As we enter 2024 I look back at the incredible year of 1967. I'm so glad that i grew up in this incredible era. The Association is part of my musical DNA!
1967? Wow, I would’ve been 17. No matter. I loved the original lineup from start to finish. Cried when Brian died. When he went wild on his bass it was like he was making love to it! Still my favorite bass player. Well, him and Chris Squire. Saw them live a couple of times and got breathless watching them sing and play. And the quirky, funny talking they - especially Brian - would do! Wish I knew what kinds of bass he played. I’m 73 now, and I’m still Associated! - thanks for posting - “ … it set my ears to ringing, … “
I'm over here in the UK aged 61 . I recently discovered these guys and I'm also impressed by the bass playing . Chris Squire will always be a favourite of mine , who's vocal harmonies would've been at home in The Association .
@@halcyon289 Oh, brother, all of them had a great set of pipes - their harmonies were jaw dropping. Even when Jules was in the band! I really loved Brian and Chris on bass!
@@nomoreturningaway1459 Have you heard of a band called Jellyfish ? a band from the 90's with superb songs and harmonies . If not , you may wish to check them out .
@@scootch4224 No, he's alive. There's a photo of him from 2021 in the Association Facebook group. The only two original members who have died are Brian Cole in 1972 and Larry Ramos in 2014.
@@marks.3303 Shit no, you're right. That makes me feel better knowing he is still healthy. Someone for some reason was impersonating him and people thought the real ted bleuchel died. My apologies.
For those of you who didn't grow up in or visit Chicago at that time, the Pickle Barrel at 9:10 was a restaurant in Old Town (our tiny Greenwich Village), that had a barrel of pickles at every table. If you had one of their amazing corned beef sandwiches on Saturday afternoon, you would still be belching and tasting corned beef aura on Monday. Wonderful! ❤
I find it just exhilarating to hear and see these guys pull off these songs, the harmonies, etc., in a live, on-stage performance! Talent and hard work!
It also doesn't hurt that the audience isn't shrieking at the top of their lungs like they did for groups like the Beatles. These guys could actually hear themselves on the quieter numbers like Cherish, even without stage monitors.
I have recently rediscovered the Association . I do have memories of them especially windy and that comes across to me as one of the best songs ever written. Love and respect to you all! 😀
This is fantastic. I wasn't around at the time but I so envy those that saw the original line up live. Brian Cole was such an underated singer/perfomer. There was never a better band.
They had the same talent and VIBE as the Beatles. SEVEN lead singers. NO prima donnas. Ever present humor. Songwriters. Good instrumentalists. THIS live footage should be required viewing for anyone starting a band. Well, highly suggested viewing, anyway.
I've always liked the song and Brian's gritty, soulful voice on it....and it's very coincidental too, hearing this version here for the first time just now, as I've been listening to the original quite a lot lately!
@@EPA18 I beg to differ listen to their version of Mary on the Monterey pop compilation. It’s pretty darn rocking very unlike most of the other stuff regardless they were talented musicians.
The Association and The Buckinghams were two of my favorites in my preteen years and I still enjoy hearing both of them still today some 50+ years later.
Absolutley Incredible,it just goes to show how a band could play live back then and keep in sync with none of the modern day techniques,and no backing players,with basic speakers,it was very very difficult then,love this,and you can't beat the songs then,nothing like this today!,thank's for posting!
Just got into this band’s archives and this clip is the most intriguing as it’s about their onstage rapport and that with their audience; the vast majority of others are great performances for the camera/studio audience.
They did Cherish so well. Amazing guys. The guy with they high voice on Cherish, amazing. Loved the shots of the audience. (Thank you, whoever was the nameless thoughtful videographer. So much has been lost by not showing audience members.)
They were definitely unfairly typecast. Their song on the Monterey album is a rocking version of along comes Mary , Definitely a talented group but that opening song I’m sorry it’s pretty out of tune and they try to jam too much into it and it was basically a shit show.
They were my very first group to see in concert. They were perfect in vocals and band performance...just like the recording. Memorable. I must have been about 15 years old at the time...
I saw The Association twice, in '67 and '69. They were the best, most-professional on-stage band I ever saw. Their show was tight, scripted, and their jokes were funny and clean. They never did anything off-color onstage. HST, their harmonies and playing were amazing. They had 7 guys, and they all could sing. I read an article years ago that said that from 1968-1970, The Association outsold The Beatles in the US. I don't know if that's true, but they were very popular from 1966-1972. When bassist Brian Cole died in 1972, some of the steam went out of the band. Such a shame.
Well! That is the first time I see Russ holding a guitar. Very interesting first song, I did not know they could handle rougher R&B material too. My respect for these guys is getting bigger once more. Great music. I have searched for the Gibson EB2 bass that Brian uses here, and I can fully recommend even the cheaper version from Harley Benton: the sound is way warmer and fuller than any solid body bass.Thinking very hard of getting me one.
The Association may have thought the Wrecking Crew was necessary for the last measure of polish, but this performance leaves no doubt of their talent live.
The Association was the first "big name" band I ever saw in concert. They were a very tight and professional group and, despite the ballads they're so well known for, they could also really ROCK!!
The greatest-hits album had to be a massive royalty-generator for the group, but the downside was all the people who missed out on the deep catalogue that went out of print as a result. The first album in particular really holds up well.
AWESOME performance! My favorite part (outside of the obvious talented musicians) is the woman bootlegging the concert with a small reel-to-reel tape recorder. Should she have been arrested following the show?
I haven't seen any more live footage of him singing, sadly. Honestly, the songs in which he sang lead have always been my favorites. I do really enjoy Ted's contributions as well.
Songs sung by Brian: "I Am Up for Europe," co-lead vocal on "The Nest," co-lead vocal on "Dubuque Blues" from The Association LP (a/k/a the Stonehenge album). He sings lead on "Dubuque Blues" on their 1970 live album. "That's Racing," a spoken word part on "P.F. Sloan," and "Traveler's Guide (Spanish Flyer)" from the Stop Your Motor LP. He wrote "Traveler's Guide (Spanish Flyer). Lastly, he sang lead "Little Road and a Stone to Roll" from Waterbeds in Trinidad.
because they're not cool enough in their eyes. the hall of fame is a racket and as such only incidentally interested in the music itself. see what steve miller has to say about the hall.
These guys replaced The Four Seasons as my number 1 group, till Cherish came out. I love The Four Seasons still too. I saw them in person in 1964. I grew up in an Italian neighborhood near the Poconos. Went to finally see the Jersey Boys June of this year. At least they're in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Association, The Four Seasons get very respect in the music world for all the music they gave us. Along with The Association, at the top of the list is Connie Francis after that is Jay and Americans, The Grassroots, Frankie Valli as a soloist and countless artists form the 60s should be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Different generation from who? They were the same generation as all the other bands. The Association were just one of the last bands to wear suits onstage and even by 1969 they were dressed down.
Great video clip of the Association when they were just taking off. The clip was obviously live and showcase the band showcase the band who was coming together for a brief yet signicant period in the late Sixties. I also found rather enduring rendering that their instruments and voices were a bit out of tune.
Never given their long term due. Think of all the boy bands that came thirty years later. Did they have the range these guys showed, while playing their own instruments? Certainly not.
For those who didn't live through this era, you should know that if you liked The Association you were a nerd. This was the music for your parents, it was not considered "cool".
In the studio , the harmonies were tight . Live ... not so much . Still , they had several big hits , and were the semi - square face of the 1967 youthquake .
I’ve never heard Brian Cole sing lead before. Wowsa!! He’s unbelievable! Reminds me a bit of Jim Morrison. So sad we lost him at such a young age.
Larry Ramos inspired several generations of young groups back home in Hawaii. He was the first Asian American to win a Grammy Award.
You mean he was the first "Asian"
@@philsavage9127 Oddly enough, he was an American citizen by birth. If you are looking for his genetic lineage, he was Chinese and Spanish.
As we enter 2024 I look back at the incredible year of 1967. I'm so glad that i grew up in this incredible era. The Association is part of my musical DNA!
Mine as well.
Me too🥰
@@armindacalzado8680 Me 3.
Yes... ❤
1967? Wow, I would’ve been 17. No matter. I loved the original lineup from start to finish. Cried when Brian died. When he went wild on his bass it was like he was making love to it! Still my favorite bass player. Well, him and Chris Squire. Saw them live a couple of times and got breathless watching them sing and play. And the quirky, funny talking they - especially Brian - would do! Wish I knew what kinds of bass he played. I’m 73 now, and I’m still Associated! - thanks for posting - “ … it set my ears to ringing, … “
I'm over here in the UK aged 61 . I recently discovered these guys and I'm also impressed by the bass playing . Chris Squire will always be a favourite of mine , who's vocal harmonies would've been at home in The Association .
@@halcyon289 Oh, brother, all of them had a great set of pipes - their harmonies were jaw dropping. Even when Jules was in the band! I really loved Brian and Chris on bass!
So strange to me that people don’t know Brian could belt it out and also lay down those deep harmonies, but I’m from a different time.
@@nomoreturningaway1459 Have you heard of a band called Jellyfish ? a band from the 90's with superb songs and harmonies . If not , you may wish to check them out .
'67 was great time to be alive
Unless you were sent to Nam
"CHERISH" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written!
I'm crying. My favorite band of all time rocking out in a rare clip. Unbelievable. So sad we lost Brian and Larry. Today's music can't compare.
And Ted );
@@scootch4224 Ted Bluechel Jr. is still very much alive.
@@marks.3303 sadly not. He passed away May 16, 2009.
@@scootch4224 No, he's alive. There's a photo of him from 2021 in the Association Facebook group. The only two original members who have died are Brian Cole in 1972 and Larry Ramos in 2014.
@@marks.3303 Shit no, you're right. That makes me feel better knowing he is still healthy. Someone for some reason was impersonating him and people thought the real ted bleuchel died. My apologies.
CHERISH! IT JUST DON’T GET BETTER THAN THAT! What a gift to humanity.
My dad saw them in Lubbock in '68 and said they sounded just like the records. I now know he wasn't kidding!
I was there. Largest attendance until J. Joplin show.
This kind of collective talent doesn’t exist today in the 21st century.
I remember “Windy” on the radio in 1967, and singing it on the way to kindergarten.
Wow, what a treasure performance. Loved the Association. Very underrated and believe that they should have been in the Rock Hall of fame
For those of you who didn't grow up in or visit Chicago at that time, the Pickle Barrel at 9:10 was a restaurant in Old Town (our tiny Greenwich Village), that had a barrel of pickles at every table. If you had one of their amazing corned beef sandwiches on Saturday afternoon, you would still be belching and tasting corned beef aura on Monday. Wonderful! ❤
Never went to the one in Old Town, but hit the one in Northbrook many times.
So great to see Brian Cole in these videos!
He really was just great.
I agree!
Brian Cole, great singer and underrated bass player.
There’s elements of Elvis Presley in his voice.
He was awesome. Heroin is bullshit.
I'm not sure when left the band but he's so much of the hits.
He's awesome and the difference in "Wendy"!
@@j.edward4379 I believe he died of a drug overdose in 1972.
Never heard Brian sing! Great voice for this type of song.
Awesome just Awesome. Thanks Jim Yester for making Alabama so proud of you and the Association.
Dang the vocal arrangements are incredible! Love the Association!
I find it just exhilarating to hear and see these guys pull off these songs, the harmonies, etc., in a live, on-stage performance! Talent and hard work!
It also doesn't hurt that the audience isn't shrieking at the top of their lungs like they did for groups like the Beatles. These guys could actually hear themselves on the quieter numbers like Cherish, even without stage monitors.
Terry Kirkman is a genius
I have recently rediscovered the Association . I do have memories of them especially windy and that comes across to me as one of the best songs ever written. Love and respect to you all! 😀
This band produced 3 of the greatest love songs ever
This is fantastic. I wasn't around at the time but I so envy those that saw the original line up live. Brian Cole was such an underated singer/perfomer. There was never a better band.
Brian Cole…born in my hometown….Tacoma WA
Yes it was a time and what a time it was✌️
They had the same talent and VIBE as the Beatles. SEVEN lead singers. NO prima donnas. Ever present humor. Songwriters. Good instrumentalists. THIS live footage should be required viewing for anyone starting a band. Well, highly suggested viewing, anyway.
The complexity of their vocal arrangements had them in a class with just a very few.
junkie@@bradnelson2637
Pure magic, I was 8, and this takes me back to that special time.
Amazing, would love to see more live Association. Reputation is *fierce*
I've always liked the song and Brian's gritty, soulful voice on it....and it's very coincidental too, hearing this version here for the first time just now, as I've been listening to the original quite a lot lately!
0:17 Reputation
3:58 Cherish
7:13 Windy
My favorite love songs are the songs about unrequited love. Cherish is one of the best of all time.
They were so much more than “ Cherish” and “ Windy”….they rocked as the opening act at Monterrey
I'm sorry, but The Association NEVER "rocked". They were the ultimate group for nerds.
@@EPA18 I beg to differ listen to their version of Mary on the Monterey pop compilation. It’s pretty darn rocking very unlike most of the other stuff regardless they were talented musicians.
The Association and The Buckinghams were two of my favorites in my preteen years and I still enjoy hearing both of them still today some 50+ years later.
Absolutley Incredible,it just goes to show how a band could play live back then and keep in sync with none of the modern day techniques,and no backing players,with basic speakers,it was very very difficult then,love this,and you can't beat the songs then,nothing like this today!,thank's for posting!
Absolutely awesome band! Nice and tight.. takes alot of practice The way it's supposed to be!
Turns out these guys had an edge when they wanted. Very cool song!
Great memories, the song Cherish over the top !!
Just got into this band’s archives and this clip is the most intriguing as it’s about their onstage rapport and that with their audience; the vast majority of others are great performances for the camera/studio audience.
Brian rockin' Tim Hardin's Reputation which closed out side two of the Insight Out album. Also Jim, Russ AND Larry on Fender guitars!! Fierce!
Correction - closed out side one of "Insight Out"
They did Cherish so well. Amazing guys. The guy with they high voice on Cherish, amazing. Loved the shots of the audience. (Thank you, whoever was the nameless thoughtful videographer. So much has been lost by not showing audience members.)
I was there and we were all on Windowpane LSD
Everyone was blown away by the incredible raw
talent of the Association. A night to remember
They were definitely unfairly typecast. Their song on the Monterey album is a rocking version of along comes Mary , Definitely a talented group but that opening song I’m sorry it’s pretty out of tune and they try to jam too much into it and it was basically a shit show.
I'm from Highwood. The first concert I saw there was Iron Butterfly. B. B. King a bunch of times.
Awesome! thanks for posting!
First time for the song" Reputation" by the Associations...love this group🤗👍
Those is so great! Love this bluesy harder rock sound.
They were my very first group to see in concert. They were perfect in vocals and band performance...just like the recording. Memorable. I must have been about 15 years old at the time...
I saw The Association twice, in '67 and '69. They were the best, most-professional on-stage band I ever saw. Their show was tight, scripted, and their jokes were funny and clean. They never did anything off-color onstage. HST, their harmonies and playing were amazing. They had 7 guys, and they all could sing. I read an article years ago that said that from 1968-1970, The Association outsold The Beatles in the US. I don't know if that's true, but they were very popular from 1966-1972. When bassist Brian Cole died in 1972, some of the steam went out of the band. Such a shame.
Well written. They are dynamic.
Well! That is the first time I see Russ holding a guitar. Very interesting first song, I did not know they could handle rougher R&B material too. My respect for these guys is getting bigger once more. Great music. I have searched for the Gibson EB2 bass that Brian uses here, and I can fully recommend even the cheaper version from Harley Benton: the sound is way warmer and fuller than any solid body bass.Thinking very hard of getting me one.
The Association may have thought the Wrecking Crew was necessary for the last measure of polish, but this performance leaves no doubt of their talent live.
Well said!
They had no choice. The record labels trusted only the wrecking crew.
Studio time was very expensive back then,and what might take the band several takes to get it right,the crew could knock it out and move on.
I was there great show
3:12 haha! Larry Ramos is a legend! Also love Brian Cole singing the opening song. Thanks for posting!
Larry’s eyebrows were fierce!
Thank you so much for uploading this i was born in 1992 and im so happy i get to see a live video of these guys in their prime. Rip Brian
The Association was the first "big name" band I ever saw in concert. They were a very tight and professional group and, despite the ballads they're so well known for, they could also really ROCK!!
Opening Act at Monterey Pop Festival. One of the great bands of The Beatles Era!!
The greatest-hits album had to be a massive royalty-generator for the group, but the downside was all the people who missed out on the deep catalogue that went out of print as a result. The first album in particular really holds up well.
Love that harmonica!!!
Wonderful to see this performance! Thanks for posting it.
Wow! What a find! Thanks for this.
The Association is fantastic.
My first love and I listened to this song more times than I can possibly count!❤
Nice performances!
AWESOME performance! My favorite part (outside of the obvious talented musicians) is the woman bootlegging the concert with a small reel-to-reel tape recorder. Should she have been arrested following the show?
Larry is always the comedian.
Good to hear Brian sing. Gives me goose bumps. Anyone know any more songs sung by Brian.
I haven't seen any more live footage of him singing, sadly. Honestly, the songs in which he sang lead have always been my favorites. I do really enjoy Ted's contributions as well.
Songs sung by Brian: "I Am Up for Europe," co-lead vocal on "The Nest," co-lead vocal on "Dubuque Blues" from The Association LP (a/k/a the Stonehenge album). He sings lead on "Dubuque Blues" on their 1970 live album. "That's Racing," a spoken word part on "P.F. Sloan," and "Traveler's Guide (Spanish Flyer)" from the Stop Your Motor LP. He wrote "Traveler's Guide (Spanish Flyer). Lastly, he sang lead "Little Road and a Stone to Roll" from Waterbeds in Trinidad.
@@hardestyrl Thanks for your input.
superb
How are The Association not in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame?
because they're not cool enough in their eyes. the hall of fame is a racket and as such only incidentally interested in the music itself. see what steve miller has to say about the hall.
Really good question.
@@pkovenThey are correct. The Association was the ultimate group for nerds. No one cool was into The Association.
These guys replaced The Four Seasons as my number 1 group, till Cherish came out. I love The Four Seasons still too. I saw them in person in 1964. I grew up in an Italian neighborhood near the Poconos. Went to finally see the Jersey Boys June of this year. At least they're in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Association, The Four Seasons get very respect in the music world for all the music they gave us. Along with The Association, at the top of the list is Connie Francis after that is Jay and Americans, The Grassroots, Frankie Valli as a soloist and countless artists form the 60s should be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Larry's vocal contribution to the group made such a difference. "Windy" wouldn't have sounded the same, or nearly as good, without his voice.
Love the Windy chick running around Chicago at the end
Wow 57 years ago and I was 18. Groovy!
i was member early 70's u try playing singing those harmonies it was an honor
Good to hear. Thanks for posting!
😆. Everyone is wearing a coat and tie. Truly, a different generation.
Different generation from who? They were the same generation as all the other bands. The Association were just one of the last bands to wear suits onstage and even by 1969 they were dressed down.
The 1968 Byrds wore matching suit and ties as well.
That bass was thumpin!
listen to the double leads and harmonies!
Brian Cole!!!!!
Fantastic!
Thanks for posting!
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 I got to relive high school again....
Great gig!
Great video clip of the Association when they were just taking off. The clip was obviously live and showcase the band showcase the band who was coming together for a brief yet signicant period in the late Sixties. I also found rather enduring rendering that their instruments and voices were a bit out of tune.
This is before on stage monitors! Pretty good considering.
Absolutely fantastic.
Complicated arrangements done well.
What a more hopeful and cheeier world
Great Love Song
Chicago was beautiful back then.
I recall they played at an assembly at Washington H.S. in South Central LA in the mid 60's.....
Great performers! ✌️👏👏👏🦋
Brian had a great voice,
GROOVY!
"Now Fried Chicken Man is as cheesed as the chunk ...
cheesed as the chunk ..."
So much better live than the studio recordings, as there vioces sound much more natural.
STOP LARRY IS SO CUTE I LOVE HIM 😭
Never given their long term due. Think of all the boy bands that came thirty years later. Did they have the range these guys showed, while playing their own instruments? Certainly not.
5 great singers
Innocent times…I was 7
Jordan brand amplifiers sounding great
YEP! THX!
It's funny looking at the ladies hairstyles and fashions these days I guess back then we called that mod
For those who didn't live through this era, you should know that if you liked The Association you were a nerd. This was the music for your parents, it was not considered "cool".
Their music stands the test of time.
Then I was the biggest nerd.
Once upon a time..
..that bass player rips!
❤❤❤❤
Maximim USA cheese-love it!
Attention!!! Attention!!! Bootlegging in progress!!! 4:17 😆🤣
Yeah, I didn't know that was a thing at that time.
In the studio , the harmonies were tight . Live ... not so much . Still , they had several big hits , and were the semi - square face of the 1967 youthquake .