Jon Anderson
| Jon Anderson | |
|---|---|
Anderson performing in December 2011
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Roy Anderson |
| Born |
25 October 1944 Accrington, Lancashire, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
John Roy "Jon" Anderson (born 25 October 1944) is a musician, singer and songwriter born in England. He gained prominence as the lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes, which he co-formed in 1968 and left in 1980 to pursue a solo career. He returned to Yes from 1983 to 1988 and again from 1991 to 2008. Anderson has collaborated with musician Vangelis as Jon and Vangelis.
Anderson released his first solo album, Olias of Sunhillow (1976), while still a member of Yes in 1976, and subsequently released 13 more albums as a solo artist. In 2017, he will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Yes.
John Roy Anderson was born on 25 October 1944 in Accrington, a town in Lancashire in north west England. His father Albert was from Glasgow, Scotland and served in the army in the entertainment division and later worked as a salesman; his mother Kathleen was of Irish and French ancestry and worked in a cotton mill, then the biggest export from Lancashire at the time. Together they became county champions in ballroom dancing, winning several awards. Anderson claimed they named him after an English singer who toured as "John Roy the Melody Boy" and the Scottish name Royston. Anderson grew up on Norfolk Street with brothers Tony and Stuart, and sister Joy. He is the third youngest. As a youngster, Anderson became a fan of several musicians, including Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, the Everly Brothers, and Jon Hendricks.
Anderson attended St. John's School in nearby Baxenden, a Catholic school where he would organise 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". There, he made a tentative start to a musical career, playing the washboard in Little John's Skiffle Group who performed songs by Lonnie Donegan, among others. At fifteen, Anderson left school after his father became ill and took up work on a farm, a lorry driver transporting bricks, and a milkman to help support the family. A keen football fan, he tried to pursue a career at Accrington Stanley F.C., but at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall, he was turned down because of his frail constitution. He remained a fan of the club, and was a ball boy and mascot for the team for one year. Anderson dropped the "h" from his first name in 1970.
...
Wikipedia