Sunday, May 28, 2017

May 28th

The Association appear on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" on CBS.  (Contrary to numerous reports we found published out there, this was NOT their television debut.  Think about it ... prior to their current hit "Windy" taking the country by storm, The Association had already scored four other hit records, including their Top Ten debut hit "Along Comes Mary" and the #1 Smash "Cherish".)  

As such, despite this being a widely circulated milestone, this just didn't sound right to me (plus I was sure that I had seen them prior to these evening's program, too.) Founding member Jules Alexander later explained that this entry was not correct, as the band had, in fact, made other television appearances prior to tonight's appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, including an earlier appearance on American Bandstand.  (More below)



Meanwhile The Temptations are on The Ed Sullivan Show, where they perform a medley of "I'm Losing You", "All I Need" and "My Girl".  

The movie "The War Wagon", starring John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, starts a three week run at the top of the box office.  

Country Music Singer Barbara Mandrell married her drummer Ken Dudney.

*****


The Association appeared on prime-time network television on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on CBS on May 28, 1967. Tom and Dick Smothers took considerable interest in the Association, chatting with each member of the band as an introduction to the musical segment. 

Tom Smothers mentioned that rhythm guitarist Jim Yester performs an impression of British comic Stan Laurel, and Jim obliged, scratching the top of his head as he grinned and said "I certainly will," a recurring Laurel line. Jim also demonstrated his goose honking imitation.  

Larry Ramos, who was born on Kauai, Hawaii, placed a lei around Tom's neck.  

Dick introduced Terry Kirkman as "the tallest singer in the group," and discussed his composition "Cherish." Dressed neatly in well-tailored suits, the six-man band performed "Along Comes Mary."    

The day before (May 27, 1967), their latest release made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

"Windy," the band's fifth hit (and its first single on the Warner Bros. label) hit a bases-loaded home run. It was written by Folksinger Ruthann Friedman and, on the strength of the Association's sparkling harmonies and Bones Howe's bright production, the recording powered its way to No. 1 five weeks later, dislodging Aretha Franklin's "Respect." 

But "Windy" almost didn't make the cut in the Association's repertoire, because the group initially voted against recording it. 

"There were seven of us voting on the 20 or 30 demo songs we were listening to. When we first listened to 'Windy' and voted on it, four guys voted against it and three voted for it. But [our manager] Pat Colecchio knew it was a hit and he was counting the votes, so he took somebody's 'no' vote and made it a 'yes,'" Association drummer and guitarist Ted Bluechel told authors Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March for their book "Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? Volume 1":
http://www.editpros.com/WHATPSG_Vol_1.html 

For four consecutive weeks fans kept the Association in the No. 1 spot, until the Doors' "Light My Fire" burned its way to the top of the chart. "Windy" remained on the chart for 14 weeks, and earned RIAA gold-record certification. 
Association guitarist Jules Alexander adds that the band gained its first nationwide TV exposure in 1966 on the American Bandstand program, which was broadcast on Saturday afternoons. "Pat Colecchio, our manager, and Dick Clark were pals, and he convinced Clark to give us a shot -- plus we had good chart figures at the time," Jules wrote in a note to authors Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March in May, 2013.