Yossi Zweig hosts the weekly Z Report and Top 9@9 on Scoop Radio/JE Network, hosts the Shmuzik video series, and emcees live events

Yossi Zweig is a long-time graphic designer, but he’s best-known as a music maven. He’s been a radio host for close to a decade, first on the Nachum Segal Network and then on his own Jewish Entertainment Network. He’s also the creator of the online music/entertainment destination JewishInsights.com (which segued from the print-version monthly JE Magazine). Yossi hosts the weekly Z Report and Top 9@9 on Scoop Radio/JE Network, hosts the Shmuzik video series, and emcees live events.

My All-Time Favorite Album 

It’s a toss-up between MBD’s Moshiach album and Avraham Fried’s Shtar Hatnoim album. The songs, arrangements, and vocals on those two are so unique and diverse. They are really amazing musical journeys.

A Song That Always Works to Warm Up a Crowd

In recent years it’s been a three-way tie between 8th Day’s “Yalili,” Benny Friedman’s “Ivri Anochi,” and Mordechai Shapiro’s “Machar.”

An Instrument I Wish I Played

Guitar. It’s an instrument you can take with you wherever you go. You can feel the vibration of your melody as you’re playing, and its sounds have the ability to touch the soul.

A Forgotten Song I'd Love to See Make a Comeback

“You’re Never Alone,” originally performed by Avraham Fried on the album Holyland’s Greatest Hits. The song has a great tune and a powerful message that I think is more important than ever today, but it never really made it big — it never even made it onto one of his own albums.

A Song That Made Me Want to Look Up a Pasuk 

"Tanya."

My Favorite Shabbos Zemiros 

Menucha V’simchah. It’s a zemer with so many great melodies — niggunim from camp and yeshivah as well as home — and it’s all about the simchah of Shabbos. I actually use several tunes, depending on the week. Sometimes a niggun that my shver uses, sometimes one from my yeshivah days in Yeshiva Gedolah of Toronto, and sometimes the classic from Miami Boys Choir.

A Song That Takes Me Back to My Childhood

“Together,” by Abie Rotenberg with lyrics by Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Klien, otherwise known as the “Ahavas Yisrael Song.” I originally heard this on the Marvelous Middos Machine when I was a kid, and later it was re-recorded by Yeedle on his first album, Together.

The Hit Dance Song When I Got Married

Singers weren’t a thing like they are today, and the market wasn’t as glutted. Many weddings didn’t even have a wedding singer, but the keyboard player or someone else in the band sang. And the fewer the singers and albums, the fewer the hits. I think Shlomo Simcha’s “Im Ein Ani Li” off his second album Tehillim — written by Yossi Green — was the dance floor hit at the time.

A Musical Artist I Really Connect with

Avraham Fried. There is something about the sincerity in his singing that always touches me. When you hear him on an album, it's not just a performance in the studio — you can tell that Avremel is trying to express the song’s meaning with his vocals. It also doesn’t hurt that he has an amazing voice.

An English Song That Strikes a Special Chord 

“The Lonero Family” off the vintage Destiny Vol. 1. This song has always been special to me. It’s about a family of Anusim living in Spain, and the niggun that always accompanied them in their promise to remain Jews, even at the risk of torture and death. Their special niggun draws you deep into the story, not only of this family, but of the atmosphere at the time, and the mesirus nefesh of remaining a Jew against all odds.

A Song I Consider Under-Rated

There are actually a lot of these. One I’ve been thinking about recently, especially during the Elul/Tishrei season, is “Hatei” from Yoely Greenfield’s second album Tezakeinu. The song has a great arrangement that pulls you in, and Yoely’s vocals are superb. Another is a song called “Ki L’Hashem Hameluchah” by Shauli, a talented singer and songwriter. He writes, produces, sings, and plays his own music. With so small a budget, it’s hard to compete.

A Song That's Too Complicated for Me to Sing, But I Still Love Hearing

As a Canadian/American, anything from Ishay Ribo. Between his range and sweet voice and the Hebrew lyrics, there is no way I would attempt to sing them. However, I absolutely love listening to him.

Words That Get Me Every Time, No Matter the Tune

“Shema Koleinu” and “Shir Hamaalos”  — both “Esa Einai” and “Mimaamakim.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 782)