Terry Robert Kirkman (born December 12, 1939) is an American musician, who was the lead vocalist for the

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 s ...

group

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 ...

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 The Vocal Group Hall of Fame (VGHF) is an American-based hall of fame that honors vocal groups throughout the world in every genre of music. Headquartered in the Columbia Theatre in Sharon, Pennsylvania, it includes a theater and a museum. It was ...

in 2003.

Biography

Kirkman was born in

Salina, Kansas Salina is a city in, and the county seat of, Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,889. In the early 1800s, the Kanza tribal land reached eastward from the middle of the Kansas Territory. In 1 ...

, and grew up in

Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino is adjacent to Chi ...

, and attended Chaffey College as a music major. He was a salesman visiting

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

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 Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

with Alexander the following year and played with Frank Zappa before Zappa formed

The Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band ...

. 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 The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, featured requiem-style vocals. Kirkman performed with the group 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 ...

in 1967. He co-sang lead on many songs including "

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 ...

", " Cherish" and " Everything That Touches You". Kirkman left

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 ...

in 1985 and worked in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

as an addictions counsellor from 2001. He was present with the then surviving members when the Association were inducted into the

in 2003 and lives in

Montclair, California Montclair is a city in the Pomona Valley, in southwestern San Bernardino County, California. The population was 36,664 in the 2010 United States Census. History The earliest known inhabitants of the area were from the Serrano tribe of Nativ ...

. 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 We Five was a 1960s folk rock musical group based in San Francisco, California. Their best-known hit was their 1965 remake of Ian & Sylvia's " You Were on My Mind", which reached No. 1 on the Cashbox chart, #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and ...

, known for their 1965 hit " You Were on My Mind".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkman, Terry 1939 births Living people People from Salina, Kansas American male singer-songwriters American pop musicians Singer-songwriters from Kansas The Association members