Yes Bassist and Co-Founder Chris Squire Dead at 67

Chris Squire, guitar bassist and co-founder of the English rock band Yes, passed away after being diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia at the age of 67.

Yes keyboardist Geoff Downes made the announcement on Twitter Sunday morning:

The news was also confirmed on the band’s official Facebook page: “It’s with the heaviest of hearts and unbearable sadness that we must inform you of the passing of our dear friend and Yes co-founder, Chris Squire. Chris peacefully passed away last night in Phoenix Arizona. We will have more information for you soon.”

“For the entirety of Yes’ existence, Chris was the band’s linchpin and, in so many ways, the glue that held it together over all these years,” the post added. “Because of his phenomenal bass-playing prowess, Chris influenced countless bassists around the world, including many of today’s well-known artists. Chris was also a fantastic songwriter, having written and co-written much of Yes’ most endearing music, as well as his solo album, Fish Out of Water.”

Squire was the only member of Yes to be featured on all of the band’s studio albums. In May, he revealed he had acute erythroid leukemia and would not be able to go on Yes’ co-headlining tour with Toto this summer.

“This will be the first time since the band formed in 1968 that Yes will have performed live without me,” Squire had said in a statement at the time, according to Rolling Stone. “But the other guys and myself have agreed that Billy Sherwood will do an excellent job of covering my parts and the show as a whole will deliver the same Yes experience that our fans have come to expect over the years.”