Two Down

There’s a pair of sad items in the news today: obituaries for Chris Squire and Walter Browne.

Chris Squire you probably knew. He was the bass player for the rock group Yes, and was the only person to have played on every one of its albums. I was, and am, a huge fan of the band’s “main sequence” period: the albums from The Yes Album (1971) through Relayer (1974). (The group’s 1972 record Close to the Edge is, I think, one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded.) Mr. Squire’s innovative style, and unmistakable sound, influenced generations of bassists. I’m very, very sorry to hear of his death from leukemia at 67.

The other obituary was for someone you’ve probably never heard of, but who was, in certain circles, something of a “rock star” in his own right: chess grandmaster Walter Browne. He was a brilliant player, and was a fixture at the chess tournaments I used to play in at the McAlpin Hotel back in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. There was always a crowd around his board, and when the weekend’s rounds were over, it was, more often than not, Mr. Browne who walked off with top honors. You can read about him here.

One Comment

  1. Whitewall says

    I always enjoyed Yes. It seems 60s and 70s legends are being cut down somewhat early these days. Though senior citizens, they and Squire are a bit too close in age for comfort. Joni Mitchell is still suffering the effects of a brain bleed.

    Posted June 29, 2015 at 6:42 am | Permalink

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