“Roundabout” is a song by the English progressive rock band Yes from their fourth studio album Fragile, released in 1971, making the song 50 years old. It was written by singer Jon Anderson and guitarist Steve Howe and produced by the band and Eddy Offord. The song originated when the band were on tour and travelled from Aberdeen to Glasgow, and went through many roundabouts on the way.
The song was released as an edited single in the US in January 1972 with “Long Distance Runaround”, another track from Fragile, as the B-side. It peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the Cash Box Top 100 singles charts. In 1973, Anderson and Howe won a BMI Award for writing the song.
“Roundabout” has become one of the best-known Yes songs; it has been performed at nearly every concert since its release. It was used as the theme music for the BBC concert program Sounds for Saturday. “Roundabout” was used in Outside Providence (1999). In 2003, on the DVD commentary of School of Rock, actor Jack Black states that Wakeman’s solo is his personal favorite keyboard solo. “Roundabout” is a playable track in the music game Rock Band 3, but has an extra harmonic at the beginning of the song. The song is referenced in the Season 4 episode of The Venture Bros. “Perchance to Dean”, in which a similar melody is played like the ending to the actual track.
Listen to one of Yes’ most iconic songs here.
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