Songoftheday 5/2/13 - Move yourself you always live your life never thinking of the future...

Yes - "Owner Of A Lonely Heart"
from the album 90125 (1983)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 17

Today's Song of the Day is the giant hit from the most popular British progressive rock group Yes, whose original lineup included high-pitched vocalist Jon Anderson, guitarist Peter Banks, keyboardist Tony Kaye, bass player Chris Squire, and drummer Bill Bruford. They released their first self-titled album in 1969, but it was their second album Time And A Word that got them noticed, but Banks left shortly after, to be replaced by Steve Howe, who helped their third set The Yes Album be a huge success, scoring their first pop top-40 hit in the US with "Your Move (I've Seen All Good People)". Kaye would go after that, and replacement Rick Wakeman would become a major influence on their sound, resulting in a #13 pop single in their "signature song", "Roundabout". Also, cover art by Roger Dean elevated the "coolness" factor of the band exponentially.

After then losing Bruford (to be replaced by Alan White), Yes continued to have massive album sales, though with their sprawling song cycles relegated mostly to the album rock radio realm, though they managed to get a top-10 single in Britain in 1977 with "Wonderous Stories". However soon after the band imploded, with both Anderson and Wakeman leaving (the former to work with Vangelis), and Buggles synth-man Geoff Downes and singer Trevor Rabin briefly joining the group for an album.

After disintergrating again, a few years later a side project from Rabin, Squire, and White called Cinema morphed into a reincarnation of Yes as Jon Anderson agreed to sing on their tracks (and Kaye returning on keys), and adding Trevor Horn as producer, which helped greatly streamline their prog-rockish sound to a palatable length and enough studio tricks to sound current. The first sign of this is their massive "comeback" hit, "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", which brought them back to MTV's audience. Reworked from an original ballad written by Rabin, the "other Trevor" rewrote new lyrics and music to tie is together, with Anderson adding a lyrical note and Squire its iconic bassline..

"Owner Of A Lonely Heart" was a huge smash around the world, topping the chart on the US pop and rock charts, reaching the top-3 on the dance chart, and reaching top-10 status in most of the countries it was released in. It even spent time on the R&B chart, reaching #69 there, proving its massiveness. Horn's production team eventually would go on to fame as the Art Of Noise.

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Here's the Art Of Noise-foretelling mix of the song from the 12" Single. revolutionary for a "rock" record...