Stephen James "Steve" Howe
b. October 18, 1926
Holloway, North London, England

Stephen James Howe was born April 8^th, 1947 in London, England.

Howe credits his parents' record collection as the origins of his influences, including Les Paul, Barney Kessel and Chet Atkins.

Howe received his first guitar, an f-hole acoustic, as a Christmas present from his parents at age 12. The guitar he’s most often associated with is a Gibson ES-175D, which Howe acquired in 1964. At that point in time no one was playing archtop, hollowbody guitars in a rock band. Howe was also among the first to use foot pedals; primarily a volume control pedal.

In April of 1970 Howe replaced Peter Banks in Yes. Together Yes was a leader in Progressive Rock, and helped define the sound of 70’s symphonic rock. During the Steve Howe years Yes had 8 albums obtain either a gold or platinum status.

In 1981, Howe joined forces with King Crimson's John Wetton, Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Geoff Downes of The Buggles to form Asia. Their debut alum was the #1 selling album of 1982 and had 4 top 40 singles.

In 1985, Howe formed GTR with ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. Their only album, GTR, is certified gold.

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Steve Howe