The Association was born out of the friendship between two young musicians, Jules Alexander and Terry Kirkman. With Alexander on guitar/vocal and Kirkman on keyboards, they assembled a 13-piece folk rock band, The Men. That group soon disbanded however and the remaining members—Alexander and Kirkman, along with Russ Giguere, Ted Bleuchel, Brian Cole and Jim Yester—were newly christened The Association by Kirkman’s fiancé, who, in the great tradition of letting your fingers do the walking, flipped through the dictionary for a random name. A period of rigorous rehearsals followed and in 1966, the new band went public.

Their first hit, “Along Comes Mary” was released that year and exemplified what would become the Association’s unique sound. The song combined elements of rock, pop and folk and exhibited impressive harmonies. It also generated a bit of controversy when people thought the name Mary pertained to marijuana. Regardless, the song was a hit and stayed in the Top 10 for quite a while. The Association followed this hit with another, even bigger success titled “Cherish”. A sentimental ballad with haunting bell sounds peppered throughout, “Cherish” was a surprise hit that quickly became a radio favorite. It wasn’t released as a single at first but when it was, it sold a million copies inside a month; “Cherish” remains the band’s best-remembered song.

The Association continued to produce pop hit through the end of 1968. They ranged from upbeat pieces, like “Windy” to more sedate ballads, like “Never My Love” and “Everything That Touches You”. The band also experimented with psychedelic sounds, typified by the trippy “Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies”. Of course it wouldn’t be the 60s without an anti-war anthem in their repertoire, which came in the guise of “Requiem for the Masses”.

Jules Alexander had taken a sabbatical in 1967 but he returned from his spiritual journey in 1969 and rejoined the band. Larry Ramos, his temporary replacement, stayed on after Alexander’s return. The band’s first project after the reunion was the soundtrack to the film Goodbye, Columbus but the title track from the album only reached #80 in the charts. The next album, The Association, didn’t do very well either but the band was still a favorite with live audiences. During the 70s, band membership was in a state of flux and with different musicians coming and going output dwindled. In 1980, the original band came together for a reunion concert on HBO and the single “Dreamer” released the following year, made the Top 100. Their greatest hits album had sold over two million copies by 1989, showing that the fans hadn’t forgotten them; The Association is still playing and touring today.