About the Author

Russ Giguere joined The Men, a folk-rock group born out of Hootenanny Night at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, in 1964. When The Men disbanded, six members formed The Association, in which Russ sang lead on songs like "Cherish" and "Windy" and played rhythm guitar, serving as an integral part in The Association's sound for the next six years. During one of rock music's most influential time periods, Russ rode to the top of the music charts with The Association, opening the legendary Monterey International Pop Festival and some of the biggest concert venues in the US to the very first sounds of rock and roll. Along Comes the Association, featuring a foreword from David Geffen, chronicles Russ's time with sex, drugs, rock and roll, and three-piece suits as a member of The Association, his solo career, and the decades when he later rejoined the band. More than 50 years later, The Association's songs rank among BMI's Top 100 Songs of the Century. Somewhere in a city near you, The Association is playing a concert to a packed house of adoring fans.

Ashley Wren Collins is an award-winning author, director, producer, choreographer and actor. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

"...an enjoyable trip back in time with rock and roll survivor Russ Giguere and his fellow masters of melodic pop who had "just the right sound," indeed."
--Second Disc "Along Comes The Association is a sentimental, seductive trip back to one of the 1960's best-loved acts...Russ Giguere's musical journey (as written with co-author Ashley Wren-Collins) makes for a marvelous memoir...takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic journey through the many highs and sometimes low experiences that he and the band lived through. It's an exceptional story whether you lived through it or not."
--Medium.com "Along Comes The Association: Beyond Folk Rock and Three-Piece Suits is a fascinating book, an accurate and visual portrait of the Los Angeles and Hollywood music world of the sixties."
--Music Connection "Giguere and co-writer Ashley Wren Collins approached Along Comes The Association in a journalistic fashion."
--Billboard "...Mr. Giguere proves a very amiable and entertaining companion..."
-Shindig "Russ and the Association were multitalented, intelligent men who played beautiful, melodic music, harmonized like angels, dressed like Cary Grant and partied harder than the Rolling Stones!"
--Danny Hutton, Three Dog Night "Russ was always the front man for the group, always the sex symbol of The Association!"
--Joe Butler, The Lovin' Spoonful "[The Association] is one of my all time favorite vocal bands. I loved working with them!"
--Gary Puckett & The Union Gap "The Association stands out as one of the best musical groups and friends I ever had."
--Tommy Smothers, Smothers Brothers "The Association is a group of singers that, each with distinct unique voice, marvelously blend together into a sound, vocally smooth as silk, harmonically rich as cream! It stands to reason that their individual life stories, ones that fostered their musical talents and expressions, [read] as fine as their sound."
--Mason Williams, of "Classical Gas" fame and writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and Saturday Night Live "When we were on the Legends for Liberty Tour in 1985, they would introduce the Association and the other guys would take the stage while Russ waited in the wings. The music started, but Russ still waited--until, at the last minute, he would come running out at full speed, leap over the monitors, and hit the floor on the downbeat of the vocal. It was a magical moment. He was always a consummate showman and I was lucky enough to have seen him in his heyday."
--Mark Lindsay, Paul Revere & the Raiders "It's about time a book came out covering Russ Giguere and The Association. Russ and I have been working together since he was fifteen. The Association was on my stage since the beginning. Both are rich in the lore of all things entertainment."
--Bob Stane, The Upper Cellar, The Ice House, and Playboy Clubs International "Growing up in the fifties and early sixties, I was enamored of the great vocal groups...The Association plugged into this musical tradition. If I was driving and they came on the radio, I was like a kid and turned the radio up! If they were on, I never touched the dial."
--Edward Ruscha, American pop artist "Listening to The Association singing 'Requiem for the Masses' put me into harmony heaven."
--Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane, Spanky and Our Gang "When I think of Russ and I think of Mama Cass and I think of all of us in that era, my primary recollection is that we all enjoyed a remarkable friendship...we connected in that way, commented on one another, and helped mold the way we developed our music."
--Cyrus Faryar, The Whiskeyhill Singers, Modern Folk Quartet "The Association came out of the folk era, so they were more a pop vocal group than a rock band. But they were very influential, and sounded very fresh in the sixties. I loved them, on record or live!"
--Bernie Leadon, of The Eagles