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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 18, 2020 0:09:53 GMT
The Turtles were a very interesting and diverse band. Their music ranged from surf music (as The Crossfires in 1965) to folk rock (including some Bob Dylan covers) to pop/rock (where they had most of their success) to psychedelic music (later in their career). The Turtles released eight studio albums, but they were known primarily for their hit singles. The Turtles' most popular singles included "It Ain't Me Babe", "You Baby", "She'd Rather Be With Me", "She's My Girl", "Eleanor", "You Showed Me", and their biggest hit, "Happy Together".
After The Turtles disbanded, the their main vocalists, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, recorded as Flo & Eddie due to lingering contractual reasons. Flo & Eddie joined Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention, sang backing vocals for several artists including T, Rex, Alice Cooper, and Bruce Springsteen, and released several albums on their own.
In 1984, The Turtles embarked on "The Happy Together Tour" with Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, Spanky & Our Gang", and The Association. I was fortunate to attend The Happy Together Tour in 2018 and 2019. Mark Volman performed, but Howard Kaylan was unable to perform due to health reasons.
I thought I'd kick off the thread by featuring "Happy Together" with the following videos. The first video is an interview with Howard Kaylan as he describes the genesis of "Happy Together". The second video is the The Turtles performing "Happy Together" circa 1967. Enjoy!
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Post by lonelysummer on Mar 21, 2020 1:23:48 GMT
Do you have the Rhino video? It came out sometime in the 80's. Amazing to me how Mark never ages, while Howard looked old even back in 1987. Love the part where they are talking about their management history.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 21, 2020 2:07:20 GMT
Do you have the Rhino video? It came out sometime in the 80's. Amazing to me how Mark never ages, while Howard looked old even back in 1987. Love the part where they are talking about their management history. Is this the one you're referring to?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 22, 2020 14:32:29 GMT
Early Turtles. 1965. One of my favorite Dylan covers:
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Post by lonelysummer on Mar 23, 2020 20:54:54 GMT
Do you have the Rhino video? It came out sometime in the 80's. Amazing to me how Mark never ages, while Howard looked old even back in 1987. Love the part where they are talking about their management history. Is this the one you're referring to?
That's the one!
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 30, 2020 22:44:06 GMT
The Turtles' 2 1/2 or 3-minute classics were as good as anybody's in pop music in the late 1960's. And, Howard Kaylan was a great singer; he had an exceptional voice. Here is a LIVE medley of a few of their hits. Howard is looking a lot like Rob Reiner (Meathead) on All In The Family, or vice versa:
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 10, 2020 14:32:01 GMT
One of the best songs from the Psychedelic Era, "She's My Girl" (1967):
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 13, 2022 23:28:15 GMT
A Turtle question...Howard Kaylan, who was a brilliant singer, sang most of the lead vocals on The Turtles' recordings. However, occasionally I'll hear a high(er) voice and it sounds different than Kaylan's voice. I know Howard Kaylan could sing pretty high quite effectively, but again, this voice has a different texture. Is it Mark Volman? Did any of the other Turtles sing lead vocals?
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Post by kds on Jul 14, 2022 14:15:29 GMT
Wasn't Eleanor written as a kind of spoof of flowery love songs at the time?
I'm a pretty casual Turtles fan, but You Showed Me is a favorite of mine by them.
Although, I have to admit Happy Together is one of those songs that I never need to hear again.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 14, 2022 17:16:32 GMT
I'm a pretty casual Turtles fan, but You Showed Me is a favorite of mine by them. "You Showed Me" was written by Gene Clark and Roger (then Jim) McGuinn in 1964 before they formed The Byrds. "You Showed Me" was subsequently recorded by The Byrds, but it didn't appear on their Mr. Tambourine album. However, recordings of "You Showed Me" by The Byrds from 1964 were eventually released on Preflyte, In The Beginning, and The Preflyte Sessions.
"You Showed Me" was introduced to The Turtles by their bass player and producer, Chip Douglas, who heard the song performed by Clark, McGuinn, and David Crosby at The Troubadour in 1964. "You Showed Me" appeared on The Turtles' album, The Turtles Present The Battle Of The Bands, and was released as a single in 1968 reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 15, 2023 16:41:32 GMT
Sad news for Mark Volman...
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 15, 2023 16:58:19 GMT
That is awful news, and it's hard to imagine being the person diagnosed with that disease. I can easily imagine myself spiraling downward in terms of my mental health. If he's even half as upbeat as that article suggests, that's remarkable.
I didn't realize he'd gone back to school and even become a college professor. I wonder how many former rock stars have put in the effort to make similarly challenging life adjustments in their latter years. I know that Robert Schneider of the 90s-00s band Apples In Stereo became a college math professor. Brian May of course famously got his PhD, but he did most of that work before Queen took off, as I recall. I'd imagine many lesser known people did something similar, but I can't think of any off hand.
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Post by lonelysummer on Jun 15, 2023 23:18:46 GMT
I've seen the Turtles in concert a few times. Saw them on a package show about 15 years ago with the Grass Roots, Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone, and Tommy James and the Shondells. The Turtles were fun because of the comedy of Flo and Eddie, but those hit songs of theirs are so strong, too. Last time I saw them might have been about 8 years ago, opening for Herman's Hermits. I thought Howard's voice was sounding very nasally, almost helium-based. I guess it wasn't long after that he retired. Now I think it's Ron Dante who does the lead vocals for the group. Kind of mixed feelings about seeing them without Howard, but I guess I should go if they are in the area. Never know when it might be the last time.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 15, 2023 23:50:46 GMT
I've seen the Turtles in concert a few times. Saw them on a package show about 15 years ago with the Grass Roots, Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone, and Tommy James and the Shondells. The Turtles were fun because of the comedy of Flo and Eddie, but those hit songs of theirs are so strong, too. Last time I saw them might have been about 8 years ago, opening for Herman's Hermits. I thought Howard's voice was sounding very nasally, almost helium-based. I guess it wasn't long after that he retired. Now I think it's Ron Dante who does the lead vocals for the group. Kind of mixed feelings about seeing them without Howard, but I guess I should go if they are in the area. Never know when it might be the last time. I've posted about it a few times, but I attended three of the Happy Together Tour shows over the last few years. At those three concerts, The Turtles were the headliners, but Howard Kaylan was not present due to health reasons. He was replaced by Ron Dante on vocals. At the shows, Ron also performed "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies which he sang the original lead vocal on. Ron's voice is still strong.
Also, Mark Volman was still very entertaining, just like his old Turtles' days. He interacted with the audience and told some funny stories. I read that Mark was instrumental in forming the Happy Together Tour, and subsequently keeping it going. He has been very loyal to his invited guests including The Cowsills, Gary Puckett, The Association, The Vogues, The Classics IV, The Buckinghams, Mark Lindsay, Little Anthony, and Chuck Negron. In turn, I'm sure they appreciate him and the opportunity to have a stage and audience to keep performing. They all give 100% and the audience loves it.
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Post by lonelysummer on Jun 17, 2023 1:07:14 GMT
I've seen the Turtles in concert a few times. Saw them on a package show about 15 years ago with the Grass Roots, Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone, and Tommy James and the Shondells. The Turtles were fun because of the comedy of Flo and Eddie, but those hit songs of theirs are so strong, too. Last time I saw them might have been about 8 years ago, opening for Herman's Hermits. I thought Howard's voice was sounding very nasally, almost helium-based. I guess it wasn't long after that he retired. Now I think it's Ron Dante who does the lead vocals for the group. Kind of mixed feelings about seeing them without Howard, but I guess I should go if they are in the area. Never know when it might be the last time. I've posted about it a few times, but I attended three of the Happy Together Tour shows over the last few years. At those three concerts, The Turtles were the headliners, but Howard Kaylan was not present due to health reasons. He was replaced by Ron Dante on vocals. At the shows, Ron also performed "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies which he sang the original lead vocal on. Ron's voice is still strong.
Also, Mark Volman was still very entertaining, just like his old Turtles' days. He interacted with the audience and told some funny stories. I read that Mark was instrumental in forming the Happy Together Tour, and subsequently keeping it going. He has been very loyal to his invited guests including The Cowsills, Gary Puckett, The Association, The Vogues, The Classics IV, The Buckinghams, Mark Lindsay, Little Anthony, and Chuck Negron. In turn, I'm sure they appreciate him and the opportunity to have a stage and audience to keep performing. They all give 100% and the audience loves it.
Well, I checked, and they're not coming anywhere near Seattle. I guess that's why I've never seen this tour - they never make it to the Northwest. Sadly, that is the case with most oldies artists I follow. I did get to see Gary Lewis and the Playboys once, in 2004; and now a couple of the Playboys are with Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone. I saw the Association and B.J. Thomas back in 2003; last time I saw Mark Lindsay was back in 2012. Never seen Chuck Negron, but I did see TDN... oh boy, that was quite a few years ago, too. 1995! They were here a couple of times for a NYE show, but the tickets were all gone before I could get one. About the only thing we get up here now is tribute bands. Tributes to Boston, Styx, Eagles, Mellencamp, Ronstadt, Stones, Beatles, there's even a tribute to Bread called Toast! It's sad seeing all your heroes grow old ...or worse. And it didn't help that the music I loved was always a generation before mine. But I am thankful I did get to see quite a few of them in the 80's and 90's.
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