Yossi spent his entire life using his guitar and voice to cheer people up and introduce Jews to the beauty of Yiddishkeit

Yosi Piamenta a”h, whose ninth yahrtzeit is coming up next week on 8 Elul, was a treasure to Jewish music, not only because he was so musically talented, but because he was such a lovable human being. I remember back in 1980, when I heard that Yosi had decided to settle in New York, I immediately booked him to play on one of our early Suki & Ding wedding albums. When I got to the studio, all the musicians were hanging around, eating doughnuts and drinking coffee, but then I realized that the new guitar player I’d hired wasn’t there. When I looked around to find him, I spotted him sitting quietly with his guitar, ready to play, with a Tehillim in his hand, diligently reciting perek after perek. I found out later that he would try to finish the entire Tehillim every single day.

Yosi never used sheet music. All he had to do was listen to a song once and it was already imprinted in his mind. Veteran arranger Yisroel Lamm once told me that he first met Yosi at a concert in San Diego with MBD, where Yosi, who was living in Israel at the time, was the opening act, together with his brother Avi on flute. MBD and Yisroel were backstage when they first heard Yosi playing, and right then, they both knew that Yosi was in an entirely different league than all other guitar players. After the concert, they approached Yosi together and told him that if he moved to New York, he would be in demand for weddings and concerts every night.

I’ll never forget Yosi’s surprise entrance at the second HASC Concert, when he and his brother Avi came on to perform their famed “Asher Bara” song. The audience went wild and loved the duo.

Yosi had two trademark customs that he became known for at every concert. One was that he would do a full guitar solo with the guitar behind his back, and the other was that — as he was known for cranking up the volume — at the end of the first song, he would always ask the audience, “Am I too loud?” The audience would always shout, “No!” to which he would respond, “Wait ’til you hear the next song!”

Yosi was born and lived in Israel until his twenties, where he was known as a guitar virtuoso. He was offered to perform for a world-famous music label in New York, but when he arrived in the US and became immersed in that lifestyle, he soon realized that it was not the life he wanted. At that point in his life, he met the Lubavitcher Rebbe, became frum, and never turned back.

Yosi and Avi’s father, Yehuda Piamenta, was an Israeli secret service agent. Nobody knew exactly what he did, but after he passed away in 2011 at age 84, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu called his sons and told them that, although their father always worked in deep secrecy, his accomplishments for the country’s security were great.

I don’t know why Yosi never wanted to dress traditionally, but one thing is certain. His unique style was part of his attraction, especially those colorful Bucharian yarmulkes, which became his famous trademark look.

I heard the following story from his talented son, Moni: In 1993, when Yosi and Avi were both living in New York, they received a call from Chabad of Hong Kong inviting them to perform a concert. The concert was on a Sunday, so they had to spend Shabbos in China. After Shabbos, one of the shluchim took them to a music club, and word got around that two great Jewish musicians were in the audience. The crowd asked Avi and Yossi if they would perform, and they agreed — but they had no idea what song to sing, as the audience had never heard Jewish music. Yosi began singing “Am Yisrael have no fear, Mashiach will be here this year, we want Mashiach now….” The crowd loved it and they sang the song over and over for at least an hour.

I remember when, unfortunately, Yosi became ill and spent the last year of his life in treatment back in the US (he’d returned to Israel several years before to be with his father). When I was visiting him in the hospital just a week before his petirah, we were sitting and schmoozing, reminiscing about some great concerts we had done together. Eventually, I stood up, we said goodbye to each other, and I left the room. But as I walked out, I heard Yosi calling me back. I returned to his room and asked if there was anything I could get for him, but all he wanted was to talk a little more, and so we did.

Yossi spent his entire life using his guitar and voice to cheer people up and introduce Jews to the beauty of Yiddishkeit that he himself had discovered. Whether it was visiting children in hospitals, singing in nonreligious schools, playing at farbrengens, or performing at a wedding where the couple had no money, Yosi did it all. He once told me that if he didn’t have to make a living, he’d do those volunteer performances full time.

May his music and his memory serve as a blessing.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1027)