The Turtles
Encyclopedia
The Turtles are an American rock
group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan
and Mark Volman
. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version
of Bob Dylan
's "It Ain't Me Babe
" in 1965
. The group scored its biggest and best-known hit in 1967
with the song "Happy Together
".
and Mark Volman
. With the help of DJ and club owner Reb Foster, the Crossfires signed to the newly formed White Whale Records
and adhering to the prevailing musical trend, re-branded themselves as a folk rock group under the name "the Tyrtles," the intentional misspelling inspired by the Byrds
and the Beatles
. However, the trendy spelling did not survive long.
As with the Byrds, the Turtles achieved breakthrough success with a Bob Dylan
cover
. "It Ain't Me Babe
" reached the Billboard Top Ten in the late summer of 1965, and was the title track to the band’s first album. Their second single, "Let Me Be," reached the top 30, while their third hit, "You Baby," charted in the top 20 in early 1966. The band's second album, You Baby
, failed to reach Billboards Top LPs
chart, and of several singles released in 1966, "Grim Reaper of Love" and "Can I Get to Know You Better" barely entered the Billboard Hot 100
(one single, the tough "Outside Chance," didn't chart at all). In 1966, the Turtles made an appearance in Universal
's beach party
spy spoof
film Out of Sight
, singing "She'll Come Back" onscreen.
At the start of 1966 drummer Don Murray
and bassist Chuck Portz quit the group. They were replaced by Joel Larson
and then John Barbata
on drums, and by Chip Douglas
on bass (October 1966). In 1967, rhythm guitarist Jim Tucker left the band, allegedly after being publicly insulted by John Lennon
when the group were in England on a promotional tour. Tucker, a Beatles
fan, apparently never got over the experience and quit the group and the music business.
The first of several key Turtles singles co-written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon
, "Happy Together
", seemed almost a parody of itself, and had already been rejected by countless performers. "Happy Together", both their biggest hit and their signature song, signaled a turning point for the Turtles and for Chip Douglas, who provided the arrangement. The single replaced the Beatles
' "Penny Lane
" at number one on the Billboard Hot 100
in the spring of 1967. The Turtles' only No. 1 remained there for three weeks. An album of the same name followed and peaked at No. 25. "Happy Together" reached # 12 on the UK singles chart
. This same year saw the Turtles performing the title song for the Twentieth Century-Fox bedroom farce
, A Guide for the Married Man
.
Impressed by Chip Douglas's studio arrangements, Monkee
Michael Nesmith
approached him after a Turtles show at the Whisky a Go Go
and invited him to become the Monkees' new producer, as that band wanted to break out of their "manufactured" studio mold. Douglas accepted and left the Turtles. Meanwhile, Laramy Smith was invited to join the group as bassist, but after several months he decided not to join and was replaced by bassist and singer Jim Pons
.
1967 proved to be the Turtles' most successful on the charts. "She'd Rather Be With Me" reached number 3 on the US charts in late spring and actually out-charted "Happy Together" overseas, reaching # 4 in the UK. Two successive top-15 songs followed: "You Know What I Mean" and "She's My Girl." Both 45
s signaled a certain shift in the band’s style. Golden Hits was released later that year, charting in the top 10. The similar album covers for The Turtles! Golden Hits and its follow up More Golden Hits were designed by Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean.
The first two singles in 1968, "Sound Asleep" and "The Story of Rock and Roll", stalled somewhere in the middle of the top 100. The band's fortunes changed when Chip Douglas returned to work with them in the studio. Late in 1968 the band released a concept album
called The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands, in which the group pretended to be 11 different bands (with names including 'The Bigg Brothers', 'Nature's Children', 'the US Teens featuring Raoul', and 'the Fabulous Dawgs'), each with a song in a different genre. The album yielded two singles: "Elenore
" and "You Showed Me
" (both peaking at No. 6). "Elenore" is the only Hot 100 single which ever rhymed the phrase et cetera
in its lyrics, though with an AACBBC rhyming pattern it doesn't actually rhyme very well with the word "better" in the sixth line. It also reached #7 in the UK chart. The 1969 hit "You Showed Me" had been written by Byrds Gene Clark
and Roger (then Jim) McGuinn
in 1964. Television appearances in 1968 include a Feb. 26 visit to The Mike Douglas Show
, to which they returned in April 1969.
Towards the end of 1969, the group released its next album, Turtle Soup
, a critically well-received LP produced by Ray Davies
of the Kinks
. Inspired by the revered 1968 concept album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
, this was Davies’s only production work for another band. Notable tracks include "Somewhere Friday Nite" and "Love in the City". In spite of Turtle Soups positive reception from the music press, its commercial success was marginal and the band soon began to disintegrate.
Long disillusioned with their record label and its growing financial problems by this time, Kaylan and Volman resisted White Whale's efforts to turn the Turtles into something approaching an assembly-line pop act. The label apparently encouraged Kaylan and Volman to fire the rest of the band, tour with hired musicians and make records by adding their vocals to backing tracks recorded by Memphis session players. Such pressure did convince the band to record a single called "Who Would Ever Think That I Would Ever Marry Margaret?", which they disowned after its release.
The Turtles wound down their career in 1970 with a second compilation album, More Golden Hits, and a B-sides
and rarities album, Wooden Head
. With the demise of the Turtles, White Whale Records
was left with few, if any, commercially viable bands, and ceased operation.
, as they soon became known, recorded albums with the Mothers, appeared in Frank Zappa
's film 200 Motels
in 1971 and later released a series of records on their own.
Kaylan and Volman sang backing vocals on several recordings by T. Rex
, including their worldwide hit "Get it On (Bang A Gong)
" and albums Electric Warrior
and The Slider
. When White Whale's master recording
s were sold at auction in 1974, the duo won the Turtles' masters, making them the owners of their own recorded work. (The duo promptly licensed the tracks to Sire Records
, who issued the compilation Happy Together Again.).
In 1980, Flo and Eddie performed backing vocals on Alice Cooper's "Flush The Fashion" LP. They also sang backup on Bruce Springsteen
's "Hungry Heart
", from his album The River. In the 1980s, they recorded soundtrack
music for children's shows like the Care Bears
and Strawberry Shortcake
, and began hosting their own radio show on KROQ-FM
in Los Angeles
and WXRK in New York City
. In the mid-1970s, they had their own syndicated radio show called Flo & Eddie by the Fireside, which originated from KMET in Los Angeles.
1982 saw the re-release of The Turtles' original albums through Rhino Records. The following year, Howard Kaylan appeared in the rock-n-roll comedy film Get Crazy
, starring Malcolm McDowell
and Daniel Stern
. Kaylan played the part of Captain Cloud, a spiritual guru, leader of a caravan of time-lost, gypsy-like hippies.
In 1983 Kaylan and Volman legally regained the use of the Turtles name and began touring as The Turtles... Featuring Flo and Eddie. Instead of trying to reunite with their earlier bandmates, they began featuring all-star
sidemen who had played with different groups. That year also saw the debut of the previously unreleased Shell Shock album, as well as a new greatest hits
CD, 20 Greatest Hits, both released by Rhino. The latter compilation was followed up in 1988 with another, Turtle Wax: The Best of The Turtles, Vol. 2, which featured the best of their "album tracks" and previously-neglected single B-sides
.
In 1987, Kaylan & Volman appeared in a new music video of their song "Happy Together" to promote the romantic comedy Making Mr. Right
, starring John Malkovich
.
The 1989 debut album by hip-hop combo De La Soul
featured an uncredited sample from the Turtles (specifically, the intro to "You Showed Me"), in the song "Transmitting Live from Mars". Kaylan and Volman sued, winning a large settlement, setting a legal precedent, and causing the music industry to begin carefully crediting (and paying royalties for) sampled works on future rap and other recordings. As they explained, "We don't hate sampling; we like sampling. If we don't get credit, we sue, and all that stuff (a share of the royalties, plus punitive damages) comes back to us!" It was incorrectly reported in 2009 that Volman is currently involved in another lawsuit against rapper Gucci Mane
for an unauthorized sample. The sample of "Keep It Warm" used in "Lemonade" was cleared legitimately prior to the release of the song.
In that same year, the romantic-comedy Happy Together
premiered. It starred Patrick Dempsey
and Helen Slater
. The Turtles' recording of "Happy Together" was featured in the film as well as the soundtrack album.
Music Club Records released a Turtles anthology in the UK in 1991, Happy Together: The Best of the Turtles. Repertoire Records
in Germany released their own compilation, titled Elenore, in 1993, as well as re-releasing the original Happy Together album. Rhino Records also presented Captured Live, a greatest-hits-live album of their 1992 tour, that year. Sundazed Records
re-released all of The Turtles' original albums in 1994, and in 1999 Varèse Sarabande
released Happy Together: The Best of White Whale Records, which included many of the Turtles' singles.
In 2009, a new Turtles compilation CD was issued titled Save The Turtles: The Turtles Greatest Hits, which was issued on their own FloEdCo label and distributed by Manifesto Records
.
During of summers of 2010 and 2011, The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie had heavy touring schedules throughout the U.S. both as part of the Happy Together: 25th Anniversary Tour: 2010" and "Happy Together: 2011", along with The Grass Roots
, Mark Lindsay
, The Buckinghams
, and 'Monkees' member Micky Dolenz
(2010 only).
release of Super Smash Bros.
The commercial featured Nintendo All-Stars, Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Pokémon's Pikachu skipping happily in a field of flowers then suddenly bashing each other.
"Wooden Head" was an album composed of unissued recordings, circa 1966. "Chalon Road" gathered together many unissued and 45-only tracks. "Shell Shock" was a construction of an album recorded in 1969 that remained unfinished.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan
Howard Kaylan
Howard Kaylan is an American rock and roll musician, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s band, The Turtles, and "Eddie" of 1970's rock band Flo & Eddie.-Early days:...
and Mark Volman
Mark Volman
Mark Volman is an American rock and roll singer, best known as a founding member of the 1960s band The Turtles. At times during his career he has used the pseudonym "The Phlorescent Leech"...
. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "It Ain't Me Babe
It Ain't Me Babe
"It Ain't Me Babe" is the title of a 1964 song by Bob Dylan, first included on his album Another Side of Bob Dylan. The song's opening line is allegedly influenced by musicologist/folk-singer John Jacob Niles' composition "Go 'Way From My Window." Niles is referred to by Dylan as an early...
" in 1965
1965 in music
-Events:*January 4 – Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is sold to CBS for $13 million.*January 12 – Hullabaloo premieres on NBC. The first show included performances by The New Christy Minstrels, comedian Woody Allen, actress Joey Heatherton and a segment from London in which Brian Epstein...
. The group scored its biggest and best-known hit in 1967
1967 in music
The summer of 1967 is "The Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It also became an important year for psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles The summer of 1967 is "The Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It also became an important year for psychedelic rock, with releases from The Beatles The...
with the song "Happy Together
Happy Together (song)
"Happy Together" is a 1967 song from The Turtles' album of the same name. Released in February 1967, the song knocked The Beatles' "Penny Lane" out of the #1 slot for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the group's only chart-topper. "Happy Together" reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart in...
".
History
The band, originally a surf-rock group called the Crossfires, was formed in 1965 in Westchester, California, by Howard KaylanHoward Kaylan
Howard Kaylan is an American rock and roll musician, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s band, The Turtles, and "Eddie" of 1970's rock band Flo & Eddie.-Early days:...
and Mark Volman
Mark Volman
Mark Volman is an American rock and roll singer, best known as a founding member of the 1960s band The Turtles. At times during his career he has used the pseudonym "The Phlorescent Leech"...
. With the help of DJ and club owner Reb Foster, the Crossfires signed to the newly formed White Whale Records
White Whale Records
White Whale Records was an American record label, founded in 1965 by Ted Feigin and Lee Lassiff in Los Angeles, California, and probably best known as the record label of The Turtles....
and adhering to the prevailing musical trend, re-branded themselves as a folk rock group under the name "the Tyrtles," the intentional misspelling inspired by the Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
and the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. However, the trendy spelling did not survive long.
As with the Byrds, the Turtles achieved breakthrough success with a Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
. "It Ain't Me Babe
It Ain't Me Babe
"It Ain't Me Babe" is the title of a 1964 song by Bob Dylan, first included on his album Another Side of Bob Dylan. The song's opening line is allegedly influenced by musicologist/folk-singer John Jacob Niles' composition "Go 'Way From My Window." Niles is referred to by Dylan as an early...
" reached the Billboard Top Ten in the late summer of 1965, and was the title track to the band’s first album. Their second single, "Let Me Be," reached the top 30, while their third hit, "You Baby," charted in the top 20 in early 1966. The band's second album, You Baby
You Baby
You Baby is the second studio album by The Turtles. It was released in 1966 on the White Whale Records label.Sundazed Records recently licensed the rights to The Turtles library and has re-released most of their early albums.-Track listing:...
, failed to reach Billboards Top LPs
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, and of several singles released in 1966, "Grim Reaper of Love" and "Can I Get to Know You Better" barely entered the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
(one single, the tough "Outside Chance," didn't chart at all). In 1966, the Turtles made an appearance in Universal
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
's beach party
Beach Party film
Beach party movies were an American 1960s genre of feature films created by American International Pictures with their surprise 1963 hit, Beach Party, and copied by virtually every other studio...
spy spoof
Spy film
The spy film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy . Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, John Le Carré, Ian Fleming and Len Deighton...
film Out of Sight
Out of Sight (1966 film)
Out of Sight is a 1966 beach party film with elements of the spy spoof. It is the third and last of a series of films geared at teenagers by director Lennie Weinrib and producer Bart Patton for Universal Pictures...
, singing "She'll Come Back" onscreen.
At the start of 1966 drummer Don Murray
Don Murray (drummer)
Don Murray was an American drummer, best known for his work with The Turtles.Murray became popular playing high school dances with the band The Crossfires....
and bassist Chuck Portz quit the group. They were replaced by Joel Larson
Joel Larson
Joel Larson is a rock drummer and percussionist from California. He was born on April 29, 1947 at St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco. He lived near Lincoln Park until he was 12 years old. He took up drumming at the age of 12 and moved near Avalon Park until he was 17. During these five years he...
and then John Barbata
John Barbata
John Barbata is an American drummer, born in Passaic, New Jersey, active especially in pop and pop/rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer.-Biography:...
on drums, and by Chip Douglas
Chip Douglas
Douglas Farthing Walter Hatlelid, better known as Chip Douglas, is a songwriter, musician , and record producer, whose most famous work was during the 1960s...
on bass (October 1966). In 1967, rhythm guitarist Jim Tucker left the band, allegedly after being publicly insulted by John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
when the group were in England on a promotional tour. Tucker, a Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
fan, apparently never got over the experience and quit the group and the music business.
The first of several key Turtles singles co-written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon
Alan Gordon (songwriter)
Alan Gordon was an American songwriter best known for songs recorded by The Turtles, Petula Clark, and Barbra Streisand...
, "Happy Together
Happy Together (song)
"Happy Together" is a 1967 song from The Turtles' album of the same name. Released in February 1967, the song knocked The Beatles' "Penny Lane" out of the #1 slot for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the group's only chart-topper. "Happy Together" reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart in...
", seemed almost a parody of itself, and had already been rejected by countless performers. "Happy Together", both their biggest hit and their signature song, signaled a turning point for the Turtles and for Chip Douglas, who provided the arrangement. The single replaced the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "Penny Lane
Penny Lane
"Penny Lane" is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney. It was credited to Lennon–McCartney.Recorded during the Sgt. Pepper sessions, "Penny Lane" was released in February 1967 as one side of a double A-sided single, along with "Strawberry Fields Forever". Both songs were later included...
" at number one on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in the spring of 1967. The Turtles' only No. 1 remained there for three weeks. An album of the same name followed and peaked at No. 25. "Happy Together" reached # 12 on the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. This same year saw the Turtles performing the title song for the Twentieth Century-Fox bedroom farce
Bedroom farce
A bedroom farce or sex farce is a type of light comedy, centered on the sexual pairings and recombinations of characters as they move through improbable plots and slamming doors...
, A Guide for the Married Man
A Guide for the Married Man
A Guide for the Married Man is a 1967 American bedroom farce comedy film starring Walter Matthau, Robert Morse, and Inger Stevens. It was directed by Gene Kelly. It features a large number of cameos, including Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Terry-Thomas, Jayne Mansfield, Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Joey...
.
Impressed by Chip Douglas's studio arrangements, Monkee
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
Michael Nesmith
Michael Nesmith
Robert Michael Nesmith is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the musical group The Monkees and star of the TV series of the same name...
approached him after a Turtles show at the Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
and invited him to become the Monkees' new producer, as that band wanted to break out of their "manufactured" studio mold. Douglas accepted and left the Turtles. Meanwhile, Laramy Smith was invited to join the group as bassist, but after several months he decided not to join and was replaced by bassist and singer Jim Pons
Jim Pons
Jim Pons was a bass guitarist and singer for several 1960s rock bands, including The Leaves, The Turtles, and The Mothers of Invention....
.
1967 proved to be the Turtles' most successful on the charts. "She'd Rather Be With Me" reached number 3 on the US charts in late spring and actually out-charted "Happy Together" overseas, reaching # 4 in the UK. Two successive top-15 songs followed: "You Know What I Mean" and "She's My Girl." Both 45
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
s signaled a certain shift in the band’s style. Golden Hits was released later that year, charting in the top 10. The similar album covers for The Turtles! Golden Hits and its follow up More Golden Hits were designed by Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean.
The first two singles in 1968, "Sound Asleep" and "The Story of Rock and Roll", stalled somewhere in the middle of the top 100. The band's fortunes changed when Chip Douglas returned to work with them in the studio. Late in 1968 the band released a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
called The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands, in which the group pretended to be 11 different bands (with names including 'The Bigg Brothers', 'Nature's Children', 'the US Teens featuring Raoul', and 'the Fabulous Dawgs'), each with a song in a different genre. The album yielded two singles: "Elenore
Elenore
"Elenore" is a 1968 song by American pop-rock group The Turtles, originally included on the album The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands. Its writing was co-credited to the five members of the band, Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman, Al Nichol, Jim Pons and John Barbata...
" and "You Showed Me
You Showed Me
"You Showed Me" is a song written by Jim McGuinn and Gene Clark of The Byrds in 1964. It was recorded by The Turtles and released as a single in 1969, becoming the group's last big hit in the U.S. The song has also been covered by a number of other bands and artists over the years, including The...
" (both peaking at No. 6). "Elenore" is the only Hot 100 single which ever rhymed the phrase et cetera
Et cetera
Et cetera is a Latin expression that means "and other things", or "and so forth". It is taken directly from the Latin expression which literally means "and the rest " and is a loan-translation of the Greek "καὶ τὰ ἕτερα"...
in its lyrics, though with an AACBBC rhyming pattern it doesn't actually rhyme very well with the word "better" in the sixth line. It also reached #7 in the UK chart. The 1969 hit "You Showed Me" had been written by Byrds Gene Clark
Gene Clark
Gene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
and Roger (then Jim) McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
in 1964. Television appearances in 1968 include a Feb. 26 visit to The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
, to which they returned in April 1969.
Towards the end of 1969, the group released its next album, Turtle Soup
Turtle Soup
Turtle Soup is the last original studio album by The Turtles. It was released in 1969 on the White Whale Records label. The album was produced by Ray Davies of The Kinks – the first time he produced another artist's record. A 1993 Repertoire Records CD-issue included 8 bonus tracks.Turtle Soup...
, a critically well-received LP produced by Ray Davies
Ray Davies
Ray Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...
of the Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
. Inspired by the revered 1968 concept album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society is the sixth studio album by the English rock group The Kinks, released in November 1968. It was the last album by the original quartet, as bassist Pete Quaife left the group in early 1969...
, this was Davies’s only production work for another band. Notable tracks include "Somewhere Friday Nite" and "Love in the City". In spite of Turtle Soups positive reception from the music press, its commercial success was marginal and the band soon began to disintegrate.
Long disillusioned with their record label and its growing financial problems by this time, Kaylan and Volman resisted White Whale's efforts to turn the Turtles into something approaching an assembly-line pop act. The label apparently encouraged Kaylan and Volman to fire the rest of the band, tour with hired musicians and make records by adding their vocals to backing tracks recorded by Memphis session players. Such pressure did convince the band to record a single called "Who Would Ever Think That I Would Ever Marry Margaret?", which they disowned after its release.
The Turtles wound down their career in 1970 with a second compilation album, More Golden Hits, and a B-sides
B-Sides
B-Sides is an iTunes-exclusive album from the Coventry Trio The Enemy, consisting of ten songs that were B-sides to the single releases from their debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns.-Track list:#Fear Killed the Youth of Our Nation...
and rarities album, Wooden Head
Wooden Head
Wooden Head is the 6th album by The Turtles. The album is a compilation of b-sides and rarities mostly recorded in their early years and in some cases left unfinished...
. With the demise of the Turtles, White Whale Records
White Whale Records
White Whale Records was an American record label, founded in 1965 by Ted Feigin and Lee Lassiff in Los Angeles, California, and probably best known as the record label of The Turtles....
was left with few, if any, commercially viable bands, and ceased operation.
Post-Turtles
Kaylan and Volman (accompanied by Pons) joined the Mothers of Invention as "The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie", since the use of the Turtles name (and even their own names in billings) was prohibited by their contract with White Whale. Flo & EddieFlo & Eddie
Flo & Eddie are a comedic musical duo.The two were the original founding members of the Top 40 rock group the Turtles. After the Turtles dissolved, Volman and Kaylan first joined the Mothers of Invention as "Phlorescent Leech & Eddie"...
, as they soon became known, recorded albums with the Mothers, appeared in Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
's film 200 Motels
200 Motels
200 Motels is a 1971 American-British musical surrealist film cowritten and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer and starring The Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr. The film covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville...
in 1971 and later released a series of records on their own.
Kaylan and Volman sang backing vocals on several recordings by T. Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
, including their worldwide hit "Get it On (Bang A Gong)
Get It On (T. Rex song)
"Get It On" was covered by the Power Station in 1985. Their version – titled "Get It On " – was released as their second single from their debut album. The track was a hit in both the UK, reaching number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, and the U.S., where the song peaked at number nine on the...
" and albums Electric Warrior
Electric Warrior
Electric Warrior is the sixth album by British rock group T. Rex, and is widely considered to be one of the quintessential glam rock releases. Electric Warrior reached number thirty-two in the US; it went to number one for several weeks in the UK, becoming the biggest album of 1971...
and The Slider
The Slider
The Slider is the seventh studio album by British glam rock band T. Rex, released on July 21, 1972. Produced by Tony Visconti, it was the band's second record released with their new glam rock style opposed to the band's previous folk oriented music....
. When White Whale's master recording
Master recording
A multitrack recording master tape, disk or computer files on which productions are developed for later mixing, is known as the multi-track master, while the tape, disk or computer files holding a mix is called a mixed master.It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording, known as...
s were sold at auction in 1974, the duo won the Turtles' masters, making them the owners of their own recorded work. (The duo promptly licensed the tracks to Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
, who issued the compilation Happy Together Again.).
In 1980, Flo and Eddie performed backing vocals on Alice Cooper's "Flush The Fashion" LP. They also sang backup on Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's "Hungry Heart
Hungry Heart
"Hungry Heart" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen on his fifth album, The River. It was released as the album's first single in 1980 and became Springsteen's first big hit of his own on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.-History:...
", from his album The River. In the 1980s, they recorded soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
music for children's shows like the Care Bears
Care Bears
The Care Bears are characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. The original artwork for the cards was painted by artist Elena Kucharik. In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears...
and Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry Shortcake is a licensed character owned by American Greetings, originally used in greeting cards and expanded to include dolls, posters, and other products...
, and began hosting their own radio show on KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and WXRK in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In the mid-1970s, they had their own syndicated radio show called Flo & Eddie by the Fireside, which originated from KMET in Los Angeles.
1982 saw the re-release of The Turtles' original albums through Rhino Records. The following year, Howard Kaylan appeared in the rock-n-roll comedy film Get Crazy
Get Crazy
Get Crazy is a 1983 film directed by Allan Arkush and starring Malcolm McDowell, Allen Garfield, Daniel Stern, Gail Edwards, and Ed Begley, Jr.-Premise:...
, starring Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
and Daniel Stern
Daniel Stern (actor)
Daniel Jacob Stern is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the Hollywood films C.H.U.D., Diner, City Slickers and the first two Home Alone films, and as the narrator for the television series The Wonder Years.-Early life:Stern was born in Bethesda, Maryland to a...
. Kaylan played the part of Captain Cloud, a spiritual guru, leader of a caravan of time-lost, gypsy-like hippies.
In 1983 Kaylan and Volman legally regained the use of the Turtles name and began touring as The Turtles... Featuring Flo and Eddie. Instead of trying to reunite with their earlier bandmates, they began featuring all-star
All-star
All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...
sidemen who had played with different groups. That year also saw the debut of the previously unreleased Shell Shock album, as well as a new greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
CD, 20 Greatest Hits, both released by Rhino. The latter compilation was followed up in 1988 with another, Turtle Wax: The Best of The Turtles, Vol. 2, which featured the best of their "album tracks" and previously-neglected single B-sides
B-Sides
B-Sides is an iTunes-exclusive album from the Coventry Trio The Enemy, consisting of ten songs that were B-sides to the single releases from their debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns.-Track list:#Fear Killed the Youth of Our Nation...
.
In 1987, Kaylan & Volman appeared in a new music video of their song "Happy Together" to promote the romantic comedy Making Mr. Right
Making Mr. Right
Making Mr. Right is a science fiction/comedy film, directed by Susan Seidelman and starring John Malkovich as Jeff Peters/Ulysses and Ann Magnuson as Frankie Stone.This film is primarily about an android and a woman's misadventures.-Plot:...
, starring John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
.
The 1989 debut album by hip-hop combo De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
featured an uncredited sample from the Turtles (specifically, the intro to "You Showed Me"), in the song "Transmitting Live from Mars". Kaylan and Volman sued, winning a large settlement, setting a legal precedent, and causing the music industry to begin carefully crediting (and paying royalties for) sampled works on future rap and other recordings. As they explained, "We don't hate sampling; we like sampling. If we don't get credit, we sue, and all that stuff (a share of the royalties, plus punitive damages) comes back to us!" It was incorrectly reported in 2009 that Volman is currently involved in another lawsuit against rapper Gucci Mane
Gucci Mane
Radric Davis , better known by his stage name Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He debuted in 2005 with Trap House and followed with albums such as Hard to Kill in 2006, Trap-A-Thon and Back to the Trap House in 2007. In 2009, his second studio album The State vs. Radric Davis was released...
for an unauthorized sample. The sample of "Keep It Warm" used in "Lemonade" was cleared legitimately prior to the release of the song.
In that same year, the romantic-comedy Happy Together
Happy Together (1989 American film)
Happy Together is a 1989 American romantic comedy film starring Patrick Dempsey and Helen Slater. The film was marketed with the taglines, "Roommates by accident...lovers by choice", and "How do I love thee, Let me count the ways...". Brad Pitt, in one of his first roles, has a minor part in the...
premiered. It starred Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor, known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to Grey's Anatomy he made several television appearances and was nominated for an Emmy Award...
and Helen Slater
Helen Slater
Helen Rachel Slater is an American actress and singer-songwriter.She appeared in the title role in the 1984 film Supergirl. In the following years she starred in several very successful comedy-drama films such as Ruthless People, The Secret of My Success, and City Slickers...
. The Turtles' recording of "Happy Together" was featured in the film as well as the soundtrack album.
Music Club Records released a Turtles anthology in the UK in 1991, Happy Together: The Best of the Turtles. Repertoire Records
Repertoire Records
Repertoire Records is a German record label from Hamburg, Germany, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 60s and 70s. The chairman is Thomas Neelsen....
in Germany released their own compilation, titled Elenore, in 1993, as well as re-releasing the original Happy Together album. Rhino Records also presented Captured Live, a greatest-hits-live album of their 1992 tour, that year. Sundazed Records
Sundazed Records
Sundazed Records is a record label based in Coxsackie, in the Catskills of New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s.Label founders Bob Irwin and his wife Mary started the label in 1989...
re-released all of The Turtles' original albums in 1994, and in 1999 Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
released Happy Together: The Best of White Whale Records, which included many of the Turtles' singles.
In 2009, a new Turtles compilation CD was issued titled Save The Turtles: The Turtles Greatest Hits, which was issued on their own FloEdCo label and distributed by Manifesto Records
Manifesto Records
Manifesto Records is the name of an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California that has released records by The Wedding Present, Dead Kennedys, Tom Waits, Tim Buckley, Lilys, Concrete Blonde, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and others. Manifesto released the entire catalogue of Dead Kennedys...
.
During of summers of 2010 and 2011, The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie had heavy touring schedules throughout the U.S. both as part of the Happy Together: 25th Anniversary Tour: 2010" and "Happy Together: 2011", along with The Grass Roots
The Grass Roots
The Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted between 1966 and 1975 as the brainchild of songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.In their career, The Grass Roots achieved two gold albums, one gold single and charted singles a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they...
, Mark Lindsay
Mark Lindsay
Mark Lindsay is an American musician, best known as the singer for the group Paul Revere & the Raiders.-Biography:Lindsay was born in Eugene, Oregon and was the second of eight children...
, The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams are an American Sunshine Pop band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top selling acts of 1967. The band dissolved in 1970 but reformed in 1980 and continue to tour throughout the United States....
, and 'Monkees' member Micky Dolenz
Micky Dolenz
George Michael "Micky" Dolenz, Jr. is an American actor, musician, television director, radio personality and theater director, best known as a member of the 1960s made-for-television band The Monkees.-Biography:...
(2010 only).
Legacy
In 1999, the Turtles' "Happy Together" was featured in a Nintendo commercial for the Nintendo 64Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
release of Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros., known in Japan as , is a fighting game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan on January 21, 1999, in North America on April 26, 1999, and in Europe on November 19, 1999. Super Smash Bros. is the first game in the Super...
The commercial featured Nintendo All-Stars, Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Pokémon's Pikachu skipping happily in a field of flowers then suddenly bashing each other.
Members
| The Turtles (1965–1966) |
|
|---|---|
| The Turtles (1966) |
Joel Larson Joel Larson is a rock drummer and percussionist from California. He was born on April 29, 1947 at St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco. He lived near Lincoln Park until he was 12 years old. He took up drumming at the age of 12 and moved near Avalon Park until he was 17. During these five years he... - drums |
| The Turtles (1966) |
Chip Douglas Douglas Farthing Walter Hatlelid, better known as Chip Douglas, is a songwriter, musician , and record producer, whose most famous work was during the 1960s... - bass John Barbata John Barbata is an American drummer, born in Passaic, New Jersey, active especially in pop and pop/rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s, both as a band member and as a session drummer.-Biography:... - drums |
| The Turtles (1967–1968) |
Jim Pons Jim Pons was a bass guitarist and singer for several 1960s rock bands, including The Leaves, The Turtles, and The Mothers of Invention.... - bass |
| The Turtles (1968–1969) |
|
| The Turtles (1969–1970) |
|
Studio albums
| Year | Album | US Top 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | It Ain't Me Babe It Ain't Me Babe (album) It Ain't Me Babe is The Turtles first studio album. It was released in October 1965 on White Whale Records.Sundazed Records licensed the rights to The Turtles library and has re-released most of their early albums.-Track listing:Side 1... |
98 | White Whale White Whale Records White Whale Records was an American record label, founded in 1965 by Ted Feigin and Lee Lassiff in Los Angeles, California, and probably best known as the record label of The Turtles.... |
| 1966 | You Baby You Baby You Baby is the second studio album by The Turtles. It was released in 1966 on the White Whale Records label.Sundazed Records recently licensed the rights to The Turtles library and has re-released most of their early albums.-Track listing:... |
— | |
| 1967 | Happy Together Happy Together (Turtles album) Happy Together is the fourth studio album by The Turtles. It was released in April 1967 on the White Whale Records label. In the CD era, it has been reissued at least three times, with various track configurations:... |
25 | |
| 1968 | The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands | 128 | |
| 1969 | Turtle Soup Turtle Soup Turtle Soup is the last original studio album by The Turtles. It was released in 1969 on the White Whale Records label. The album was produced by Ray Davies of The Kinks – the first time he produced another artist's record. A 1993 Repertoire Records CD-issue included 8 bonus tracks.Turtle Soup... |
117 | |
| 1970 | Wooden Head Wooden Head Wooden Head is the 6th album by The Turtles. The album is a compilation of b-sides and rarities mostly recorded in their early years and in some cases left unfinished... |
— | |
| 1986 | Chalon Road | — | Rhino |
| Shell Shock | — |
"Wooden Head" was an album composed of unissued recordings, circa 1966. "Chalon Road" gathered together many unissued and 45-only tracks. "Shell Shock" was a construction of an album recorded in 1969 that remained unfinished.