Terry Robert Kirkman (born December 12, 1939) is an American musician, who was the lead vocalist for the folk rock group the Association and writer of their hit songs "Cherish", "Everything That Touches You", and "Six Man Band" among many others. He was inducted as a member of the Association into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.
Terry Kirkman | |
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Kirkman (bottom right) in 1967 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Terry Robert Kirkman |
Born | (1939-12-12) December 12, 1939 (age 82) Salina, Kansas, United States |
Origin | Los Angeles, California |
Genres | Folk rock, sunshine pop |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, woodwind |
Years active | 1960s–1985; 2003 |
Formerly of | The Association |
Kirkman was born in Salina, Kansas, and grew up in Chino, California, and attended Chaffey College as a music major. He was a salesman visiting Hawaii in 1962 when he met Jules Alexander, who was in the Navy at the time. The two promised to meet up when Alexander was discharged. Kirkman moved to Los Angeles with Alexander the following year and played with Frank Zappa before Zappa formed The Mothers of Invention. Kirkman and Alexander were members of a thirteen-piece band, The Men. The group disbanded in February 1965 and Kirkman and five other members formed their own band. They tried to think of names by going through a dictionary and chose "Association" after it was suggested by Kirkman's then fiancée. His "Requiem for the Masses", a song written about the war in Vietnam, featured requiem-style vocals.[1] Kirkman performed with the group at the Monterey pop festival in 1967.[2] He co-sang lead on many songs including "Never My Love", "Cherish" and "Everything That Touches You".
Kirkman left The Association in 1985 and worked in California as an addictions counsellor from 2001.[3][4] He was present with the then surviving members when the Association were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003[5] and lives in Montclair, California. In 1964, while he was dating a girl named Barbara Bivens, she introduced him to her sister Beverly, who would go on to front the folk rock band We Five, known for their 1965 hit "You Were on My Mind".
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