Stephen James "Steve" Howe
b. October 18, 1926
Holloway, North London, England
Stephen James 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 twelve. 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, hollow body 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. Yes was a leader in Progressive Rock, and helped define the sound of 70’s symphonic rock. During the Steve Howe years, Yes had eight 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 album was the number one selling album of 1982 and contained four, 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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