CHERISHED!

ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION TALK ABOUT THE PAST AND THEIR FIRST ALBUM SINCE 1972.

- DANIEL COSTON

The vocals. The harmonies. The songs. All of these things enter the equation when discussing The Association. Formed in Los Angeles in 1965, the band elevated group dynamics with all six, and sometimes seven members, all taking turns leading the band, while retaining their rich harmony vocals. With five Top 10 singles, seven Grammy nominations and millions of records sold, the band remains one of the most diverse and cherished sunshine pop bands of the 1960s.

After many years under the leadership of Russ Giguere and Larry Ramos (who passed away in 2014), the band is now led onstage by two other original members, Jules Alexander and Jim Yester, with Giguere now managing the group. Alexander and Yester have not only returned the band to its group dynamics, but also now plan their first new album since 1972, a welcome return at a time when the world could use more sunshine. Alexander, Yester and Giguere called in to talk to Goldmine.

GOLDMINE: Let’s start with the big news. You’re planning on a new Association album.

JULES ALEXANDER: We got the word to go ahead a month and a half ago, so we started grabbing material, and conceiving what we want to do on it. The concept is to do all new material, or at least all new to us.

JIM YESTER: It’s our first one in a long while, and we’re really looking forward to it. We got some great stuff that we’ve been saving up, and now is the time to let them loose. The whole industry has changed. Everything has pretty much gone to streaming. They still sell stuff in the stores, but really, the huge part of it is streaming. But it opens the door for us, because we can do our own thing. So we’re going for it.