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Mark Volman, the singer, guitarist, and songwriter who was also a founding member of The Turtles, died on September 5, 2025 at the age of 78 following a brief illness.
Mark Volman was born on April 19, 1947 in Los Angeles. It was his father, who loved jazz, who turned Mark Volman onto music. He began playing music when he was still very young. It was in high school that he met singer Howard Kaylan. He joined Mr. Kaylan's surf band The Nightrders, not long before they changed their name to The Crossfires.
As The Crossfires, they played a residency at the Revelaire Club in Redondo Beach, a prize they had won in a Battle of the Bands competition. The Revelaire Club was owned by Reb Foster, who would soon become their manager. He got the band signed to a brand new label called White Whale Records. After being signed to the label, The Crossfires decided to change their name. Among the names considered were "The Half Dozen" and "The Six Pack." It was Reb Foster who suggested "The Tyrtles," a name with a misspelling fashionable due to The Beatles and The Byrds. The band accepted the name, but soon dropped the misspelling to become "The Turtles." Over time the band had also shifted from surf music to a folk rock sound.
The Turtles' debut single, a cover of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe," was released in July 1965. It proved to a hit, reaching no.8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their singles "Let Me Be" and "You Baby" did well enough, while other singles did not do quite so well. They would not have another major hit until "Happy Together" went to no. 1o n the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967. From 1967 to 1969, The Turtles would have such hits as "She'd Rather Be with Me," "You Know What I Mean," 'She's My Girl," "Elenore," and "You Showed Me."
Unfortunately, The Turtles would see their commercial success fade. Although well-received, their final studio album, Turtle Soup, only went to no. 117 on the Billboard album chart. Their singles following "You Showed Me" from their album The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands either performed poorly on the charts or did not chart at all. To make matters worse, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan found themselves in conflict with White Whale Records, who wanted them to turn The Turtles into a mass production band of the type characterized by the bubblegum bands of the era. The Turtles eventually disbanded. As to White Whale Records, without their biggest act, they folded in 1971.
Following the break-up of The Turtles, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan joined Frank Zappa's band the Mothers of Invention. They appeared on the band's albums Chunga's Revenge, Filmore East - June 1971, 200 Motels, and Just Another Band from L.A.. It was following an injury that Frank Zappa experienced at a concert in London in 1971 that Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan became the comedy music duo Flo & Eddie. Their first album, The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie was released in 1972. Flo & Eddie released albums from 1972 to 2009. The duo also began working in film and television. They composed the soundtrack for the animated film Down and Dirty Duck (1974), the movie Texas Detour (1978), and the TV show Strawberry Shortcake. They sang backing vocals on T. Rex's 1971 song "Get It On," Alice Cooper's 1980 album Flush the Fashion and on Bruce Springsteen's song "Hungry Heart."
In the Eighties, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan hosted their own radio show on KROQ-FM in Los Angeles and WXRK in New York City. They composed music for the TV movie Peter and the Magic Egg and The Adventures of the American Rabbit (1986). It was in 1983 that Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan regained the rights to the name "The Turtles.' They then began touring as The Turtles Featuring Flo & Eddie.
In 1992, Mark Volman earned a bachelor's degree from Loyola Marymount University. In 1999, he earned a master's degree Loyola. Afterwards, he taught at Loyola and classes at Los Angeles Valley College. He would go on to become an associate at Belmont University.
The Turtles have been one of my favourite bands since childhood. In fact, they were one of the first bands of which I was even aware. By the time I was regularly listening to the radio as a child, their songs were still frequently being played. The voices of Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan then became very familiar to me. And while many of their songs were written by others (including their best known hit "Happy Together"), Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan were accomplished songwriters themselves. They wrote The Turtles' songs "Think I'll Run Away," "Elenore," and "Sound Asleep," among others. Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan were also among the earliest rock stars champion artists rights. Both as one of The Turtles and one half of Flo and Eddie, Mark Volman was was a major talent and an incredible performer. who gave us memorable songs, often with a sense of humour.
