Born John Roy Anderson on October 25, 1944, in Accrington, England, Jon Anderson met bassist Chris Squire in London in 1968 and co-wrote the song "Sweetness" with him, a partnership that quickly grew into Yes. His soaring, unmistakable tenor became the voice of progressive rock, steering the band through ambitious epics like "Close to the Edge" and the sprawling double album Tales from Topographic Oceans, which he conceived almost entirely himself. Anderson passed through Yes across three separate stints between 1968 and 2008, singing on landmark records from Fragile and Close to the Edge to the commercial smash 90125. Outside the band, he partnered with composer Vangelis for the hit "State of Independence" and released the largely solo concept album Olias of Sunhillow in 1976. Yes entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

Born October 25, 1947, in Blackheath, England, Glenn Tipton joined Judas Priest in May 1974 and immediately began adding his classically tinged solos to the sessions for Rocka Rolla. Alongside K.K. Downing's twin lead guitar attack, Tipton helped define heavy metal's sound through British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance, and Defenders of the Faith, co-writing staples like "Breaking the Law," "Living After Midnight," and "Metal Gods." He is the band's second longest serving member after bassist Ian Hill, and one of only two musicians to appear on every Judas Priest studio album. Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2008, Tipton kept performing and recording for a decade before stepping back from touring in 2018, handing live duties to Andy Sneap while still contributing in the studio.

Born October 25, 1955, in Hannover, West Germany, Matthias Jabs beat out roughly 140 other guitarists in 1978 to fill the lead slot in Scorpions after Uli Jon Roth's departure, a job he landed partly thanks to bassist Francis Buchholz, who had once tutored him in math. Michael Schenker briefly returned for the sessions that became Lovedrive, but he quit again in 1979, and Jabs took over permanently, bringing a fresh, Van Halen-influenced edge to tracks like "Loving You Sunday Morning" and "Always Somewhere." That sound became the band's signature through the 1980s, carrying Scorpions to superstardom on hits like "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and "Still Loving You." He has played on every Scorpions album since Lovedrive, outlasting multiple lineup changes, and now also owns the guitar shop MJ Guitars in Munich.

Born October 25, 1961, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Chad Smith has powered the Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988, driving a funk rock rhythm section through Mother's Milk, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and Californication on his way to a 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction with the band. Beyond the Chili Peppers, he co-founded the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot with Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Michael Anthony, and he later drummed for Ozzy Osbourne on Ordinary Man and Patient Number 9 and for Iggy Pop on Every Loser. He has also recorded with everyone from Johnny Cash to Lady Gaga. Smith is famously mistaken for Will Ferrell so often that the two have leaned into the resemblance at charity events, and he was once bitten by a hammerhead shark while diving near Fiji. In 2025 he launched a foundation funding music education for young people.

On October 25, 2014, Jack Bruce, bassist and lead vocalist of Cream, died of liver disease at his home in Sudbury, England, at age 71, with his cancer linked to a long battle with heroin and alcohol addiction. The Scottish musician trained as a classical cellist before moving through Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and the Graham Bond Organisation, where he met Ginger Baker, and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, where he met Eric Clapton. In 1966 the three formed Cream, and Bruce's aggressive, distorted bass work and soaring vocals carried most of the songwriting, producing "Sunshine of Your Love," "White Room," and "I Feel Free." After Cream split in 1968 he built a varied solo career, working with Lou Reed and Frank Zappa, and survived a near fatal liver transplant in 2003 before reuniting with Clapton and Baker for Cream's 2005 reunion shows.