The Association

Welcome, time travelers, to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John, and in this episode I will transport you back to the 1960's to discuss the peak years of one of the most popular American pop groups of that era:  The Association!

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott. The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John. It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then.
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Transcript

Welcome, time travelers, to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John, and in this episode I will transport you back to the 1960's to discuss the peak years of one of the most popular American pop groups of that era:  The Association!

The Troubadour nightclub, located on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California was owned by Doug Weston.  In the 1960's it was a major center for folk music and comedians, and a popular tradition at the club was their Monday night Hootenanny.  The Monday night "Hoots" were an open-mic show where many future notables got their start.  At one of those "Hoots" in 1964, an informal group called the Inner Tubes was formed by Terry Kirkman, Jules Alexander, and Doug Dillard.  The Inner Tubes rotating membership occasionally contained Cass Elliot, David Crosby, and many others who drifted in and out.  Later that year a 13-piece folk rock band, with Ted Bluechel on drums, was formed.  This group, simply called the Men, was used by Doug Weston as the house band at The Troubadour.

In February 1965 the Men disbanded, with some of the members electing to go out on their own.  Kirkman, Alexander, and Bluechel hooked up with three other musicians.  Those six originally planned to call themselves the Aristocrats.  However, at the suggestion of Kirkman's then-fiancée, Judy, they took the name The Association.  The original lineup consisted of Alexander on vocals and lead guitar; Kirkman on vocals and a variety of wind, brass and percussion instruments; Brian Cole on vocals, bass and woodwinds; Russ Giguere on vocals, percussion and guitar; Ted Bluechel on drums, guitar, bass and vocals; and Bob Page on guitar, banjo and vocals.  However, Page was soon replaced by Jim Yester on vocals, guitar and keyboards before any of the group's public performances.

The new band spent about five months rehearsing before they began performing around the Los Angeles area.  They became regular performers at The Ice House locations in Pasadena and Glendale.  In mid-1965 the small Jubilee label issued a single of The Association's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", but it did not chart.  Valiant Records offered them a contract, and they recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's "One Too Many Mornings" at Gold Star Studios.  That single was released as a non-album single in November 1965.  "One Too Many Mornings" failed to chart nationally, but it became a regional hit in the Los Angeles area.

The Association's national break came with the song "Along Comes Mary", written by Tandyn Almer.  Alexander persuaded Almer to give the Association first dibs on the tune, with Jim Yester on lead vocals.  Their version of "Along Comes Mary" was known for its fast-paced lyrics and jazzy, complex harmonies.  Bright, layered, and sophisticated, it helped define the California sunshine pop sound.  The song was somewhat controversial, in that "Mary" was street slang for marijuana.  Released in March 1966, "Along Comes Mary" went to #7 on the Billboard charts and led to the group's first album, And Then... Along Comes the Association.  That LP was produced by Curt Boettcher and begun in Gary Paxton's garage.  Like most of The Association's hits, session musicians were called to do the instrumental track, with only band members Terry Kirkman and Jules Alexander participating with their instruments.  The vocals were recorded separately at Columbia Studios.   The LP was released in July 1966 and became one of the best selling albums in the US, peaking at #5.  The success of the album was mainly due to the strength of two singles, "Along Comes Mary" and "Cherish".  Terry Kirkman wrote "Cherish" in half an hour for use in the band's live act.  He was looking for an emotional, slow tempo song in the same vein as the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'".  The result was a ballad with lush harmonies and emotional depth that became one of the decade’s most romantic songs.  "Cherish" was released as a single in August 1966.  The song reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in September of that year and remained in the top position for three weeks.  "Cherish" also reached #1 in Canada.  Billboard ranked the slow-dance ballad as the #2 song of the year.  "Cherish" sold over a million copies, was certified gold by the RIAA in 1966, and earned The Association international fame.

The group followed with their second album, Renaissance, released in November 1966. The band changed producers, dropping Boettcher in favor of Jerry Yester, brother of Jim.  This was their last album recorded for the Valiant Records label.  The LP was reissued in 1967 by Warner Brothers Records after the company acquired Valiant.  The album only peaked at #34 on the Billboard albums chart.  Although it had no Top 10 singles, two songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  "Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies" reached #35 in late 1966, and "No Fair at All" peaked at #51 in early 1967.  

In April 1967, Alexander left the band, purportedly to study meditation in India.  He was replaced by Larry Ramos  on vocals and guitar.  Ramos actually had joined the band while Alexander was still performing with them after bassist Cole's hand was injured by a firecracker.  Alexander subbed on bass while Ramos played lead guitar.

On June 8th, 1967, Warner Brothers Records released the band's third album, Insight Out.  Insight Out saw the Association working with record producer and recording engineer Bones Howe for the first time.  Howe had previously worked with the Mamas & the Papas and the Turtles.  He was brought in by Warner Brothers, in an attempt to steer the group in a more commercial direction.  As a result of Howe's focus on obtaining a radio-friendly sound, much of the instrumental playing on Insight Out was done by a team of top L.A. session musicians, who were sometimes referred to as the Wrecking Crew.  Insight Out became one of the top selling LPs of the year in the US, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.  Much of the album's success was from two popular hits:  "Windy" and "Never My Love".  

Those two singles were among the most-played records on AM radio during the late 1960's.  "Windy" was written by Ruthann Friedman.   The lead vocals were sung primarily by guitarist and new band member Larry Ramos along with vocalist Russ Giguere.  The song became the group's second U.S. #1 hit, reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on July 1st, 1967, and staying there for four consecutive weeks.  Billboard ranked "Windy" as the #4 song for 1967.  Ramos, who was of Filipino descent, was one of the few Asian-American lead singers at the time to have #1 hit single.  Interestingly, the song would re-emerge 43 years later when it was used on the opening sequence in the popular TV series, Breaking Bad.  For the opening of the 12th episode of the 3rd season, called "Half Measures", a montage of videos of the character Wendy was played over The Association's song "Windy".  

The other hit song from the LP, "Never My Love", was written by brothers Don and Dick Addrisi.  The Association would be the first band to record the song, again with instrumentation provided by the Wrecking Crew.  Their version of the song was released on August 9th, 1967.  The single peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and hit #1 on the Cashbox charts in October 1967.  "Never My Love" was their third #1 on the Cashbox Top 100 Singles Chart, and also reached #1 in Canada's RPM charts.  It became the group's only double-sided charting record, as its B-side, "Requiem for the Masses", made a brief showing on the Billboard chart.  By the time the Association's record was certified Gold by the RIAA as of December 1967, Billboard noted that 15 other artists had recorded the song!  Consequently, in 1999 BMI announced that "Never My Love" was the second most-played song on radio and television of the 20th century in the U.S.  The group also placed two other songs, "Cherish" and "Windy", on BMI's list of the 100 most played.

That third Cashbox #1 single had made The Association a top concert act and highly in demand by the TV variety series, specials, and talk shows.  They performed "Never My Love" on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Hollywood Palace, The Dean Martin Show, Dick Clark's American Bandstand, Hullabaloo, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Dick Cavett Show, The Joey Bishop Show, The Steve Allen Show, and a Carol Channing special.  Also, at 9pm on Friday, June 16th, 1967, The Association was the first act to perform at the influential Monterey Pop Festival.  Monterey Pop would become one of the era’s defining cultural events, and The Association were one of the few mainstream pop acts among more psychedelic and rock performers at Monterey Pop.

In 1968 the band turned down the opportunity to record Jimmy Webb's now-classic "MacArthur Park".  Bones Howe again produced The Association's fourth album,Birthday.  Released on March 7th, 1968, Birthday peaked at #23 in the Billboard charts.  It did produce two singles that charted:  "Everything That Touches You", which reached #10, and "Time for Livin'", which reached #39.  "Everything That Touches You" would be the group's last Hot 100 Top 10 hit, and "Time for Livin'" would be the group's final Hot 100 Top 40 hit.  Later that year, the group released a self-produced single, the harder-edged "Six Man Band".  "Six Man Band" only reached #47 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  

In November 1968 Warner Brothers released a compilation album called The Association Greatest Hits.  The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 album chart.  In Canada the album reached #2 and was in the top 10 for 13 weeks.  On June 1st, 1989 the RIAA certified The Association Greatest Hits as a double platinum, and it continues to be one of the longest best-selling albums in the history of Warner Brothers.

At the close of 1968, Jules Alexander returned to the group, which now made The Association a seven-man band.  The larger band's first project was to contribute to the 1969 soundtrack for the film Goodbye, Columbus.  The title track, written by Yester, peaked at #80 in the US.  John Boylan produced the soundtrack and worked with the group on their next album.  That LP, simply entitled The Association, was released in August 1969.  Many of the LP's tracks have a country-rock sound, but none of the singles released made any impact.  The album peaked at #32 in the US and #12 in Canada.  It was the first studio album to feature all seven members.  In late 1969 the group re-teamed with Curt Boettcher for a one-off single, "Just About the Same".  Unfortunately "Just About the Same", which was released in February 1970, failed to catch on.  Despite all this, the band remained a popular concert draw, and on April 3rd, 1970, a Salt Lake City performance was recorded for The Association Live LP.  That live LP only reached #79 in the US.

In June 1970, Giguere left the band, and The Association replaced him with keyboardist Richard Thompson.  Unfortunately the band's popularity was slowly fading, as shifting musical trends reduced their chart presence.  Their easy listening soft pop style, which was so successful on AM radio, was losing favor to harder rock on the growing FM market.  In early 1972 the band left Warner Brothers for Columbia and added two more performers for their 1972 tour.  Sadly, on August 2nd, 1972, bassist Brian Cole was found dead in his Los Angeles home of a heroin overdose.  For the rest of the 1970's, the Association was in a state of flux, releasing singles intermittently along with sporadic touring.  After a successful 1979 television special, they began a touring comeback.  Since the 1980's they have stayed busy performing on 60's nostalgia shows, on television specials, and on “oldies” circuits.  Despite numerous lineup changes, The Association has managed to remain a popular live act to this day.

The Association were one of the most successful and distinctive American bands of the second half of the 1960's.  Known for their lush vocal harmonies, sophisticated arrangements, romantic ballads, and melodic songwriting, they were at the forefront of the folk movement's assimilation into the California harmony sound and the sunshine pop style.  The band had 7 Grammy nominations and received RIAA certifications for 6 gold and 3 platinum records.  In 1968 the group received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song, "Goodbye Columbus".  In 2003, The Association was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.  

Thank you for listening to another episode of Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm your host, Jumpin' John McDermott, and I will close out this podcast with The Association's song "Six Man Band".  So, fellow travelers, may your path be smooth and your music always be rockin'!  And until next time...Rock On!