Instantly labelled a super-group at the time of its formation, a group of musicians hailing from the progressive rock bands; Yes, King Crimson, Emerson Lake & Palmer, and Uriah Heep formed Asia in 1981. Earlier that year, John Kalodner, the top A&R man at Geffen Records, had brought King Crimson bassist and vocalist John Wetton and former Yes guitarist Steve Howe together. At this point in time, the great progressive rock bands such as Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer had folded, so many eligible musicians were available to join the pair for a proposed super-group. They were eventually joined by drummer Carl Palmer, and finally by Howe's recent Yes cohort, keyboard player Geoff Downes. Asia's eponymous debut album, released in March 1982, has since long been considered a supreme AOR (adult-oriented-rock) effort, produced by Mike Stone in the grandiose classical Rock tradition and packaged complete with distinctive Roger Dean sleeve artwork. The album spent an impressive nine weeks at the top spot on the American Billboard charts and consequently sold nine million copies, with the singles "Heat of the Moment" and "Only Time Will Tell" reaching the charts in the UK, Europe and the U.S.