Everyday Creation
Everyday Creation is about living our purpose, lifting our vibes, and expressing our creativity for the highest good. The show's title refers to three types of creation: The ways we express ourselves (for example, with art, music and so many other pursuits fueled by purpose and passion); the parts of life that fill us with awe — birth, death, love, the big picture; and our innate personal power to create our best possible lives while also making the world a better place. You’ll hear conversations with terrific guests on matters we care about, as well as spiritual perspectives, personal essays on being our best selves, and episodes simply for information and fun. I'm your host Kate Jones, welcoming you to Everyday Creation.
Everyday Creation
Tribute to Terry Kirkman, featuring Sheldon Zoldan
The Association had plenty of hits in the late 1960s, but "Cherish" is the one apparently most cherished by fans. Terry Kirkman, a founding member of the band, wrote the song, which was the group's first number one hit.
This tribute to Kirkman is one of 44 episodes dedicated to significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023. To listen to "Cherish," you can go to this 1967 live performance.
The group photo in the chapters, taken by Patrick Colecchio in 1968, shows Kirkman at the bottom right. The image is available on Wikimedia Commons.
Also in the chapters, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes.
If you want to learn more about Kirkman and the band, you can go to the complete list of the Association's albums and discography on ClassicRockHistory.com. You can find books on Amazon if you search "the Association band" or Kirkman's name. If you do the latter, you'll find "Cherish" sheet music as well.
Sheldon Zoldan, the writer and editor who wrote and recorded these tributes, also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify and Audible.
Kate:
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Hello, and welcome to Everyday Creation. This is
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your host, Kate Jones, with one of 44
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tributes
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to significant figures in the music industry
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who passed away in 2023.
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My guest Sheldon Zoldan,
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a longtime writer and newspaper editor,
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wrote these short biographies
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and recorded them.
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Each one is an intriguing
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glimpse into the life and impact of someone
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who contributed
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to the soundtracks of our lives. Here's what
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Sheldon has to say in this tribute.
Sheldon:
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The Association,
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the group Terry Kirkman co-founded
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in 1965,
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filled the airways with hit after hit in
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the late 1960s.
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But Kirkman will always be remembered
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for our Song of the Day, "Cherish."
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He laughed about it during a 2015
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interview with blogger Bo White.
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"My whole name for 45 years was,
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'I would like you to meet Terry. He
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wrote 'Cherish.'
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That was my whole name.
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I was telling somebody, wait a minute. After
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all this time,
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I'm just going to shorten my name to
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'Cherish.'"
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Kirkman died September 23rd from congestive heart failure.
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He was 83.
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Kirkman and Jules Alexander
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formed the Association.
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The group had trouble finding a record label
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because executives didn't know what to make of
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their sound.
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They eventually found a backer, and their first
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album,
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"Along Comes Mary,"
[editor's note: the Association’s first album, “And Then… Along Comes The Association," included the songs "Along Comes Mary" and "Cherish"]
became a hit.
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The Association
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never could corral the approval of rock critics.
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Their appearance at the 1967
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Monterey Pop Festival didn't help.
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They were the opening act and opened with
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a high school level comedy skit,
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according to Kirkman's New York Times obit.
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"I think that was one of the worst
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mistakes
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that we ever, ever, ever, ever did," he
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said in White's blog interview.
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Kirkman thinks they would have been taken seriously
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if they had played their new anti-Vietnam
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war song "Requiem for the Masses."
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"Requiem"
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barely cracked Billboard's Hot 100,
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but our Song of the Day, "Cherish," was
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the Association's
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first number one hit.
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Kirkman,
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in a 2015
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interview with the website The College Crowd Digs
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Me, said he wrote "Cherish" in about 30
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minutes.
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He started it while watching the 11 o'clock
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news
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and finished it during Johnny Carson's monologue.
Kate:
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This is Kate again. Please go to the
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description for more information and to hear the
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song that Sheldon referenced.
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If you enjoyed this tribute, please check out
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the rest of them. Although some of the
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names are not as familiar as others, the
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biographies
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are equally intriguing.
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Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation.
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Please share this episode with anyone who might
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enjoy it.
