Moshe Aaron Yess (1945–January 8, 2011) was an Orthodox Jewish musician, composer and entertainer from Montreal, Canada.
A member of the Chabad

Chabad

Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...

 community in Montreal, Yess was a regular performer at Chabad House

Chabad house

A Chabad house is a centre for disseminating Orthodox Judaism by the Chabad movement. Chabad Houses are run by the local Shaliach , who was sent to that place by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who founded all Chabad Houses...

 events and shows, together with general music festivals and the annual A Time for Music concert.

Musical career

In the 1960s, Yess shared stages with David Crosby

David Crosby

David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...

, Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane

Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....

, and The Association

The Association

The Association is a pop music band from California in the folk rock or soft rock genre. During the 1960s, they had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts and were the lead-off band at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival...

. As a solo performer he played in Las Vegas, Reno, and other hot spots. In 1978 he moved from Hollywood, California to Jerusalem, Israel, where he enrolled in D'var Yerushalayim Yeshiva. There he met Rabbi Shalom Levine, who became his mentor in Halacha and his musical partner in Megama

Megama

The Megama Duo was a Jewish country band consisting of Moshe Yess and Shalom Levine. The name Megama is Hebrew for "direction."Yess was a native of Canada who worked as a musician and arranger for several well-known American pop music artists. In the 1960s Yess shared stages with David Crosby,...

. They spoke about harnessing American-style music to communicate the beauty and values of Judaism. Thus was Megama (Hebrew for "direction") 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

Abie Rotenberg 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 "soft and sweet" with a strong folk influence....

 to produce the children's audio series called The Marvelous Midos Machine composed of three volumes, with all-original material.

In the 1990s, Yess started a rock band called Burnt Offering with the blessing of The Lubavitcher Rebbe

Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...

. The band's mission was to spread the message to the world to engage in acts of goodness and kindness.

Yess retired from music in his later years when his health began to decline.

Moshe Yess died of cancer on January 8, 2011, in Cottonwood, Arizona

Cottonwood, Arizona

Cottonwood is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 11,171.-Geography:Cottonwood is located at ....

. He was 65 years old.

Discography

• The Marvelous Middos Machine: Volumes 1-3

• Journeys
  Abie Rotenberg
  Abie Rotenberg 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 "soft and sweet" with a strong folk influence....
  
  : Volumes 1-3

• Silly Tales of Chelm and other Stories

• Stories My Zaide Told Me 1-3

• The Amazing Torah Bike 1-3

• Rock for the Redemption

• Resurrection (single)

• Shabbos on My Mind

• Art Imitates Life

• Pintele Yid

• Megama Plus

• Roburg

Many more albums which were signed under CBS Israel were lost when CBS Israel went out of business.