Terry Kirkman was a singer and songwriter with the Association, known for such 1960s hits as “Cherish” and “Never My Love.”
- Died: September 23, 2023 (Who else died on September 23?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in Montclair, California, of congestive heart failure following a long illness at the age of 83.
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Terry Kirkman’s legacy
Before co-founding the Association, Kirkman briefly collaborated with Frank Zappa (1940–1993), then joined with future Association bandmate Jules Alexander to form the Inner Tubes alongside Cass Elliott (1941–1974) and David Crosby (1941–2023). By 1965, they had regrouped and formed the Association, recording their debut album in 1966. It included two Kirkman compositions: “Enter the Young” and “Cherish,” the latter of which rose to chart-topping fame in the fall of 1966. The Association followed its success with two more No. 1 singles, “Windy” and “Never My Love.” Kirkman sang co-lead vocals on “Never My Love.” He also contributed further songwriting to the Association, penning such tracks as “Everything That Touches You,” “Requiem for the Masses,” and “Six Man Band.”
On the strength of their string of hit singles, the Association became stars, and they were the first act to play at the famed Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. But the band began to splinter after the 1972 death of bassist Brian Cole, and Kirkman left later that year. When the Association regrouped in 1979, Kirkman rejoined, recording and touring with the band until leaving again in 1984. He and the other members of the group were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. In later years, Kirkman worked as an addiction counselor.
Kirkman on songwriting
“Sort of like Emily Dickinson with her poems written on butcher paper. I had barf bags from airplanes, I had ticket holders, I had inside paperback books. I would just grab a piece of paper and start writing an idea, and I would tear off the piece of paper and I would put them in a bag… I’d take this bag and I’d empty it on this great big library-size table that I had had made, and I dumped it out on the table, and I would sort through the little ideas, sometimes a holder, sometimes just an idea for a title, sometimes just a word, just a bunch of something. I would divide them into different thematic piles, so this is again love, this is out of love, this is psychedelic, this is protest, hate the war, civil rights, this is something else over here… I was using the same words, the same imagery. The ideas were trying to come out, and they would repeat themselves over and over and over again.” —from a 2015 interview with Bo White
Tributes to Terry Kirkman
Full obituary: Los Angeles Times
