What Are the 5 Biggest US Hits by Yes?

Bands that focused on progressive rock often found themselves at a disadvantage when it came to crossing over to the pop charts. Their style of music, which often focused on long instrumental passages, didn’t always fit well into bite-sized radio formats. The British band Yes stood out in that they were occasionally able to achieve chart prominence, even in the US. Here are their five biggest pop chart hits in America.

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5. “Your Move” – No. 40 in 1971

If you think you’ve never heard this song before, you might just be confused by the title. Most formats play it as part of a longer piece of music called “I’ve Seen All Good People”, found on The Yes Album in 1971. To make the song work for radio audiences, the band released a single version that cuts out the grinding section at the back of the suite and focuses on the folk-pop first section. It’s called “Your Move” because of vocalist John Anderson’s reference to chess in the lyrics. And it’s one of the prettiest acoustic melodies the band ever laid down.

4. “Love Will Find A Way” – No. 30 in 1987

Coming off their massive success with 90125 in 1983, it would have been wise for Yes to strike while the iron was hot and churn out a follow-up quickly. Instead, they toiled over Big Generator for a few years, losing producer (and former band member) Trevor Horn in the process. The album featured several longer pieces stitched together from bits of unfinished music. But “Love Will Find A Way” made sense as the first single, as it was a self-contained song about romance, perfect for mainstream radio. Trevor Rabin originally intended the song for Stevie Nicks, and you can certainly imagine her giving it a whirl.

3. “Leave It” – No. 24 in 1984

Yes as a doo-wop group? There are moments they get pretty close to it on “Leave It”, the follow-up single to a song that’s still to come on this list. The rhythm section makes a pretty good clang throughout this track, but the guitars are mostly sent to the background. That leaves plenty of room for lead vocals by both Trevor Rabin and Jon Anderson, as well as plenty of layered harmonies. The opening part of the track (“I can feel no sense of measure”) seems beamed in from another song. But it nonetheless grabs your attention and gets you on board.

2. “Roundabout” – No. 13 in 1972

Fragile continued the success that the band had enjoyed with The Yes Album. And “Roundabout”, in all its multi-pronged glory, gave them their first major exposure on US radio. Jon Anderson came up with the theme one night while returning from a gig, noting all the roundabouts on the journey. But the lyrics here are almost secondary to the thrilling instrumental interplay and the inventive modulations from one section to the next. Rick Wakeman’s keyboards, in particular, make this trip especially memorable.

1. “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” – No. 1 in 1983

Members of Yes had scattered off to the winds in all different directions in the early 80s, making the thought of them coming back together for their biggest ever single seem highly unlikely. Thanks to the addition of new member Trevor Rabin, who brought with him a bag of hooks, that’s just what happened. Once the record company heard songs like “Owner Of A Lonely Heart”, they knew they wanted the Yes brand behind them. That meant getting Jon Anderson back in the fold to add his helium-laced lead vocals, the perfect finishing touch to this dynamic track.

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