Jon Anderson, born John Roy Anderson on 25 October 1944, is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes. He is also an accomplished solo artist, and has collaborated with the Greek musician Vangelis, as part of the duo Jon & Vangelis. Early life and childhood Jon Anderson was born in the town of Accrington, Lancashire, England, in a family of Scottish and Irish ancestry, his parents being Albert and Kathleen Anderson. He was later to drop the "h" from his first name in 1971, as he had a dream where he was given the name "Jonathan". Thus, on The Yes Album he is still credited as "John", and on the next album Fragile, credited as "Jon". He attended St. John's Infants School in Accrington, and made a tentative start to his musical career at an early age by playing the washboard in "Little John's Skiffle Group", which played songs by Lonnie Donegan among others. Anderson left school at the age of fifteen, and went through a series of jobs including working as a farm hand, lorry driver, and a milkman. He also tried to pursue a football career in the club he is still a fan of, Accrington Stanley F.C., but he was eventually turned down because of his frail constitution Early career In 1962, Anderson joined The Warriors (also known as The Electric Warriors), where he and his brother Tony shared the role of lead vocalist. He quit this band in 1967, released two solo singles in 1968 under the pseudonym Hans Christian Anderson, and then brief