Larry Ramos

Hilario D. "Larry" Ramos Jr. (April 19, 1942 – April 30, 2014) was an American guitarist, banjo player and vocalist known primarily for his work with the 1960s pop band the Association. In 1963, he won a Grammy Award with the New Christy Minstrels, with Ramos being the first Asian American to do so.

Early years Ramos was of Filipino descent and mother Pat Ramos. He was raised in Waimea, Kauaʻi County, Hawaii.

Ramos' father taught him how to play the ukulele, beginning with "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean" at the age of four. He won a local music contest with his sister at the age of five, and when he was seven, Ramos played ukulele on The Arthur Godfrey Show after winning a statewide ukulele contest organized by Godfrey. Concerned that her son's education was inadequate, Ramos' mother withdrew him from the tour after a year, The group served as a backup band on The Andy Williams Show.

Ramos toured almost every day for three years after joining the band. in Reno, Nevada. After the birth of his twin daughters, he did not see his family again for six months, prompting him to quit the band in January 1966

The Association

The Association in 1967. (Ramos bottom middle)After quitting the New Christy Minstrels, Ramos worked as a studio musician and backup singer, (later collected in the 2002 album Anthology: Just The Right Sound by the Association).

In 1967, Terry Kirkman of the Association asked Ramos to join the band because their lead guitarist, Jules Alexander, was planning to leave the band for a spiritual pilgrimage to India.

After Ramos' death, his vocal parts were covered by Paul Holland.

Illness and death Ramos, a longtime resident of Grangeville, Idaho, since the 1980s, suffered numerous ailments over his last few years. In 2013, he was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. He died at a hospital in Clarkston, Washington, on April 30, 2014, at the age of 72.

Discography

The New Christy Minstrels

Albums 1964 Land of Giants|1964 The New Christy Minstrels Sing and Play Cowboys and Indians|1965 Chim Chim Cher-ee 1965 The New Christy Minstrels|1965 The Quiet Sides of the New Christy Minstrels 1965 The Wandering Minstrels|1965 Amore, Ritorna...''1965

Singles YearSingle (A-side, B-side)1963"Denver"b/w "Liza Lee" "Green, Green"b/w "The Banjo" (Non-album track) "Saturday Night"b/w "The Wheeler Dealers" 1964"Today"b/w "Miss Katy Cruel" (Non-album track)"Silly Ol' Summertime"b/w "The Far Side of the Hill" (from The Quiet Sides of The New Christy Minstrels)"This Ol' Riverboat" (New recording; non-album track) b/w "Same Ol' Huckleberry Finn" (Non-album track)"Gotta Get A'Goin"b/w "Down the Road I Go"1965"Chim, Chim, Cheree"b/w "They Gotta Quit Kickin' My Dog Around" (from The New Christy Minstrels Sing and Play Cowboys and Indians)"The River"b/w "Se piangi, se ridi" (from In Italy...In Italian)"A Little Bit of Happiness"b/w "Jim 'N I, Him 'N I, Flying in the Gemini" (Non-album track) "Born to Be Free"b/w "Everybody Loves Saturday Night" (from The Wandering Minstrels)

The Association

Albums

Singles YearTitles1967"No Fair at All" /"Looking Glass""Windy"b/w "Sometime""Never My Love" /"Requiem for the Masses"1968"Everything That Touches You"b/w "We Love Us" (from Insight Out)"Time for Livin'"b/w "Birthday Morning""Six Man Band"b/w "Like Always" (from Birthday)1969"The Time It Is Today"b/w "Enter the Young" (from And Then...Along Comes the Association)"Goodbye, Columbus"b/w "The Time It Is Today" (from Birthday)"Under Branches"b/w "Hear in Here" (from Birthday)1970"Yes, I Will"b/w "I Am Up for Europe""Dubuque Blues"b/w "Are You Ready""Just About the Same"b/w "Look at Me, Look at You" (from The Association)"Along the Way"b/w "Traveler's Guide"1971"P.F. Sloan"b/w "Traveler's Guide""Bring Yourself Home"b/w "It's Gotta Be Real""That's Racin'"b/w "Makes Me Cry" (alternate title for "Funny Kind of Song")1972"Darlin' Be Home Soon"b/w "Indian Wells Woman""Come the Fall"b/w "Kicking the Gong Around"1973"Names, Tags, Numbers and Labels"b/w "Rainbows Bent" (from Waterbeds in Trinidad!)1975"One Sunday Morning"b/w "Life Is a Carnival""Sleepy Eyes"b/w "Take Me to the Pilot"1981"Dreamer"b/w "You Turn the Light On""Small Town Lovers"b/w "Across the Persian Gulf"