music.wikisort.org - Musician

Jim Yester (born November 24 1939) is an American musician. He is a member of the Sunshine pop group The Association, who had had numerous hits on the Billboard charts (including "Windy", "Cherish", "Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary"). He is the older brother of former Lovin' Spoonful member Jerry Yester.

Jim Yester
Jim Yester in 1967
Background information
Born	(1939-11-24) November 24, 1939 (age 82) Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Genres	Folk Rock, Sunshine Pop
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Years active	1960s-present
Member of	The Association
Formerly of	Modern Folk Quartet, The Lovin' Spoonful

Early life

Jim was born in Birmingham, Alabama and is the older brother to Musician to Jerry Yester. 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 bandmember in Fort Apache.[1] The first concert Jim attended was a Fats Domino 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 into the army in 1961 and discharged in 1964. In Los Angeles, Jim and his brother Jerry were performing as a folk duo called The Yester Brothers and were managed by Martin "Mutt" Cohen, who owned the Unicorn Coffee House.[2]

The Association

In 1966, shortly after the Modern Folk Quartet disbanded, Jim was asked to join the group The Association after their original rhythm guitarist Bob Page left. The group rehearsed for six months and were eventually signed to Jubilee Records. Their debut album And Then... Along Comes the Association was released in July. Two of the songs from the album, Along Comes Mary and Cherish, would chart on the Billboard Hot 100, with Cherish reaching number one. Jim sang lead on Along Comes Mary, a controversial song about Marijuana. The group's other hits include Windy, Everything That Touches You, Never My Love and Requiem For The Masses.

In 1967, the band were the lead-off act at the Monterey International Pop Festival. The Association were regular guests on the Variety show The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The band is known for their harmonies and multiple lead vocalists. The majority of the time, Jim sang the higher vocals that can be heard on Cherish. Jim composed the title song for the movie Goodbye Columbus, which earned The Association a nomination for The Best Original Song at the 1969 Golden Globe Awards.[3]

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. Yester returned 24 years later in 2007, and has been touring with founding member Jules Alexander since. The Association are one of many acts that perform on the Happy Together tour, a tour of famous 60s pop and folk groups such as The Turtles, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap and The Cowsills. In 2003, the Association were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, 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".[4]

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; Bass; since 1999) and Jordan Cole (son of association member Brian Cole; keyboard; since 1999).

Personal life

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. Jim later joined with Bruce Belland of The Four Preps and The Diamonds' Dave Somerville to form YBS, who also bill themselves as The three tenors of Rock.[5] Jim has two brothers; Ted and Jerry.

Jim currently resides in Galloway Township, New Jersey.

References

External links

• Jim Yester discography at Discogs
• Jim Yester at IMDb

---