Larry Ramos, retired guitarist and vocalist with US folk-rockers The Association, has died at the age of 72.
He’d left the veteran outfit in 2012 as a result of illness and had continued to fight poor health ever since. He performed a retirement concert in April.
Ramos’ daughter says in a statement: “He had been ill for the past three years, following his heart attack in 2011. What you don’t know is he was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma last year. He wanted that diagnosis to be kept private while he was alive.
“While his illnesses were trying at times, his passing was peaceful and he was surrounded by his family.”
Ramos joined The Association in 1967, in time to appear with them at the iconic Monterey Pop Festival. He recorded five albums with them before bowing out in 1975 then rejoining five years later.
He once told PopCultureAddict: “When I got in with The Association it was real easy for me. I was just very fortunate all through my life, and all through my career. My wife says I’m totally unconscious about my career – she says, ‘You just do it and it just happens all the time.’ I don’t think I’ve had more than two years in a row where I was idle and not doing anything.”
The band have been cited as influences by acts including Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan.
