The third time was the charm for Yes: the band will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Friday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Eligible since 1994, Yes finally got enough votes on its third nomination, which was too late for founding member and bassist Chris Squire, who died of cancer in 2015. That delay bothers former keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who threatened to boycott the ceremony because he thought Squire wasn’t being recognized. He has since changed his mind once he realized that was not the case.
In addition to Wakeman and Squire, the Hall is recognizing former singer Jon Anderson, former drummer Bill Bruford, former guitarist Trevor Rabin, former keyboardist Tony Kaye, drummer Alan White and guitarist Steve Howe.

Howe said, “I think this is really for the fans just as much as it is for us. This is an acknowledgement really, and it’s very nice. It’s a shame it’s taken so long. But we’re not the first band to suffer at the slowness of the realization, that a band past the 20 year mark has gone on to do marvelous things, so of course we’re quite pleased too. And I think the evening will be full of surprises.”

White says, “It’s a complete honor! Gaining this sort of industry recognition for something we’ve just naturally done is extremely humbling and satisfying… It’s funny because I actually received confirmation that we were being inducted for sure while watching the Today show! We had hints from our management and that sort of thing, but it became real on national television. I can always laugh when that show comes on now.”

Yes will be inducted by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush.

Also being inducted are Joan Baez, Journey, Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, Nile Rodgers and ELO.