The Yeshiva Boys Choir - "Those Were The Nights (of Chanukah)"

"Those Were The Nights (of Chanukah)" The Yeshiva Boys Choir

Song Composed, Arranged & Produced By Eli Gerstner (EG Productions)
Lyrics By Yossi Toiv & Eli Gerstner
Video Edited & Directed By Mario Costabile
Music by The Yosis Orchestra
Choir Conducted By Yossi Newman
Vocals Recorded @ EG Studios By Yossi Newman & Eli Gerstner
Mastered By Larry Gates @ Gater Music
Mixed By Eli Gerstner @ EG Studios

Bubby burned the Latkes every Chanukah
Forgot them in the frying pan each year
While we were having fun playing Dreidle
Smoke alarms were wailing everywhere
Firemen were breaking all the windows
Zeidy closed his eyes, began to pray
Those Latkes had no luck
Our mouths bit down & stuck
But Bubby made us eat them anyway

CHORUS:
Those were the nights of Chanukah
I remember long ago
When our family got together
Little eyes aglow
Multi-colored candles burning
As the joyous songs were sung
How I miss the Menorah lights
When we were all so young

Uncle Jake brought donuts by the dozen
He warned us that Aunt Bertha couldn't bake
But Uncle Hymie ate one singing Maoz Tzur
And that was Uncle Hymie's big mistake
Our parents stood there beaming as they called us
And handed us our presents one by one
Bathed in the light
The Menorah burning bright
Sweet memories as brilliant as the sun

CHORUS

Where are those nights? Full of fun, full of lights
I can still hear their laughter and songs
But though they are gone, their spirit still lives on
For Bubby's love is still alive and strong

Those were the nights of Chanukah
Spent with family and friends
Filled with dreams and laughter
That we thought would never end
So cherish your moments together
It's what Bubby would have done
And we wish a happy Chanukah
To everyone!

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A Miami native, Adar has been singing for most of his life, and his carefully trained voice is both eloquent and spectacular.  It is clear why veteran producer Yochi Briskman signed on to work with Adar, on this album which was eighteen months in the making.  While Adar’s name may be new to many, he has been making his mark in the cantorial and philharmonic world for years.
 
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Briskman’s careful guidance, both Baruch Hashem and Adar himself are sure to make their mark in the Jewish music world in a very big way.

Baruch Hashem is being distributed by Aderet Music and is due in stores on December 11th. It will be available on CD and Digital Download. 

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You spend $25 at www.MostlyMusic.com with your AMEX card and American Express gives it right back to you!

Here is all you need to do:

To participate in the program, your card must be registered with American Express in advance. Please be sure to register your card at http://www.sync.americanexpress.com/sbs2011

(Limit up to $25)

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Last year, music fans from every continent were captivated by the possibility of discovering the world’s next singing sensation.

‘A Jewish Star’ Season 1, which attracted over 50 auditions and over 61,000 votes cast online, was a groundbreaking event in Jewish entertainment, capturing the imagination of thousands and garnering fans worldwide.

Season Two took the Jewish music world by storm, with 144 contestants vying for the title. Dozens of music careers were launched following the contest, as a string of amazingly talented contestants were viewed by the public, with over 262,000 votes cast online.

The finale concert held in Brooklyn was a sold out event, with 10 adult finalists and three children finalists competing in a suspense-filled finale, each giving spectacular performances. 16 year old Mendy Piamenta of Israel and 11 year old Yisroel Amar of Golden Beach, Florida were chosen as the 2011 Jewish Stars.

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Joining as a judge for Season 3 is the legendary composer Yossi Green, whose songs have been featured on over 150 albums, and has composed hit songs for countless singers including superstars Mordechai Ben David, Avraham Fried, Yaakov Shwekey, Dedi, and most recently, Shloime Gertner.

“I think it’s amazing that you are giving young people a chance to connect to Torah and Jewish music,” said Green about the competition.

This year’s third season of the worldwide competition is executive produced by Yossi and Mica Soffer of COLlive.com and Unique Image Advertising. Partnering with them is the Milvado Corporation’s Chezky Kaufthiel and Charlie Harary, who will assist in expansion and execution of the production.

The Jewish Star concert will be produced by world renowned producer and conductor Yochi Briskman.

With Season Three beginning, the anticipation is skyrocketing. Who will audition this round, who will be the public’s favorite and what will the judges say?

The deadline for auditions is Dec 10, 2011. Finalists will perform at a live show on February 5th, 2012 at Brooklyn College Center for Performing Arts in Brooklyn, New York.

For more information or to audition go to AJewishStar.com

"Like" A Jewish Star on Facebook and you will be entered to win a Cruise on Kosherica Cruises!

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Gerstner, Universal Strike a Deal

Yeshiva Boys Choir filmed a new music video last week after producer Eli Gerstner landed a unique partnership with a Universal Music record label.

By COLlive reporter

Jewish music producer Eli Gerstner will be releasing The Yeshiva Boys Choir Chanukah CD on indieExtreme through Fontana Distribution, an independent music division of Universal Music Group Distribution.

This rare collaboration is a result of a music industry insider hearing YBC's catchy Jewish-pop tunes, and asking Gerstner to write songs for a non-Jewish label.

But Gerstner, a household name on account of his stellar solo albums and hand-crafted male vocal groups, "The Chevra," "Menucha" and "Tek-noy," had another idea.

"I told him, during the month of December, all you hear on the radio are holiday – Xmas songs," he told COLlive.com. "The Jewish population may be a small percentage of the population – but shouldn't we be represented and have holiday songs of our own?"

"The guy called Universal and pitched it to them. He played the choir's popular 'Kol Hamispalel - the Remix' and some of our other hits for them. They loved it," he recalls.

The 11 song holiday CD was primarily composed, arranged and directed by Gerstner, with the rhythm recorded in Israel, vocals recorded in New York and strings and brass recorded in New Jersey.

The choir is conducted by Yossi Newman with music by The Yosis Orchestra and the CD was mixed by Gerstner and mastered by Larry Gates.

Ahead of the release, a music video for the song "'Those Were the Nights" was filmed this week in a Boro Park home with Chanukah decor lining the walls. There were doughnuts on the table and a Menorah in the window.

The lively, rambunctious group of about 50 boys, ranging in age from 7-14, excitedly prepared for the film shoot in a local Shul, getting dressed up in costumes and singing in little groups as they waited for the filming to begin.

Lyrics written by songwriter, entertainer and radio personality Country Yossi, the song is funny, upbeat, and is all about the holiday of Chanukah. It will be launched on the Vevo music channel on YouTube.

"Already we are seeing that there is a great demand for Jewish music, there has been so much interest," Gerstner said, noting that Universal's marketing campaign will include featuring it in the AOL music section for 2 months.

"This deal for us is not about the money," he added. "We would have to sell thousands of CD's to make a penny back from the money we invested. For us it's about reaching unaffiliated Jews who are searching for something Jewish."

That is also the reason why Gerstner insisted that members of the choir play all the characters in the music video and did not hire professional actors to play the adult characters in the song.

"What Yossi [Newman] and I always worked for with the choir is to break the stereotypes of what the 'outside' world thinks of Orthodox Jewish kids," said Gerstner, who was a judge at season two of A Jewish Star singing competition.

"Our videos feature regular, happy, kids doing regular, everyday activities. And people respond to that. Most of the comments on our songs on Youtube are from unaffiliated Jews from around the world who are so excited to be watching something Jewish."

Universal's label will be releasing the CD on November 15, 2011 and will be selling it to the wider public on iTunes and Amazon.com by Fontana Distribution (UMG Distribution).

And if it does well?

"It will open up a whole new market," Gerstner said. "This could be a huge Kiddush Hashem."

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