Mark Volman, a founding member of the 1960s pop group The Turtles sang on its No. 1 hit “Happy Together” and whose bright harmonies also fueled such songs “It Ain’t Me Babe,” “You Baby,” “She’d Rather Be with Me” and “Elenore,” died Friday in Nashville following a brief, unexpected illness. He was 78.
Volman revealed in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2020, but he continued to perform on the annual “Happy Together” oldies tours in the years that followed.
Alongside his Turtles partner Howard Kalan, Volman followed up the Turtles first burst of fame by reinventing themselves in 1970 as Flo & Eddie. Their stage show was marked by the duo’s humorous antics, Volman’s untamed mop of curly hair and, always, their distinctive vocal harmonies. They toured with Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention and provided background vocals on songs including T. Rex’s “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” and later Bruce Springsteen’s first Top 10 single “Hungry Heart.” They even wrote for the children’s television show Strawberry Shortcake. Camila Cabello used their song “Keep It Warm” in her 2024 hit single, “I Luv It.”
Kaylan retired in 2018 due to health issues, leaving Volman as the last original Turtles member performing with the band.
Mark Volman onstage in 1971
Everett
Born in Los Angeles on April 19, 1947, Volman met Kaylan and they began singing together during their high school years. As The Turtles, the group’s first hit came in 1965 with a cover version of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe,” and they would chart many hits over the next several years. The group’s signature hit “Happy Together” was No. 1 on the Billboard 100 for three weeks just before the Summer of Love and went Top 10 in several other countries. It reached No. 12 in the UK.
The Turtles supported their singles releases with seeming ubiquitous appearances on TV variety shows of the era. Watch the group perform “Happy Together” in a 1967 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show here:
In all, The Turtles scored nine Top 30 pop singles in the U.S., including five Top 10s, and “She’d Rather Be with Me” and “Elenore” made the UK Top 10. Along with the songs listed above, their hits included “She’s My Girl” and “You Showed Me,” among others.
Less successful on the album chart, the band’s lone Top 10 LP was the 1967 compilation disc The Turtles! Golden Hits.
In midlife, Volman returned to college, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees before teaching music business at several institutions, most notably Belmont University in Nashville. In 2023, he published his memoir, Happy Forever: My Musical Adventures With The Turtles, Frank Zappa, T. Rex, Flo & Eddie, and More.
In 2010, Volman and Kaylan began annual Happy Together tours, often alongside other acts from the ’60s and ’70s including Gary Puckett, Mitch Ryder, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & The Raiders, Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad, Gary Lewis and The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz. Volman continued as part of the tour through summer 2025, pairing with Archies singer Ron Dante, of “Sugar Sugar” fame, after Kaylan retired.
Volman is survived by his significant other Emily Volman, his ex-wife Pat Volman and their daughters Hallie Volman and Sarina Miller, and his brother Phil Volman.
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