The Association

Emerging during the mid- to late 1960s, the Association counted among the more overlooked ensembles of that period. Their polished vocal blends and melody-driven approach, which sometimes drifted into psychedelic territory and, far less often, took on a tougher garage-punk edge, placed them regularly among the top pop-chart contenders for two years, with standout tracks such as "Along Comes Mary," "Cherish," "Windy," and "Never My Love" turning into immediate fixtures on AM playlists.

The ensemble's origins trace to a 1964 encounter between Terry Kirkman, born in Kansas and raised in California, a music major skilled on more than two instruments, and Jules Alexander, born in Tennessee, a high-school dropout drawn to R&B who was developing into a guitar virtuoso. At the time Alexander served in the U.S. Navy completing his enlistment, yet the pair arranged to collaborate professionally once his service ended. That reunion occurred early in 1965, prompting an immediate shared ambition to assemble a large-scale group more ambitious than established big-band folk acts like the New Christy Minstrels and the Serendipity Singers. The outcome was the Men, a 13-piece unit blending folk, rock, and jazz that secured a residency as house band at the L.A. Troubadour. Their promising trajectory ended abruptly when the lineup fractured after only a few weeks, with seven members departing; the remaining six formed the Association, a name suggested by Kirkman's wife Judy.

Ted Bluechel, Jr. handled drums, Brian Cole played bass, Russ Giguere covered percussion, and Jim Yester, brother of Easy Riders/Modern Folk Quartet member Jerry Yester, supplied rhythm guitar behind Alexander. Every participant also sang, their vocal strengths outweighing instrumental specialization, and several doubled on multiple instruments, freeing others to employ more unusual ones during performances. The group spent six months rehearsing before taking the stage, forging an exceptionally refined, intricate, and layered sound.

The Association circulated demos throughout Los Angeles and secured a single on the Jubilee label; their initial release, "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You," failed to chart, as did their 1965 Valiant Records version of Bob Dylan's "One Too Many Mornings," an early folk-rock effort that received solid local airplay in Los Angeles. The band fully crystallized with the singles "Along Comes Mary" and "Cherish."

Those recordings established fresh benchmarks for rock production in America. Vocals were tracked at Columbia studios while instruments, performed by Terry Kirkman, Jules Alexander, and session players, were captured in a makeshift four-track facility owned by Gary Paxton. The pair of songs, together with the full album that followed, displayed a degree of craftsmanship previously absent from rock releases. Producer Curt Boettcher demonstrated exceptional mastery in shaping the stereo image on that LP, among the best-sounding rock albums of its era.

Despite their later lightweight reputation, the Association entered the market controversially with "Along Comes Mary"; beyond its strong hooks and memorable chorus, the track climbed to number seven nationally amid speculation that it referred to marijuana. "Cherish," a Kirkman composition originally slated for Mike Whelan of the New Christy Minstrels, followed as their next hit, reaching number one. Their debut album, And Then...Along Comes the Association, peaked at number five late in 1966.

Success brought exhaustion and label pressures that, combined with several artistic and commercial errors, stalled momentum. The subsequent single "Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies" proved an unfortunate choice after one of the decade's most melodic and accessible rock records, stalling at number 35, while "No Fair at All" also underperformed. The group was compelled to rush out a second album, Renaissance, produced by Jim Yester's brother Jerry Yester, amid mounting tour obligations generated by two massive national hits. During this period Valiant Records, including the Association's contract, was acquired by Warner Bros.

A significant personnel shift occurred when core member Jules Alexander departed for India, where he remained for most of the following year. Multi-instrumentalist Larry Ramos of the New Christy Minstrels joined as replacement. The lineup adjustment coincided with access to Ruthann Friedman's song "Windy." Another chart-topping single, it required an extended 14-hour session to complete, with Friedman, Yester's wife, arranger Cliff Burroughs and his wife, plus additional singers all contributing.

Insight Out, the third album, also proved difficult. Recording halted midway when the band grew dissatisfied with producer Jerry Yester's sonic direction. They enlisted Bones Howe, an engineer and producer noted for his Fifth Dimension work, who completed the project. Its two hits, "Windy" and "Never My Love," ranked among their most enduring tracks and propelled sales. The closing cut, "Requiem for the Masses," opened with Gregorian chant and merged psychedelia with social commentary; its lyrics delivered a pointed indictment, originally concerning boxer Davy Moore's death, a subject Bob Dylan had addressed in a little-known song four years earlier.

Just before Insight Out appeared, the group performed at the Monterey International Pop Festival, their highest-profile concert. The set proved ideal exposure; surviving tapes show the ensemble tight, with precise vocals and playing matching any folk-rock act of the time, particularly Bluechel's drumming, Ramos' and Yester's guitars, and even Kirkman's flute.

Had portions of the Monterey performance surfaced sooner, they might have countered the soft-pop image the Association were acquiring. Instead the recordings remained unreleased for roughly two decades, with only a pair of tracks later appearing on CD. The next album, Birthday, marked a deliberate shift toward a heavier sound. Around the same time they issued the single "Six Man Band," Kirkman's caustic commentary on the music industry. Efforts to alter their image arrived too late; Birthday, released in 1968, met indifference, and both "Six Man Band" and a re-recording of "Enter the Young" from the debut album charted only modestly.

Warner Bros.' 1969 greatest-hits collection increased album sales and solidified their existing audience yet failed to halt declining fortunes. By 1969 rock tastes had hardened and fragmented; acts specializing in lighter, AM-friendly fare aimed beyond the 17-25 demographic, including Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Grass Roots, and the Association, were dismissed as unfashionable by emerging rock critics.

One favorable development was Jules Alexander's 1969 return, expanding the group to a septet and adding a third skilled guitarist. The Goodbye Columbus soundtrack album, featuring incidental music by Charles Fox, further damaged credibility irrespective of its musical quality. While films like Easy Rider incorporated Byrds tracks as part of innovative cinema, Goodbye Columbus represented standard Hollywood product; appearing the same year as Woodstock, it underscored the Association's distance from prevailing musical and audience currents.

By 1970 their major hits from 1966-1968 had become established oldies. Fresh chart success by the Fifth Dimension and David Cassidy with covers of "Never My Love" and "Cherish" respectively did nothing to improve standing among rock tastemakers.

Warner Bros. issued one final album, Stop Your Motor, which reached number 158. Relations between the label and the group's manager soured, leading to a 1971 split. Columbia president Clive Davis signed the Association; the resulting LP, Waterbeds in Trinidad, appeared in 1972 and peaked at number 194. The band continued, relying on lingering fame from early hits, into the next year.

Bassist Brian Cole's death on August 2, 1973, from complications of a worsening drug habit, signaled the end of the original core lineup. Kirkman withdrew from the music business; Jules Alexander formed Bijou, which released one promising single on A&M Records. Ted Bluechel sustained the group with Jim Yester and Larry Ramos, later incorporating additional players such as Ric Ulskey.

They began licensing the group name, permitting oldies packages to field versions of "the Association" lacking any original members. Retrieval of those rights proved difficult, allowing intermittent appearances of unauthorized lineups through the 1980s. The legitimate original members, including Kirkman, Alexander, and Bluechel, resumed performing in varying combinations on the oldies circuit during the 1980s. In 1981 and 1982 they briefly reunited with first producer Curt Boettcher for two singles on Elektra. Subsequent shows focused primarily on faithful recreations of their classic recordings both live and in the studio.