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

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

musician, composer and entertainer from

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada. A member of the

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

community in Montreal, Yess was a regular performer at Chabad House 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 (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelic music, psych ...

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1965. One of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the San Francisco Bay Area, ...

, and

The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from Los Angeles, California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' charts (including "Windy (The Association song), Windy" ...

. 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 Dmt, DMT, Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, mescaline, ...

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 is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, 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 Horo ...

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

halacha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mi ...

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 () is a prolific Orthodox Jewish musician, composer and entertainer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Rotenberg grew up in Queens, New York, surrounded by other up and coming religious Jewish musicians, including Eli Teitelbaum, who d ...

to produce the children's audio series called '' The Marvelous Midos Machine'' 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. Yeston has written the music and lyrics for several Broadway musicals and is also a classical orchestral and ballet composer. Among his Broadway music ...

are first cousins, whose fathers were brothers who had 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 Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. He was 65 years old, leaving behind six children. His second oldest son, Tali Yess, is a Jewish singer, songwriter, and producer who has performed and recorded several of his late father's popular songs; he has also released several previously unreleased songs written by his father since the latter's passing.

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

With Others

*''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