projects or work with other bands and some left and came back,” he says during a phone call from his Arizona home. “I guess maybe they’ll just have to induct everyone, even the new guys.”

Unlike other bands that have seen members come and go over the years, Yes seemed to benefit from the turnover of musicians, says Squire, who will lead his band onto the stage of the Tropicana on Friday, Feb. 12.

“I’d rather think the reason why Yes has been around so long is that we have, from time to time, had personnel changes,” he explains. “The incoming new members brought in new ideas and so it kind of refreshed the whole, and the whole sound.”

Which is probably very important to a band that was literally making up progressive rock — or art-rock, as it was also called — as they went along.

Progressive rock, as invented by Yes, tended to blend symphonic sounds with traditional rock elements. Songs were longer than typical rock tunes, and the lyrics to the songs were often abstract.

Because prog-rock also relied on protracted instrumentals that often showcased a musician’s talent, it’s no surprise that many members of Yes left the band to pursue solo careers. Although Squire was renowned for his melodic-like approach to playing bass guitar, he’s only released one solo album, Fish Out of Water, in 1975.

Squire has never performed any of that solo work live, but he’s hoping that will change later this year when he tours with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, with whom he collaborated on a new album.

“I’ve worked with a lot of people during my career, but I guess I always kept my concentration on Yes, which is probably why I only did the one solo album,” he says.

Squire is often amazed at the longevity of Yes and the loyalty of its fans. When he started the band, he had no clue they’d still be working four decades later.

“When the Beatles broke up, I remember thinking, ‘Boy, they had six years, it would be great if Yes could have a six-year career,’ ” he says with a laugh.