The Association Flashback With The Assciation

The Association were a vocal harmony group who straddled the worlds of conventional pop and the new California con-sciousness of the late Sixties. The group included Russ Giguere (vocals, guitar), Ted Bluechel (drums), Brian Cole (bass, vocals), Terry Kirkman (reeds), Larry Ramos (re-placed by Gary Alexander) (lead guitar, vocals) and Jim Yester (guitar, vocals). 'Along Comes Mary' and 'Cherish' — their first two records — were both Top Ten hits on Valiant in 1966, despite accusations that 'Mary' was a 'drug song'. The Association followed with another ambiguous ditty, `Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies', but after they joined. Warner Bros. in 1967, their material became straight-forwardly romantic. 'Windy' and 'Never My Love' got to No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, while 'Everything That Touches You' and 'Time For Livin" were smaller hits. By 1972, when they recorded for Columbia, their popularity had waned.