Moshe Aaron Yess (April 18, 1945 – January 8, 2011) was an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

musician, composer and entertainer from

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, Canada. A member of the

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

community in Montreal, Yess was a regular performer at

Chabad House A Chabad house is a centre for disseminating traditional Judaism by the Chabad movement. Chabad houses are run by a Chabad Shaliach (emissary), and Shalucha (fem. for emissary) and their family. They are located in cities and on or near college ...

events and shows, together with general music festivals and the annual ''A Time for Music'' concert. In the 1960s, Yess shared stages with

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

, and

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 ...

. For a time he was part of a

psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and cannabis to ...

group named Research 1-6-12 which produced one album in 1968. As a solo performer he played in Las Vegas, Reno, and other hot spots. In 1978 he moved from Hollywood, California to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, where he enrolled in the

Dvar Yerushalayim Yeshivat Dvar Yerushalayim, also called the Jerusalem Academy of Jewish Studies, is a yeshiva for baalei teshuva currently located in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem. The yeshiva was founded in 19701970: 2010=40th year. by Rabbi Boruch Horov ...

Yeshiva. There he met Rabbi Shalom Levine, who became his mentor in

halacha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

and his musical partner in Megama. They spoke about harnessing American-style music to communicate the beauty and values of Judaism. Thus was Megama (Hebrew for "trend") born. One of Yess's biggest hit songs was "My Zaidy," in which the speaker remembers his grandfather, who was his last link to Judaism. "My Zaidy" — "zaidy" is the Yiddish word for ''grandpa'' — touched several generations of American and Canadian Jews. Other hits by Megama included "Ain't Gonna Work on Saturday" and "Not Ashamed," and one of their successful children's shows was called "Judeo Rodeo". Yess collaborated with

Abie Rotenberg Abie Rotenberg ( he, אברהם יום טוב רוטנברג) is a prolific Orthodox Jewish musician, composer and entertainer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has been producing music since the mid-1970s with a style which has been described as " ...

to produce the children's audio series called ''

The Marvelous Midos Machine ''The Marvelous Midos Machine'' is a series of Orthodox Jewish children's audiotapes by Abie Rotenberg and Moshe Yess. The series follows the science fiction adventures of rabbi-scientist Dr. Midos, who teaches Jewish values like Torah study T ...

'' composed of three volumes, with all-original material. When Rotenberg produced the 4th volume in December 2011, he made the album in tribute to Yess. In the 1990s, Yess started a rock band called Burnt Offering with the blessing of The Lubavitcher Rebbe. He eventually became a follower of Lubavitch Messianism, creating a website promoting his views. Yess and the noted American composer/lyricist and scholar

Maury Yeston Maury Yeston (born October 23, 1945) is an American composer, lyricist and music theorist. He is known as the initiator of new Broadway musicals and writing their music and lyrics, as well as a classical orchestral and ballet composer, Yale Uni ...

are first cousins, whose fathers were brothers who'd emigrated from London to Montreal.

Last years and death

Yess retired from music in his later years when his health began to decline. Moshe Yess died of cancer on January 8, 2011, in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. He was 65 years old. He left the world with 6 children. His second to oldest, Tali Yess is a Jewish singer, songwriter, and producer like his father who has performed and covered several of his late father's popular songs. Tali Yess had released a few previously unreleased songs written by his father over the years since Moshe Yess passed away.

Discography

Megama Duo

*''Megama'' (1980) *''Megama – G-d is Alive and Well in Jerusalem'' (1982) *''Megama – Farewell Concert'' (1988) *''Megama – Greatest Hits Plus'' (1999)

Solo albums

* ''Kein Yevarech'' (with

Kol Salonika Kol or KOL may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Kol, a character in ''Star Trek: Discovery'' * Kol Skywalker, a member of the Skywalker family in ''Star Wars'' * Isamot Kol, a DC Comics superhero Other uses in art ...

) (1984) * ''Moshe Yess'' (1984) *''Pintele Yid'' (1986) *''Shabbos on My Mind'' (1987) *''Art Imitates Life'' (1991) *''No Limitations'' *''Rock for the Redemption''

With Other's

*''The Jerusalem Echoes – Coming Home'' (guitar & vocals) (1983) *''Journeys – Volumes 1-3'' (with

) (1984,1989,1992) *''משיח'' (with Avi Piamenta) *''The Yess Legacy – A Tribute to the Music of Moshe Yess'' (2013)

Children's Albums

* ''The Marvelous Midos Machine – Episode 1: Up Up & Away'' (with

) (1986) * ''The Marvelous Midos Machine – Episode 2: Shnooky to the Rescue'' (with

) (1987) *''The Marvelous Midos Machine – Episode 3: Does Anyone Have the Time?'' (with

) (1988) *''The Amazing Torah Bike – Yetziyas Metzrayim'' (1988) *''The Amazing Torah Bike – Brochos'' (1989) *''The Amazing Torah Bike 3'' *''The Jewish Kids Show'' *''Roburg'' (1991) *''Songs about Safety'' *''Silly Tales of Chelm and other Stories'' *''Project Majestic – A Purim Story'' (with Reuven Stone) *''Stories My Zaidy Told Me 1–3'' (with Reuven Stone) *''Story of Noah's Ark'' (with Reuven Stone) *''Story of Yonah & the Big Fish'' (with Reuven Stone)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yess, Moshe 1945 births 2011 deaths Canadian Orthodox Jews Baalei teshuva Hasidic singers Jewish Canadian musicians Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim Musicians from Montreal 20th-century Canadian male musicians Jewish folk singers Deaths from cancer in Arizona Jewish rock musicians