Mark Volman of the Turtles Dies at 78

Mark Volman, a cofounder of the Turtles and the cosinger on several of their hit songs, has died. He was 78.

Over his five-decade career, Volman also performed with fellow Turtles cofounder and singer Howard Kaylan as Flo & Eddie, who released albums as a duo and also performed on songs by Bruce Springsteen, T. Rex and Frank Zappa.

According to Variety, Volman died in his home in Nashville on Friday after a sudden illness.

READ MORE: Top 40 Songs of 1965

In 2023, Volman revealed he had dementia. He noted at that time that he was diagnosed in 2020, but did not discuss his illness as he continued to tour. “I got hit by the knowledge that this was going to create a whole new part of my life,” he said in 2023.

“And I said, ‘OK, whatever’s going to happen will happen, but I’ll go as far as I can.'” He explained at the time that he felt something was wrong in 2018.

Listen to the Turtles’ ‘It Ain’t Me Babe”

“I remember slurring, and I wasn’t sure what was going on,” he recalled. “My brain wandered. I’d go off track. It made no sense.”

What Songs Did Mark Volman Sing?

Volman was born in Los Angeles in 1947. In 1963, he and Kaylan formed the genesis of the band that became the Turtles in 1965. They immediately scored a handful of Top 40 hits, including a cover of Bob Dylan‘s “It Ain’t Me Babe,” their debut single, that reached No. 8.

More hits followed — “She’d Rather Be With Me,” “Elenore” and “You Showed Me” all made the Top 10 before the ’60s ended — with the band releasing their only No. 1, “Happy Together,” in 1967. The song stayed at the top position for three weeks.

Listen to the Turtles’ ‘Elenore’

After the Turtles broke up in 1970, Volman and Kaylan, going as Flo & Eddie (Volman was Flo), joined Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, appearing on Chunga’s Revenge, 200 Motels and other albums.

While the duo released a string of albums starting with 1972’s The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie, Flo & Eddie were best known as backing vocalists for other artists.

Which Artists Did Flo & Eddie Sing Backup For?

Among their many credits, Volman and Kaylan sang on records by Blondie, Alice Cooper, Duran Duran, John Lennon and Ramones.

Listen to Flo & Eddie’s ‘Keep It Warm’

Perhaps their most famous backing vocals came with their work on a pair of T. Rex albums, including 1971’s Electric Warrior, featuring “Bang a Gong (Get It On),” and Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart” in 1980.

Volman was also diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015 but was cleared a year later. Kaylan retired from touring in 2018 due to health issues, leaving Volman as the only original member of the Turtles’ road band.