Mark Volman of The Turtles performs on The Happy Together Tour 2024 at Mayo Performing Arts Center on June 14, 2024 in Morristown, New Jersey. Photo: Getty Images
An exuberant performer with a distinctive voice, Mark Volman was a founding member of the 1960s pop group The Turtles (Happy Together, Elenore) who went on to perform with some of rock’s biggest names. Born in Los Angeles, Volman provided distinctive harmonies to The Turtles, whose pure pop sound was powerful enough to depose The Beatles from the top of the US charts. After the band split he and bandmate Howard Kaylan reinvented themselves as the duo Flo & Eddie, touring with Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention and doing backing vocals for T-Rex and Bruce Springsteen. Aged 45 Colman enrolled in university after visiting a school with his older daughter. He earned a master’s degree and started teaching about the music business, eventually becoming a professor at Belmont University in Nashville. Volman was diagnosed in 2020 with Lewy body dementia, but he continued to perform for as long as he could. Marc Volman died on September 5 aged 78. — Agencies/Allied Media
