John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Known for his dexterous bass playing and booming baritone voice, Wetton first gained fame in the early 1970s, when he joined King Crimson. Wetton was later the singer and principal songwriter of the supergroup Asia, which proved to be his biggest commercial success. The debut Asia album sold ten million copies worldwide, and was Billboard magazine's number one album of 1982. He also performed with many other progressive rock and hard rock bands, including U.K., Family, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep and Wishbone Ash. He later formed the duo Icon with his Asia band mate (and songwriting partner) Geoff Downes. From the 1990s he had a successful solo career. Wetton signed his name with his left hand but played bass right handed. Career Wetton was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth, Dorset, where he attended Bournemouth School. His older brother Robert was a classical organist and choirmaster, and while practising organ would have John play the bass parts on a piano, since their home organ did not have a pedalboard. Wetton recalled that during these practices, "I got to like bass lines, because Bach bass lines are incredibly interesting. So I thought, this is good, I like bass lines, that's me." Though an enthusiast of classical music since childhood, he opted to go into rock and roll instead in order to avoid being compared to his brother. He played bass and sang in a number of early bands with Richard Palmer-James, including The Corvettes, The Palmer-James Group, Tetrad, and Ginger Man. A key early band was the jazzy Mogul Thrash; after live work with Renaissance, he joined Family and also did various recording sessions. Wetton's big break came when his fellow Dorset native Robert Fripp invited him to join King Crimson in late 1972. This incarnation of the band also included violinist David Cross, former Yes drummer Bill Bruford, and percussionist Jamie Muir. His time in the band would allow Wetton to come into his own as a lead singer and writer. Wetton's old friend Richard Palmer-James also worked with the band as their primary lyricist. Wetton remained with the band until Fripp unexpectedly disbanded it in 1974. King Crimson maintained their interest in improvisation throughout this period, but moved away from the classical, jazz and English folk leanings of their