NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mark Volman, a founding member of the 1960’s pop group The Turtles, whose hits embrace “Happy Together” and “Elenore,” died in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday after a quick, surprising sickness, in line with his publicist, Ame Van Iden. He was 78.
Volman was identified for his exuberant stage presence and distinctive vocals. In a 1967 efficiency of “Blissful Collectively” posted to YouTube, Volman wears shiny orange and dances round with a French horn that he would not seem to play, however does place on bandmate Howard Kaylan’s head.
His vital different, Emily Volman, posted to his official Instagram account that Volman had joked he needed information of his loss of life to learn, ”‘Teen Idol Dead, Drugs Suspected’.”
“I messed up!” she posted. “Sorry, honey.”
She referred to as him a “magical man” who was “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.”
The Turtles broke up in 1970 throughout an acrimonious cut up with their label, and a contract clause wouldn’t enable the members to carry out beneath their very own names. So Volman and Kaylan reinvented themselves because the duo Flo & Eddie, incomes a status for his or her humor and flexibility. They toured with Frank Zappa’s Moms of Invention, created background vocals for Bruce Springsteen, and wrote music for tv exhibits like Strawberry Shortcake.
“At all times humorous, at all times upbeat, and a spirited and creative performer, we are going to miss him drastically,” Evan Cohen, Volman’s lawyer and longtime pal, posted to Fb. He wrote that Volman and Kaylan set an instance by advocating for the rights of musicians in proudly owning their recordings and band names. They ultimately regained management of The Turtles’ music and identify and started touring once more.
Throughout a “Happy Together” tour in 2011, Volman informed The Each day Republic that he continually heard tales from individuals about what the hit music meant to them, together with many individuals who performed the tune at their weddings.
“That one song changed our entire future forever,” Volman stated. “We were very fortunate to be part of a song that has such staying power. That song has really become part of the American life of so many people.”
A “borderline C” pupil in highschool who figured he would do sheet-metal work like his father if his band didn’t take off, Volman enrolled in school at age 45 after visiting a faculty along with his older daughter. He ultimately earned a grasp’s diploma and began instructing music enterprise, touchdown at Belmont College in Nashville in 2005. He would even take college students on tour with him as a part of his courses, giving them firsthand expertise in tour administration, stage administration, audio engineering and tour accounting.
Talking in regards to the determination to show, Volman informed the Nashville Scene on the time, “Profitable artists are few and much between, and I needed to connect a component of actuality to issues. Failure is an choice, a great choice as a result of it teaches you to choose your self up. Simply since you put out a report that doesn’t succeed, that doesn’t make it a foul report.”
In 2023, he revealed his memoir, “Happy Forever: My Musical Adventures With The Turtles, Frank Zappa, T. Rex, Flo & Eddie, and More.”
Volman was recognized in 2020 with Lewy physique dementia, however he continued to carry out on annual “Happy Together” excursions within the years that adopted. He publicly revealed his prognosis in 2023.
He’s survived by Emily Volman; his ex-wife, Pat Volman; and their daughters, Hallie Volman and Sarina Miller; and his brother, Phil Volman.
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Sejal Govindarao contributed from Phoenix.
