Terry Kirkman Dies: The Association’s ‘Along Comes Mary’ & ‘Cherish’ Singer Was 83

Terry Kirkman, a founding member and a singer of the ’60s rock-pop band The Association, died Saturday. He was 83.

Kirkman’s death was announced on The Association’s Facebook page.

“We’re saddened to report that Terry Kirkman passed away last night, RIP Terry,” the band wrote. “He will live on in our hearts and in the music he so brilliantly wrote.”

Born Dec. 12, 1939, in Salina, Kansas, Kirkman became a founding member of The Association in 1965 in Los Angeles, along with Jules Gary Alexander, Russ Giguere, Ted Bluechel Jr., Brian Cole and Bob Page.

Recognized for their lush and complex harmonies, the band achieved success quickly with its 1966 album And Then… Along Comes the Association. That album hit No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and featured two songs that would become signature tunes for the group, both sung by Kirkman: the gold single “Cherish,” which Kirkman wrote and spent three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, and “Along Comes Mary,” written by Tandyn Almer. It went to No 7 on the pop chart.

“Cherish” has been covers by such varied artists as Dizzy Gillespie, The Lettermen, Nina Simone, The Four Tops, Jodeci, Barry Manilow, Pat Metheny, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition and the Glee cast.

Kirkman sang co-lead vocals (along with Larry Ramos and Russ Giguere) on two memorable 1967 Association hits, “Windy” — which topped the Hot 100 for four weeks — and the No. 2 hit “Never My Love.” Both singles were million-sellers, and the latter was featured on the group’s Top 10 LP Insight Out.

The band performed at the legendary Monterey Pop Festival that year.

The group also hit the pop Top 10 with “Everything that Touches You” in 1968, which was on the band’s double-platinum Greatest Hits LP. It became their highest-charting album, reaching No. 4.

Contemporaries of groups including The Mamas and the Papas and Spanky and Our Gang, The Association was nominated for six Grammy Awards in total, including three for “Cherish.” Kirkman left the group in 1972, though rejoined for a 1979-84 stint.

He is survived by wife Heidi, daughter Sasha, a son-in-law and two grandchildren.