Mark Volman, a founding member of the 1960s rock band The Turtles and co-founder of the comedy rock duo Flo & Eddie, died Friday, September 5, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee, after a brief, unexpected illness. He was 78.
Volman’s representatives confirmed his death, which came two years after he was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2020. The progressive neurological disorder affects memory, movement, and thinking and is caused by a buildup of proteins in the brain.
Born in Los Angeles on April 19, 1947, Volman began his musical career in high school in 1963 when he joined his classmate Howard Kaylan’s band the Crossfires. After graduating from Westchester High School in 1965, the group was renamed The Turtles and included lead guitarist Al Nichol, rhythm guitarist Jim Tucker, bassist Chuck Portz, and drummer Don Murray.
The band achieved their first Top 10 hit in 1965 with a cover version of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe.” Their biggest success came with the January 1967 single “Happy Together,” which rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for three weeks. The song also reached the Top 10 in several other countries, including number 12 in the United Kingdom.
The Turtles scored nine Top 30 pop singles in the United States, including five Top 10 hits. Their other successful songs included “Elenore,” “She’d Rather Be With Me,” “You Showed Me” and “She’s My Girl.” The group was known for their frequent appearances on television variety shows of the era and even performed at the White House in 1970 for President Nixon’s daughter Tricia, who reportedly considered them her favorite band.
When The Turtles disbanded in 1970, Volman and Kaylan formed the comedy rock duo Flo & Eddie, with Volman taking the stage name “Flo,” short for The Phlorescent Leech. The duo was recruited by Frank Zappa to join his band, Mothers of Invention, which provided them with a significant career boost.
As Flo & Eddie, the pair became sought-after session musicians, providing background vocals for numerous high-profile artists. They toured with Alice Cooper, sang on T. Rex’s landmark glam album “Electric Warrior,” including the hit “Bang a Gong (Get It On),” and were recruited to provide Beach Boys-style harmonies on Bruce Springsteen’s first Top 10 single “Hungry Heart.” They also created music for television, notably writing songs for the children’s series “Strawberry Shortcake.”
The duo demonstrated sharp business acumen throughout their careers, particularly after a bitter legal battle with their former record label White Whale left them temporarily unable to perform under The Turtles name or even use their own names. Once they regained control of their master tapes, they vigilantly managed their catalog’s licensing and distribution.
In a notable legal case, when they discovered that The Turtles’ “You Showed Me” had been sampled on De La Soul’s 1989 debut album “3 Feet High and Rising,” Volman and Kaylan sued for $2.5 million in damages. The matter was settled out of court in their favor, with reports indicating they received $1.7 million. This lawsuit effectively ended the golden age of sampling in hip-hop music.
In his later years, Volman returned to academia, earning a bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University in 1997 and completing a master’s degree in screenwriting in 1999. He subsequently taught music business courses at the college level, most consistently at Belmont University in Nashville.
In 2010, Volman and Kaylan began organizing annual Happy Together tours, featuring other acts from the 1960s and 1970s, including Gary Puckett, Mitch Ryder, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & The Raiders, and The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz. After Kaylan retired in 2018 due to health issues, Volman continued as the last original Turtles member performing with the band, partnering with Archies singer Ron Dante.
Volman publicly revealed his Lewy body dementia diagnosis in 2023 while promoting his memoir “Happy Forever: My Musical Adventures With The Turtles, Frank Zappa, T. Rex, Flo & Eddie, and More.” Despite his diagnosis, he continued performing through the early stages of his illness. Sandy Yaguda of Jay and the Americans, who toured with Volman on the Happy Together tour, noted that “part of the joy of his life was performing.”
In his final Instagram post in January 2025, Volman addressed the devastating Los Angeles wildfires affecting his hometown. Despite appearing frail in the post, he expressed resilience and encouraged others to stay strong, writing about Los Angeles residents being “of strong, formidable roots and even more creative, industrious minds.”
Volman is survived by his significant other Emily Volman, his ex-wife Pat Volman, their daughters Hallie Volman and Sarina Miller, and his brother Phil Volman.
