John Wetton

John Wetton
John Wetton
Background information
Birth name	John Kenneth Wetton
Born	12 June 1949; Willington, Derbyshire, England
Origin	Bournemouth, Dorset, England
Died	31 January 2017 (aged 67); Bournemouth, Dorset, England
Genres	Progressive rock; hard rock; pop rock; jazz fusion; classic rock; AOR;
Occupations	Musician; singer; songwriter; producer;
Instruments	Bass; vocals; guitar; keyboards;
Years active	1965–2017
Labels	E.G.; Atlantic; Geffen; Universal; Island; Eagle; Avalon; EMI; King Records; Frontiers;
Formerly of	The Corvettes; the Palmer-James Group; Tetrad; Ginger Man; Mogul Thrash; Renaissance; Family; King Crimson; Roxy Music; Uriah Heep; U.K.; Jack-Knife; Wishbone Ash; Steve Hackett Band; Asia; Qango;

John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Although he was left-handed, he was known for his skilled right-handed bass playing as well as his booming baritone voice. He was a member of the band Family in 1971 for a short time, before joining King Crimson in 1972. After the breakup of King Crimson at the end of 1974, Wetton played in a number of progressive rock and hard rock bands, including Roxy Music (1974–1975), Uriah Heep (1975–1976), U.K. (1977–1980), and Wishbone Ash (1980–1981).

In 1981, he co-founded Asia as lead vocalist and principal songwriter, which is considered to be a supergroup. Their debut, self-titled album was released in 1982, selling ten million copies worldwide and becoming Billboard magazine's number one album of 1982. Wetton later formed the duo Icon with his Asia bandmate and songwriting partner Geoff Downes, and he also had a successful solo career.