Brian Leslie Cole (September 8, 1942 – August 2, 1972) was an American musician. He was the bass guitarist, bass vocalist and one of the founding members of the 1960s

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

band

the Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from Los Angeles, California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' charts (including "Windy (The Association song), Windy" ...

Early life

Brian Leslie Cole was born in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, to Perry Anthony Cole and Violet Elanor Cole. By the early 1960s, he and his family were living in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, and he was a father of two. Cole attended

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

, before dropping out a year later. Prior to working as a musician, he had moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and was working as a lumberjack, before he began work as an actor and comedian.

The Association

In 1966, Cole co-founded the folk rock band

The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from Los Angeles, California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' charts (including "Windy (The Association song), Windy" ...

, a band that had previously been a thirteen-piece ensemble called The Men. The Association signed to Valiant Records in 1966, and released their debut album '' And Then... Along Comes the Association'', shortly after. The Association are best known for their songs " Cherish", " Along Comes Mary", " Windy" and "

Never My Love "Never My Love" is a pop standard written by American siblings Don and Dick Addrisi, and best known from a hit 1967 recording by the Association. The Addrisi Brothers had two Top 40 hits as recording artists, but their biggest success as songwri ...

". The Association were an opening act at the

Monterey Pop Festival The Monterey International Pop Festival was a three-day music festival held June 16-18, 1967, at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California. The festival is remembered for the first major American appearances by the Jimi Hendrix Ex ...

. The group were known for their harmonies. Cole sang bass vocals in their songs. Unlike the other members, Cole rarely sang lead, most notably singing lead on the song "Reputation", featured on the Association's 1967 album '' Insight Out''. As a member of the Association, he was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

six times, three times each in the 9th and 10th Annual Grammy Awards, which were held in 1967 and 1968, respectively. In August 1969, a collection of poems, penned by the seven members of the Association, was released as the book ''Crank Your Spreaders''.

Personal life and death

He has three sons, Jordan, Chandler, and Brant. Jordan Cole is now a member of the Association, and has provided keyboards, guitar, vocals, recorder, and drums since 1999. Brant Cole is a drummer for the Los Angeles-based band Briana and the Fates. Cole became a heavy drug user in his final years and died in

of a

heroin overdose An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to Hypoventilation, respiratory depression, a let ...

in 1972 at the age of 29. Cole's last release with the Association was their album ''

Waterbeds in Trinidad! ''Waterbeds in Trinidad!'' is the seventh studio album (and ninth album overall by including a greatest hits and a live album) by The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from Los Angeles, California. During the lat ...

'', which was released four months prior. Cole, once known for performing with a Gibson semi-hollow bass guitar onstage, had put the signature bass in his attic sometime in 1969 and it was passed on to his oldest son upon his death. In 1997, his son Jordan had it restored and has used it in recordings.