Mark Volman, the co-founder of the 1960s rock group The Turtles and the ‘70s rock duo Flo and Eddie, has died. Volman died on Sept. 5 in Nashville, TN, following a brief illness, Variety reported. He was 78.
Volman co-founded the Turtles with singer Howard Kaylan, guitarist Al Nichol, rhythm guitarist Jim Tucker, bassist Chuck Portz, and drummer Don Murray in 1965. He sang harmony on the group’s signature hit,” Happy Together.” The song was No. 1 Billboard hit for three weeks in 1967.
In a 2023 interview with Goldmine, Volman noted that the group “made a lot of good records” aside from “Happy Together.”
“If a disc jockey jumps on ‘Happy Together’ and it gets played over and over and has held up so well that it became the record of our career, musically I think ‘She’s My Girl,’ ‘You Know What I Mean,’ ‘Me About You,’ ‘The Story of Rock & Roll’ and a few others are even better records,” he said. “But every group hopes to have a ‘Happy Together’ and that makes us very fortunate.”
After the Turtles broke up in 1970, Volman formed Flo and Eddie with Kaylan. The duo also worked with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Alice Cooper, Bruce Springsteen, Blondie, T. Rex, and more, per The Los Angeles Times.
Volman and Kaylan went on to compose music for film and TV. Volman later became a college music professor.
In 2015, Volman and Kaylan celebrated their 50th anniversary as musical partners with a final North American tour together. Five years later, Volman was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, which he revealed in his memoir, Happy Forever, in 2023.
Mark Volman’s Life Partner Paid Tribute to Him
Volman is survived by his significant other, Emily Volman, as well as his ex-wife, Pat Volman, and their daughters, Hallie and Sarina.
Shortly after his death was made public, Emily Volman posted a tribute on Instagram, where she shared memories of the late music icon.
“To be honest, it’s been very hard to write a post about this magical man without saying exactly what everyone already knows,” she wrote. “He WAS that goofy and happy and funny and smart and generous and kind and talented and gentle and creative and thoughtful and hardworking and tough and unique. He inspired. He mentored. He entertained. He loved. He ate. He danced. He learned. He experienced. “
“I happened to have won the lottery by being the person he chose to do a lot of that with for a good chunk of his life. I sort of don’t know who I am now without him in my life,” she added, before asking fans to share memories of him as well.
“Thanks for loving him. Not as much as I did, of course. But you done good,” she added.
