Chris Squire, Yes bassist and co-founder, dies at 67

(Image credit: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)

Chris Squire, co-founder and bass guitarist for the British band Yes, died Saturday in Phoenix. He was 67.

In May, Squire shared that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, Rolling Stone reports. Yes was formed in 1968, and had its big break in 1969, opening for Janis Joplin at London's Royal Albert Hall. A self-taught bassist, Squire was the only member of Yes to play on every studio album. "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 band said in a statement. "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."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.