Brian Leslie Cole (September 8, 1942 – August 2, 1972) was an American musician. He was the bass guitarist, bass vocalist and one of the founding members of the 1960s

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

band

the Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the ''Billboard'' charts (including " Windy", " Cherish", " Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary") and ...

Early life

Brian Leslie Cole was born in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

to Perry Anthony Cole and Violet Elanor Cole. By the early 1960s, he and his family were living in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

and was a father of two. Cole attended

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

, before dropping out a year later. Prior to working as a musician, he had moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and was working as a lumberjack, before he began work as an actor and comedian.

The Association

In 1966, Cole co-founded the folk rock band

The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the ''Billboard'' charts (including " Windy", " Cherish", " Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary") and ...

, a band that had previously been a thirteen-piece ensemble called The Men. The Association signed to Valiant Records in 1966, and released their debut album '' And Then... Along Comes the Association'', shortly after. The Association are best known for their songs “ Cherish”, “

Along Comes Mary "Along Comes Mary" is a song composed by Tandyn Almer, originally recorded by American sunshine pop band the Association. It was the group's first hit, released on their debut album, '' And Then... Along Comes the Association'' (1966). Backgr ...

”, “ Windy” and “

Never My Love "Never My Love" is a pop standard written by American siblings Don and Dick Addrisi, and best known from a hit 1967 recording by the Association. The Addrisi Brothers had two Top 40 hits as recording artists, but their biggest success as songwri ...

”. The Association were an opening act at the

Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16 to 18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix ...

. The group were known for their harmonies. Brian sang bass vocals in their songs. Unlike the other members, Cole rarely sang lead, most notably singing lead on the song "Reputation", featured on the Association's 1967 album ''

Insight Out ''Insight Out'' is the third album by the American pop band the Association and was released on June 8, 1967 on Warner Bros. Records. It was the band's first album release for the Warner Brothers label and it became one of the top selling LPs of ...

''. As a member of the Association, he has been nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

six times, three times each in the

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

and

10th Annual Grammy Awards The 10th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 29, 1968, at Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville and New York. They recognized accomplishments of musicians for the year 1967. Award winners *Record of the Year **Johnny Rivers & Marc Gordon (produc ...

, both of which were held in 1967 and 1968, respectively. In August 1969, a collection of Poems, penned by the seven members of the Association, were released as the book "Crank Your Spreaders".

Personal life and death

He has three sons, Jordan, Chandler, and Brant. Jordan Cole is now a member of the Association, and has provided keyboards, guitar, vocals, recorder, and drums since 1999. Brant Cole is a drummer for the Los Angeles-based band Briana and the Fates. Cole became a heavy drug user in his final years and died in

of a heroin overdose in 1972 at the age of 29, a few weeks before his 30th birthday. Cole’s last release with the Association was their album, ''

Waterbeds in Trinidad! ''Waterbeds in Trinidad!'' is the seventh studio album (and ninth album overall by including a greatest hits and a live album) by The Association. This album was the group's only release for Columbia Records as well as their last recorded project ...

'' which was released four months prior. Cole, once known for performing with a Gibson semi-hollow bass guitar onstage, had put the signature bass in his attic sometime in 1969 and was passed on to his oldest son upon his death. In 1997, his son Jordan had it restored and has used it in recordings.

Discography

Albums

Nominations

As a member of the Association, he has been nominated for a

six times, three times each in the 9th and 10th Annual Grammy Awards:

9th Annual Grammy Awards The 9th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 2, 1967, at Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville and New York. They recognized accomplishments of musicians for the year 1966. The 9th Grammy Awards is notable for not presenting the Grammy Award for Be ...
(1967)

10th Annual Grammy Awards The 10th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 29, 1968, at Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville and New York. They recognized accomplishments of musicians for the year 1967. Award winners *Record of the Year **Johnny Rivers & Marc Gordon (produc ...
(1968)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Brian 1942 births 1972 deaths American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American rock singers American male pop singers Deaths by heroin overdose in California Musicians from Tacoma, Washington 20th-century American bass guitarists Drug-related deaths in California 20th-century American singers The Association members 20th-century American male singers Leodis V. McDaniel High School alumni