Billy Sherwood is an American multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and producer. He has amassed hundreds of credits as a session and touring musician, and as the bandleader of
World Trade,
CIRCA:, and
the Prog Collective. Since the late 1990s he has been associated with
Yes. In the early 21st century, he served his first stint as guitarist for
Yes, then regularly did technical studio and live work with them (as well as many others) until 2015, when he rejoined as bassist to replace the late
Chris Squire. In addition to his duties with
Yes,
Sherwood was recruited as the bassist for
Asia in 2017, replacing the late
John Wetton. After an eight-year hiatus, he re-formed
the Prog Collective for 2021's Worlds on Hold.
Born William Wyman Sherwood in 1965,
Billy Sherwood took to music early and naturally as he came from a very musical family. His father was a big-band leader and his mother was a drummer.
Sherwood formed his first band, Lodgic, with his brother
Michael in their native Las Vegas. The group relocated to Los Angeles in 1980; they recorded and released one album, 1986's Nomadic Sands. Shortly thereafter,
Sherwood moved onto his next musical project sans
Michael. The project, dubbed
World Trade, issued a self-titled debut in 1989 that also included Lodgic bandmate
Guy Allison.
In 1992
Sherwood served as producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter, and guest musician on
Yes' "The More We Live/Let Go" from the album
Union, commencing his longstanding association with the group, and in the 21st century, resulted in permanent membership. Throughout much of the '90s,
Sherwood worked as a producer, engineer, and session musician. He created and produced a large number of various-artists tribute albums including Crossfire: A Salute to Stevie Ray, and Dragon Attack: A Tribute to Queen. He also oversaw production for the release of
World Trade's second album,
Euphoria, in 1995. In 1996, he served as producer and engineer for both volumes in
Yes' live
Keys to Ascension series. 1997 found
Sherwood working in the group the Key on their album The World Is Watching. It also saw him joining
Yes as a guitarist with the recording of
Open Your Eyes.
While with
Yes,
Sherwood also made time to work with his brother, collaborating on
Michael's solo album Tangletown. The second
Yes album to feature
Sherwood,
The Ladder, was issued in 1999. He continued playing with the band for the supporting tour, but left immediately after. One performance from that jaunt was immortalized in
House of Yes: Live from the House of Blues video and audio package. Going out on his own,
Sherwood issued his solo debut,
The Big Peace.
In 2000
Sherwood collaborated with
Yes bassist
Chris Squire on the album
Conspiracy. By 2003, his project with
Squire had become known as Conspiracy and they delivered a follow-up called The Unknown. That same year saw the arrival of
Sherwood's second solo outing,
No Comment. In 2007, he helped found the
Yes-related prog supergroup,
CIRCA:, along with
Alan White (drums),
Tony Kaye (keys), and guitarist
Jimmy Haun. Following the self-titled
CIRCA: debut in 2008,
Sherwood released the solo effort
At the Speed of Life. 2009 saw the release of two more
CIRCA: albums,
HQ and
Overflow.
Sherwood founded the collaborative quartet
YOSO in late 2009 with
Haun, former
Toto singer
Bobby Kimball, and ex-
Flash keyboardist Tony Selvidge. The project was short-lived. They issued the album
Elements for
Frontiers in 2010, and split after a tour.
Sherwood shifted his focus back to
CIRCA: and his ongoing solo career. His fourth solo album,
Oneirology, arrived in late 2010, followed a year later by
And So On from
CIRCA:.
In 2012,
Sherwood founded
the Prog Collective, a large collaborative recording project wherein he produced, played multiple instruments, and composed most of the material. He enlisted an all-star roster of performers and technical personnel from the annals of prog, jazz-fusion, and progressive pop history. The group's self-titled 2012 debut for Purple Pyramid included appearances from singers such as
Annie Haslam,
Alan Parsons, and
Colin Moulding, as well as instrumental contributions from keyboardists
Rick Wakeman,
David Sancious, and
Larry Fast, bassists
Squire,
Tony Levin, and
John Wetton, guitarists
John Wesley,
Steve Hillage, and
Peter Banks, and former
Mahavishnu Orchestra violinist
Jerry Goodman. That same year he formed a second all-instrumental jazz-rock collaborative called
the Fusion Syndicate, utilizing some of the same players as
the Prog Collective.
Sherwood, ever the maximalist, added appearances from guitarists
Larry Coryell,
Jimmy Haslip, and
Steve Stevens, drummer
Gavin Harrison, the
Porcupine Tree rhythm section in bassist
Colin Edwin, and reed and brass players including
Nik Turner,
Eric Marienthal, and
Randy Brecker. They released a lone self-titled album at year's end.
In 2013,
the Prog Collective followed up with
Epilogue, featuring a lineup that included most of the previous album's roster, plus saxophonist
Mel Collins and
Dream Theater keyboardist
Jordan Rudess.
Sherwood surrounded himself with a cast of lead vocalists who included former
Curved Air frontwoman
Sonja Kristina and
Nektar's lead vocalist
Roye Albrighton.
William Shatner made a surprise spoken word appearance on the title-track closer. The following year,
Sherwood returned the favor and produced
Shatner's fourth LP, Ponder the Mystery.
In the aftermath of
Chris Squire's death from leukemia in 2015,
Sherwood returned to the
Yes lineup as their full-time, permanent bassist. In November, he released his eighth solo effort,
Citizen, a concept album featuring an impressive array of guests including
Squire,
Geoff Downes,
Parsons, and
Steve Hackett. Just a few months later, he followed with the critically acclaimed, completely solo Divided by One. In 2016,
Sherwood teamed up with once and future
Yes keyboardist
Tony Kaye for
Live in Japan. He also released the completely solo Archived.
The following year,
Sherwood released the
World Trade reunion outing Unify, then toured the United States and Canada with
Yes. A document,
Topographic Drama: Live Across America, was released through Rhino as a double album.
Sherwood also appeared on
Kimball's solo outing
Mysterious Sessions.
Yes followed with a luxury liner tour called Cruise to the Edge 2018. Its lineup included
Sherwood, guitarist
Steve Howe, drummer
Alan White, keyboardists
Geoff Downes and
Tony Kaye, and lead vocalist
Jon Davidson. Later in the year,
Sherwood participated in the album project Yesterday and Today: A 50th Anniversary Tribute to Yes. He spent most of 2019 touring with
Yes and
Asia -- after
Wetton's passing in 2017,
Sherwood was named his permanent replacement. In 2020,
BMG issued
Yes'
The Royal Affair Tour: Live in Las Vegas.
For several years
Sherwood had been working on a
Prog Collective record in his spare time. During the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine of 2020, he put the finishing touches on the project's third outing. Over the prior few years, he had worked in-studio and via internet with a largely new cast.
Kristina returned, but his current crew of singers included
Todd Rundgren,
Joe Lynn Turner,
Graham Bonnet,
Geoff Tate,
David Clayton-Thomas, and
David Johansen. Further,
Sherwood recruited a new cabal of lead guitarists alongside the returning
Hillage and
Howe; they included
Martin Barre,
Jan Akkerman, and
Roine Stolt.
Sherwood also recruited jazz violinist
Shankar. The set's program was split between
Sherwood originals and well-known covers including
Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale,"
Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill," and
the Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin." Three bonus tracks offered covers of
the Beatles "Penny Lane" (featuring an eerie, disembodied vocal from
Wetton),
Boston's "More Than a Feeling," and
the Doors' "People Are Strange." Titled Worlds on Hold to reflect the pandemic and its global quarantine, the set was released by Cleopatra in February 2021. ~ Timothy Monger & Thom Jurek