Who is Terry Kirkman? The Association band history explored as the singer & founding member dies aged 83

The Association, a British band from the 1960s, just lost another member, with Terry Kirkman, the band's vocalist, and co-founder, passing away on September 23, 2023, at his home in Montclair, California. The singer-songwriter was 83 years old at the time of his death.

The band announced the loss of their member via a post on their official Facebook page, stating that he would be missed and that they were sending their love and condolences to the singer's family.

Terry Kirkman died from congestive heart failure after battling for decades with the disease, according to the report published by Best Classic Bands. The singer is survived by his wife Heidi, his daughter Sasha, his son-in-law, and two grandchildren.

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Terry Kirkman and The Association history

Terry Kirkman organized the formation of The Association alongside Russ Giguere, Jules Alexander, Bob Page, Brian Cole, and Ted Bluechel Jr. Bob Page was soon replaced by Jim Yester. The band's name was chosen by Kirkman's sister by accident, as Yester stated in an exclusive interview with Classic Bands in 2019:

"Well, she didn't name the band," he said. "The group was going to call itself The Aristocrats after a terrible old Folk group joke. She was looking up the word aristocrat in the dictionary and came across the word "association", a group of individuals united towards a common goal. Everybody freaked out. "That's it!" It was not like she named the group."

The Association had their first chart breakthrough with their second studio album, Renaissance, which was released in November 1966. The album peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and was their last album with their label Valiant Records.

This was quickly followed by the release of their third studio album, Insight Out, a year later on June 8, 1967. The album, an experiment for the band to achieve a more radio-friendly sound, featured multiple genre influences, including but not limited to, baroque pop, folk rock, sunshine pop, and psychedelia.

The experiment, achieved with the help of session musicians in LA as well as new guitarist Larry Ramos was successful, with the album peaking at number 8 on the Billboard Top LPs album chart.

The Association's last major album success was with their fourth studio album, Birthday, which was released on March 7, 1968. The album peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Top LPs album chart.

Speaking about the band's lyrics and successes, Jim Yester elaborated on The Association's unique sound in a 2014 interview with Pop Culture Classics, stating:

"Every song was different," he said. "Jules was basically our music director at that time. He had more experience in a band kind of setting. He had had a band before, Terry and The Twisters or something like that [laughs], in Pomona, and he was the one mostly responsible for our early vocal arrangements. And when we were working on “Mary,” he says, “Uh, Jim, you’ve got a high voice, why don’t you sing this?”"

The singer-guitarist continued:

"I said, “Okay. Great.” Afterwards, producers pretty much picked who they wanted to do it or we’d try three or four different guys on a song and whoever’s voice fit it best, that’s what we would go with. It was not a competition thing. Within the group, it was a lot of camaraderie."

After their fourth studio album, the band started to incline towards its eventual decline, with their fifth studio album a write-off in the charts. Terry Kirkman left the band in 1972, and briefly returned in 1979, before ultimately departing once more in 1984.