Stone Harbor Welcomes Jersey Shore Pops, July 29

STONE HARBOR – The world-renowned Jersey Shore Pops Orchestra will be performing July 29 as part of the Borough’s Centennial celebration. The outdoor concert, beginning at 7:00 p.m. will feature one of the sixties greatest vocal group Hall of Fame stars, Jim Yester of The Association. . The conductor of the orchestra, Linda Gentille comments, “We love the music of The Association and are so happy to welcome Jim Yester back to perform with our orchestra. He has been a long time friend and musical partner of mine, so this will be a special concert..”
The show that will be performed is “Swingin Sixties” starring Jim Yester and YesterDaze. The popular orchestra will open with music of the 60’s including music of the Beatles, The Beach Boys, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, The Lovin Spoonful, Mama and the Papas, and The Association.
Yester was the founding member and original lead singer of the successful singing group: The Association. Their legendary hits included Windy, Never My Love, Along Comes Mary and the beautiful classic Cherish. In 1967 The Association had the distinguished honor of outperforming The Beatles and became the number one group of the year. They performed on over 50 major television shows in a period of four years.
Although many bands of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s emphasized instruments over vocal harmonies, The Association came across more as a vocal group than a band, even though they were both. The Association began with the break-up of an 11 man group “The Men” in 1965. The Men was the first of what was called folk-rock, drums, electric guitar, electric bass, plus the usual banjo, 12 and 6 string acoustic guitars.
Jim started his career in 1960 with his brother Jerry and performed throughout California as The Yester Brothers. While fulfilling service obligations with the US Army in Germany, he toured Germany and France for 1 years entertaining troops with a folk-comedy trio called The Yester Years. The Yester Years won many commendations and lifting the spirits of many troops stationed far from home.
Yester was also nominated for a Golden Globe for writing the title song for the movie “Goodbye Columbus” and a Grammy for “Never my Love”. Yester has 7 gold records and one double platinum album with a total of over 70 million records sold! A recent television appearance on the P.B.S. special, ”My Music, the 60’s” has generated a renewed interest in Yester’s music.
In 1965 Jim returned to LA and formed the popular group The Association. In 1966 the group earned their first gold record for Along Comes Mary. In 1967 The Association was voted the number one vocal group in the USA. 1967, Cherish became the second gold record for The Association and Windy the third gold record. In 1968, Never My Love became the groups fourth gold record. Yester left The Association in the 70’s and joined his brother in the group The Lovin Spoonful. He reunited with The Association in 2009 to rave reviews and hhe group continues to tour the United States performing over 80 concerts a year. The Association is one of the few “oldies” groups that still has several original members in the band.
The Jersey Shore pops is led by conductor and pianist Linda Gentille. The orchestra is the newest orchestra in the state and is gaining in popularity each season. One of the attractions of the orchestra is the popularity of the music director and conductor Gentille. “We are absolutely thrilled to include the Jersey Shore Pops Orchestra during our centennial celebration”, said Stone Harbor Mayor Suzanne Walters. “The Pops will bring a wide variety of music to the Borough that will span all generations and musical tastes as we celebrate 100 years of being a premiere seashore destination along the East Coast”.
The concert will be held at a specially constructed stage at the Water Tower. There will be VIP seating on a first come first serve basis beginning at 6:00 PM with a special wine and beer station to enjoy before and during the concert. If the VIP seating is taken, guests may bring a blanket or a beach chair to enjoy the performances which will be free to the public.
The Jersey Shore Pops Orchestra is a professional orchestra that performs classical and popular music concerts with international guest artists. The Pops educates adults, young people, and special populations throughout southern New Jersey in the beauty and power of classical music. It is comprised of 25 New Jersey-based professional musicians. The Pops is the orchestra-in-residence at the Middle Township Performing Arts Center.