There's A Filipino in the "Association"

This entry entailed some digging through the musical archives and I wonder if a lot of Filipinos are aware of this fact. But decades before fellow Filipino Al Pineda or "Apl.De.Ap" became famous worldwide as a member of the Black Eyed Peas, and a decade before Freddie Aguilar hit it big internationally with his hit song "Anak" ("Child"), there was Larry Ramos, Jr.

Larry who? Yes, Larry Ramos, Jr., a Filipino who was born and raised in Hawaii. Back in the 1960s, there was a band called "The Association" who hit it big and became popular with songs such as "Windy", "Never My Love", "No Fair at All", and "Cherish". Unbeknownst to many Filipinos today, Larry shared lead vocals with fellow bandmate Russ Giguere on a couple of the band's biggest hits, "Windy" and "Never My Love".

"Windy" became the first #1 hit for The Association in July 1967. I don't think you'll have a hard time spotting him in the following video:

A few months later, in the fall of 1967, the band had another million-seller called "Never My Love". The following video shows the band performing the song on The Ed Sullivan Show:

The band broke up in the early 1970s when their style of music fell out of favour with the public. Though a comeback was attempted later, the band never regained the fame they enjoyed during the late 1960s.

Where is he now? Larry now lives on a 300-acre farm in Grangeville, Idaho. As recently as 2003, he was still performing around the US with co-vocalist Russ Giguere in a re-formed Association doing about 80 to 100 concerts a year.

Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin