The Turtles

Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965, The Turtles was a successful pop band best known for the hits “It Ain’t Me Babe” (1965), “You Baby” (1966), “Happy Together” (1967), “She’d Rather Be with Me” (1967), “Elenore” (1968), and “You Showed Me” (1969). Formed from the ashes of surf rock band The Crossfires (previously known as The Nightriders), the group featured vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, lead guitarist Al Nichol, drummer Don Murray, rhythm guitarist Jim Tucker, and bassist Chuck Portz. Initially calling themselves The Tyrtles, they began playing folk rock and released the single “It Ain’t Me Babe” (written by Bob Dylan) in the summer of 1965, which reached the Billboard Top Ten. The band's follow-up singles failed to achieve the same commercial success, although “You Baby” hit number 20. Their fortunes changed in 1967 when “Happy Together” reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song, which was written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon, had been repeatedly rejected by numerous other performers. It proved to be The Turtles' defining single and has gone down in pop history as one of the most iconic songs of the era. An album of the same name was released shortly afterwards and went to number 25 in the charts. The group's next single, "She'd Rather Be with Me," was a transatlantic hit and outsold "Happy Together.” The band was unable to maintain their success and subsequent singles failed to duplicate the success of those two hits. Their fortunes changed – again – when both “Elenore” (1968) and “You Showed Me” (1969) hit the Top Ten. Those two singles were taken from their iconic semi-concept album The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands (1968). The group had suffered from bad management their entire career and by 1970, the stress drove the members apart and The Turtles split up. Kaylan and Volman decided to continue together and – unable to legally use their own names – they called themselves Flo & Eddie and provided their distinctive vocals to several albums by Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention and T. Rex before recording albums under their new stage names. In the 1980s, Kaylan and Volman began performing in oldies package tours as The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie. By the 2000s, they were headliners on an annual Happy Together tour, although Howard Kaylan had to drop out in 2018 due to health reasons. Guitarist Jim Tucker died on November 12, 2020. Mark Volman died on September 5, 2025, at the age of 78.

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