Biography
Jerry Yester entered the world on January 9, 1943, in Birmingham, Alabama, and later earned recognition as a pivotal behind-the-scenes presence in both rock and folk circles throughout the 1960s and 1970s. His childhood unfolded in Burbank, California, where folk music captured his attention during adolescence. He first partnered with brother Jim Yester to establish the Yester Brothers folk duo, which performed regularly in coffeehouses and clubs until Jim entered military service in 1960. Seeking broader opportunities, Yester became a member of the New Christy Minstrels in 1961. He exited that ensemble two years afterward to participate in the Modern Folk Quartet, whose intricate vocal harmonies and inventive arrangements distinguished the group from standard folk acts. The MFQ issued a pair of Warner Bros. albums before incorporating a drummer and shifting toward folk-rock territory. Phil Spector expressed interest, placing the quartet on Philles Records, yet their sole output from that arrangement was a version of Harry Nilsson’s “This Could Be the Night,” featured in the film The Big TNT Show.
While still with the MFQ, Yester expanded into session work, contributing piano to the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Do You Believe in Magic.” Following the quartet’s dissolution in 1966, Jim Yester—now with the Association—asked his brother to produce the group’s Renaissance album. In 1967 Yester appeared on the Monkees’ Headquarters and also oversaw Tim Buckley’s debut, Goodbye and Hello. He joined the Lovin’ Spoonful in 1968 after Zal Yanovsky’s departure, though the band soon disbanded once John Sebastian exited later that year; Yester’s sole recording with them was Everything Playing. The following year he produced Buckley’s Happy Sad and, alongside his wife Judy Henske, recorded Farewell Aldebaran for Frank Zappa’s Straight Records label. The album fused folk-rock and psychedelia in an inventive and humorous manner; despite modest initial sales, it later attracted a devoted audience and received a 2016 reissue from Omnivore Recordings.
Yester and Henske next assembled the band Rosebud, whose self-titled 1971 album marked their only release before the couple’s separation dissolved the group. (Henske subsequently began a relationship with Rosebud keyboardist Craig Doerge.) Yester resumed production duties, helming Zal Yanovsky’s 1971 solo album Alive and Well in Argentina. He produced Tom Waits’s debut Closing Time in 1973 and supplied arrangements for Small Change (1976) and Heart Attack and Vine (1980). When early MFQ recordings gained popularity in Japan during the late 1970s, Yester rejoined the group for reunion performances, after which they issued several Japan-market albums and toured both overseas and domestically. In 1991 a reconstituted Lovin’ Spoonful—excluding Sebastian and Yanovsky—resumed touring with both Yester brothers in the lineup, releasing Live at the Hotel Seville in 1999. Yester maintained an active schedule of live appearances and occasional studio projects, among them producing the No-Neck Blues Band’s 2001 album and arranging strings for two releases by Mike Ireland & Holler.
While still with the MFQ, Yester expanded into session work, contributing piano to the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Do You Believe in Magic.” Following the quartet’s dissolution in 1966, Jim Yester—now with the Association—asked his brother to produce the group’s Renaissance album. In 1967 Yester appeared on the Monkees’ Headquarters and also oversaw Tim Buckley’s debut, Goodbye and Hello. He joined the Lovin’ Spoonful in 1968 after Zal Yanovsky’s departure, though the band soon disbanded once John Sebastian exited later that year; Yester’s sole recording with them was Everything Playing. The following year he produced Buckley’s Happy Sad and, alongside his wife Judy Henske, recorded Farewell Aldebaran for Frank Zappa’s Straight Records label. The album fused folk-rock and psychedelia in an inventive and humorous manner; despite modest initial sales, it later attracted a devoted audience and received a 2016 reissue from Omnivore Recordings.
Yester and Henske next assembled the band Rosebud, whose self-titled 1971 album marked their only release before the couple’s separation dissolved the group. (Henske subsequently began a relationship with Rosebud keyboardist Craig Doerge.) Yester resumed production duties, helming Zal Yanovsky’s 1971 solo album Alive and Well in Argentina. He produced Tom Waits’s debut Closing Time in 1973 and supplied arrangements for Small Change (1976) and Heart Attack and Vine (1980). When early MFQ recordings gained popularity in Japan during the late 1970s, Yester rejoined the group for reunion performances, after which they issued several Japan-market albums and toured both overseas and domestically. In 1991 a reconstituted Lovin’ Spoonful—excluding Sebastian and Yanovsky—resumed touring with both Yester brothers in the lineup, releasing Live at the Hotel Seville in 1999. Yester maintained an active schedule of live appearances and occasional studio projects, among them producing the No-Neck Blues Band’s 2001 album and arranging strings for two releases by Mike Ireland & Holler.
Albums
