Headshot studio portrait of the American pop vocal group The Association, circa 1965. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Specialist music publisher Dynamite said on Thursday it acquired the catalogue of Terry Kirkman, principal songwriter of The Association and author and lead singer on the choral pop classic, “Cherish” which held the the No. 1 spot on Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in 1966.

Formed in Los Angeles in 1965, The Association evolved out of a 13-piece folk/rock group called The Men, that was briefly the house band at the famed Troubadour club. While The Association tended toward more polished, mainstream pop, music often called “sunshine pop,” Dynamite CEO Alan Wallis cautions against being swooned by the melodramatic ballad “Cherish” into thinking all of the band’s songs were the same.

“Terry’s talents went far beyond [‘Cherish’],” Wallis said in a statement. “A song like ‘Requiem for the Masses’ existed side by side with ‘Cherish’, also written by Terry and recorded by the same group, within the same creative period.

“One is among the most tender love songs of the decade. The other is effectively a choral anti-war lament shaped by the shadow of Vietnam. A writer capable of both has a rare gift, and it’s no wonder his songs have stood the test of time,” said Wallis, formerly of Mojo Music & Media.

Dynamite acquired 100 percent of the U.S. publishing copyrights of key songs the group recorded in the 1960s worldwide songwriter royalties not impacted by performance rights organizations and the writer’s share of public performance income across all compositions, as well as artist royalties attributable to Kirkman’s performances on The Association’s sound recordings and neighbouring rights income.

The transaction adds 71 compositions to Dynamite portfolio of some 1,700 songs, which include the catalog of Ed Sheeran and Paolo Nutini songwriter Chris Leonard; Sly Jordan, whose songs have been performed by Kendrick Lamar and Sean Kingston; Jim Sullivan of the English electronic music duo The Wideboys; Dan + Shay songwriter Danny Orton; and other works performed by Eminem, Avicii, The Black Eyed Peas, Joan Osborne, and Tinie Tempah.

Launched in 2025, Dynamite has backing from Crestline Investors Inc., a Fort Worth, Texas-based investment manager with $20.9 billion in assets under management that previously invested in Mojo. 

Dynamite acquired the rights from Kirkman’s wife, Heidi Kirkman, who expressed confidence that The Association’s unique sound and style would be protected under Dynamite’s management.

“It is clear that Terry’s catalogue is heading into the hands of an aficionado who can parse between psychedelic rock and folk rock, between sunshine pop and bubble gum music, and knows exactly where The Association falls in this spectrum,” Heidi Kirkman, widow of Terry Kirkman, said in a statement.

The Kirkman estate was represented by Music Rights Group and Miles Feinberg.

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