James Yester (born November 24, 1939) is an American musician. He is a member of the

sunshine pop Sunshine pop (originally known as soft pop) is a subgenre of pop music that originated in Southern California in the mid-1960s. Rooted in easy listening and advertising jingles, sunshine pop acts combined nostalgic or anxious moods with "an appre ...

group

The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the ''Billboard'' charts (including " Windy", " Cherish", " Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary") and ...

, who had numerous hits on the ''Billboard'' charts including " Windy", " Cherish", "

Never My Love "Never My Love" is a pop standard written by American siblings Don and Dick Addrisi, and best known from a hit 1967 recording by the Association. The Addrisi Brothers had two Top 40 hits as recording artists, but their biggest success as songwri ...

" and "

Along Comes Mary "Along Comes Mary" is a song composed by Tandyn Almer, originally recorded by American sunshine pop band the Association. It was the group's first hit, released on their debut album, '' And Then... Along Comes the Association'' (1966). Back ...

". He is the older brother of former

Lovin' Spoonful Loving may refer to: * Love, a range of human emotions * Loving (surname) * '' Loving v. Virginia'', a 1967 landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case Film and television * ''Loving'' (1970 film), an American film * ''Loving'' ( ...

member

Jerry Yester Jerome Alan Yester (born January 9, 1943) is an American folk rock musician, record producer, and arranger. Biography Yester was born in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, and grew up in Burbank, California. He formed a duo with brother ...

Early life

Jim Yester was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

and is the older brother of musician

. Yester's family moved to Burbank, California when he was three because his father wanted to get involved in the film industry. His father played the part of a band member in the film '' Fort Apache''. The first concert Jim attended was a

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

concert at the Olive Recreation Center. Growing up, Yester attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California and learned how to play the harmonica and piano. He played the piano in a club when he was 13. Jim enlisted in the army in 1961 and was discharged in 1964. In

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, Jim and his brother Jerry performed as a folk duo called The Yester Brothers and were managed by Martin "Mutt" Cohen, who owned the Unicorn Coffee House.

The Association

In 1966, Jim Yester was asked to join the group

after their original rhythm guitarist Bob Page left. The group rehearsed for six months and were eventually signed to

Jubilee Records Jubilee Records was an American independent record label, specializing in rhythm and blues and novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. His partner was Jerry Blaine. Blaine bought Abramson's half of the compan ...

. Their debut album '' And Then... Along Comes the Association'' was released in July. Two of the songs from the album, "

" and " Cherish" charted on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

, with "Cherish" reaching number one. Yester sang lead on "Along Comes Mary", a controversial song reputedly about marijuana. The group's other hits include " Windy", "

Everything That Touches You "Everything That Touches You" is a song written by Terry Kirkman and originally released in 1968 by the American sunshine pop band the Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the late 1960s, the ...

", "

", and "Requiem for the Masses". The Association

In 1967, the band were the lead-off act at the

Monterey International Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

. The Association were regular guests on the variety show

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially considering it was sc ...

. The band is known for their harmonies and multiple lead vocalists. Mostly, Yester sang the higher vocals that can be heard on "Cherish". He composed the title song for the movie ''

Goodbye Columbus ''Goodbye, Columbus'' is a 1959 collection of fiction by the American novelist Philip Roth, comprising the title novella "Goodbye, Columbus"—which first appeared in ''The Paris Review''—and five short stories. It was his first book and was ...

'', which earned the Association a nomination for Best Original Song at the 1969 Golden Globe Awards. Yester left the Association in 1973. He returned a year later and stayed with the band for three years. In 1983 he left the Association again after returning to them in 1979. In 1988, Yester joined the

Modern Folk Quartet The Modern Folk Quartet (or "MFQ") was an American folk music revival group that formed in the early 1960s. Originally emphasizing acoustic instruments and group harmonies, they performed extensively and recorded two albums. In 1965, as the Mode ...

. Yester returned to the Association in 2007, and has been touring with founding member Jules Alexander since then. The Association are one of many acts that perform on the Happy Together tour, a tour of famous 1960s pop and folk groups such as

The Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Gary Puckett & The Union Gap Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (initially credited as The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett) was an American pop rock group active in the late 1960s. The group, formed by Gary Puckett, Gary "Mutha" Withem, Dwight Bement, Kerry Chater and Paul Whea ...

and

The Cowsills The Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island, six siblings noted for performing professionally and singing harmonies at an early age, later with their mother. The band was formed in early 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and ...

. In 2003, the Association were inducted into the

Vocal Group Hall of Fame The Vocal Group Hall of Fame (VGHF) is an American-based hall of fame that honors vocal groups throughout the world in every genre of music. Headquartered in the Columbia Theatre in Sharon, Pennsylvania, it includes a theater and a museum. It was ...

, where the then-surviving members performed "Along Comes Mary" and "Windy". Three songs by the Association have sold over one million copies and have been certified platinum discs: "Cherish", "Windy", and "Never My Love". The current lineup of the group consists of Yester (rhythm and lead guitar; 1965–1973, 1974–1977, 1979–1983, 2007-present), Jules Alexander (lead and rhythm guitar; 1965–1967, 1969–1974, 1979–1989, since 2012), Bruce Pictor (drums since 1985), Paul Holland (bass 1988-1999; rhythm and lead guitar since 2014), Del Ramos (brother of Association member

Larry Ramos Hilario D. "Larry" Ramos Jr. (April 19, 1942 – April 30, 2014) was a guitarist, banjo player, and vocalist with the 1960s American pop band the Association. In 1963, he won a Grammy with The New Christy Minstrels. Early years Ramos was of F ...

; bass since 1999) and Jordan Cole (son of Association member Brian Cole, keyboard since 1999).

Other works

In 1991, Jim briefly joined his brother in the reunited Lovin’ Spoonful, a group known for hits such as " Do You Believe in Magic", " Summer in the City" and "

Darlin' Be Home Soon "Darlin' Be Home Soon" (or "Darling Be Home Soon") is a song written by John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful for the soundtrack of the 1966 Francis Ford Coppola film ''You're a Big Boy Now''. It appeared on the Lovin' Spoonful's 1967 soundtrack a ...

". Jim later joined with Bruce Belland of

The Four Preps The Four Preps are an American popular music male quartet. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the group amassed eight gold singles and three gold albums. Their million-selling signature tunes included " 26 Miles (Santa Catalina)", " Big Man", "Lazy ...

, and

The Diamonds The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 ''Billboard'' hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (ba ...

' Dave Somerville, to form YBS, who also bill themselves as the Three Tenors of Rock.

Personal life

Jim has two brothers; Ted and Jerry. He currently resides in Galloway Township, New Jersey and has a daughter.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yester, Jim 1939 births Living people Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama American rock guitarists American rock musicians American folk guitarists American folk singers Modern Folk Quartet members The Association members The Lovin' Spoonful members Rhythm guitarists