In 1980 Bruce Springsteen came out with "The River." My brother had it so I listened to it at his house on headphones. The song "Hungry Heart" came on. I whipped off the headphones, looked at my brother, and proclaimed, "it's the Turtles! He looked at me incredulously and replied, "No it's not, it's Bruce Springsteen. I said, "No, I mean, on background vocals." I checked the liner notes, and sure enough, background vocals were credited to Flo and Eddie!
I think it’s CRIMINAL what White Whale Records did to The Turtles. It serves them right that they are one record company that went broke EARLY! Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (or Flo and Eddie, if you prefer… Frank Zappa did!) are two of the all-time GREAT vocal talents ever recorded! Even their commercials SMOKED!
Aw this was so neat to watch. I've always appreciated The Turtles' songwriting and musical talent (what a great singer Howard is!) while also really loving how friendly and fun they always seemed to be, like they genuinely had a great time playing together. Now I have to go compare The Byrds' and The Turtles' versions of You Showed Me, on repeat 😆
I lived in Orange County growing up. The cool thing to do as a teen in the early - mid 70's was to listen to KMET 94.7 on Sunday night. The Dr. Demento show came on at 7pm. What followed though was a cool show called Flo and Eddie: By the fireside. "Flo and Eddie by the fireside what a way to end the night, warm and cozy by the fireside. Settle back, enjoy the view, Flo and Eddie have a show for you, warm and cozy by the fireside." Cool jingle, right? Flo and Eddie interviewed various artists and played some of their music. I wished I could have heard more of their shows but they came on at 10 pm and it was on a school night. Thanks for the walk down memory lane Matt! I haven't thought of Flo and Eddie since '75.
I thoroughly enjoyed your 3 part Turtles series. I always thought Somewhere Friday Night and a few other songs from this period had a Monkees Headquarters vibe to them. I know Chip Douglas was no longer producing them, but I hear his influences in their sound. Thanks Matt for your hard work and due diligence. I really appreciate all you do. Best wishes, RNB
Though I liked some Turtles songs, was never a big fan. Gotta say though; that was a excellent documentary on them. Kept me interested enough to watch all three. Have you done any for other groups?
I was a Turtle fan in the 1960s (our family had many of their early 45s) and I first encountered Flo and Eddie (not knowing they were Volman and Kaylan) on the T Rex album The Slider (1972), performing the high harmonies, such as the excellent Metal Guru. Later, I found out they also were on the previous T Rex album, Electric Warrior (1971)...I enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work.
I've loved all three of these videos. I've always loved The Turtles, however, I was too young to see them as a kid. I did see Flo And Eddie as in 1978 and they featured a lot of The Turtles music in that show. As a side note, I took a girl there on our first date and she didn't get it. I never took her out again.
Thanks for a great documentary! I attended a concert in 1967 with the Turtles as the headliners. The opening act was the Buffalo Springfield. A preview of trends to come.
This three part series is great…thank you for putting it together…!!! I’m a longtime Turtles and Flo & Eddie fanatic, and it’s great to learn more about them. Well done Sir!!!
Thank you for this great thorough 3 parter...always loved these guys and are definitely in my Top 10 fave bands....these guys deserved to be in the RRHOF for sure...thank you and cant wait to see whats next from you.Take care
My first concert was Alice Cooper at the Nassau Coliseum. Flo and Eddie opened for them, and I had no idea who they were, but thoroughly enjoyed them. I was well familiar with The Turtles, but did not make the connection. This would have been around 1973 or 74.
Nice retrospective. "The Turtles" were privileged to be the 1st band I saw in 1965 ish at 15 years old. the show especially with the mental education that occurred at the show (ha ha) propelled me in a different direction. I bought the albums with "Eleanor (a favorite) and "Happy Together". They continued my musical and mental journey. Thank You Turtles, especially " Flo and Eddie" with Frank Zappa a true musical genius, the Bach, Beethoven of the 1960's!
I loved this; also, I love how you said "Chief Kamanawanalea" with a straight face. I've seen the documentary Happy together: The history of The Turtles many times- it ends with Mark and Howard's "management woes". It's appalling how they were treated by White Whale.. Love Howard's book "Shell Shocked". Thanks for this; very much appreciated!
WOW.....What a great story on a band that I followed from the beginning, when Columbia Record Club sent me a copy of the first album, and didn't ask for it back (long story) I thought I had the only stereo copy! But you have one! Good for you! I picked up Golden hits 1 and 2 at some point, and found a copy of Turtle Soup, in a cutout bin, in 1974. Great find! I read Howard's book, and he said The Turtles hated the original mix for Turtle Soup. Ray was very offended when they made him remix it. Oh well. So many great stories in Howard's book.
Thanks I enjoyed all 3 parts! I bought all those Rhino Turtle albums in the 80s and also found the original White Whale Turtle Soup, Happy Together and Golden Hits albums. I even have a green record in the shape of a turtle!
“Lady O” on the Turtle Soup album was originally written & recorded by the brilliant Judee Sill on her debut album in 1970. The Turtles did a fine job with this song, too! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks Matt, interesting that "us baby boomers" who grew up listening to the Turtles and still do on the Oldie Stations still remember most of the words to their great songs and perhaps always will..
This is awesome. I love your documentary. I actually am friends with Jim Pons. He lives here in Florida and is still playing bass but now with a bluegrass band.
The YT algorithm put your series in my feed. YT got this one right! Have watched a few of them (Jefferson Airplane, The Turtles, The Byrds, etc.). I grew up in the 60s/70s and heard all this music as it was released. Your presentations and explanations are GREAT! Thank you!
The Turtles were one of those groups that I really loved their hits, but found it hard to listen to the other songs. Exception being, I really enjoyed every song on "Battle of the Bands", perhaps because a) it was good, and b) songs that might not have done it for me became good when I put them into the context of the group they were pretending to be. "Too Much Heartsick Feeling" being a perfect example. If The Turtles did the song, not too crazy about it, but when done by the Quad City Ramblers, complete with picture of the group, it was fantastic. Such a good parody of the type of country music at the time out of Nashville where the singer is so sad, and includes a spoken part. Brilliant!
My older brothers took me to a Frank Zappa concert when I was a kid and Flo and Eddie were his singers. Just Frank and a bass player and drummer and Flo and Eddie. They did Happy Together for their encore, if I recall correctly. It was a lot of fun.
The first Flo & Eddie album is excellent. Two of the Shell Shocked songs, Goodbye Surprise and There You Sit Lonely, were re-recorded for this album. The first two Flo & Eddie albums are available on CD in one package.
I saw the fluorescent leech and Eddie at cincinatti gardens “the garden party” in the early ‘70s. So many bands like Joe Walsh and Barnstormers, Edgar Winter Group and I seem to remember sha na na. As a 14 year old I had loved the Turtles and hand no idea who Flo and Eddie were until I saw them in stage. Amazing concert that I’ll always remember. Great set of videos ..thanks!
GOODBYE SURPRISE is another favorite of mine! Thanks for spotlighting it! Thanks to the nice folks at Rhino and Sundazed for their yeoman work in keeping Turtles music alive. In addition to the book you mentioned (and thank you!), Mark Volman has taught college courses from time to time on the business of the record business, using the hard lessons he and Howard learned. Excellent History work!
Thank you for doing this. So many of the Turtle songs sound either alike, or re-hashes of someone else's songs. Their late 60's songs sound like solid early-to-mid-60's songs.
Excellent thanks so very much , seems like yesterday, this was all new stuff, they were a big part of the late 60s, when am radio was about all most young people had, what great music, so many creative forces, I loved and still love diversity, your show is absolutely spot on, triggering so many memories ! At that time it seemed like it would all last forever, but when you get toward 70 , I realized life was like a fuse , and it goes faster and faster, once you retire , and have time , the time seems in fast forward, sorry to ramble , great show , your damn good , very relaxing, my friend !!!!!!
Glad I came across this 3 part deal on the turtles on you tube.I was a big fan of them back in the 60s.I didn’t know about all the different classifications that existed,all I knew was I liked a great sounding song.I was surprised to hear “Elenor” was a send up.All I heard was to my ears a great song.Today I find myself gravitating to am oldies stations (I try to avoid Canadian ones because they are under Trudeau #1 orders to play 40% Canadian content)because they play these great hits that FM eschews.No one seams to notice that “classic rock” has become the same 30 songs over and over again.If only someone would play the (apparently dreaded) “pop” hits on terrestrial radio I could enjoy them in stereo too
Greetings Matt ✌ I throughly enjoyed your 3 part series on The Turtles 👍 IMO Happy Together is in the Top 10 of the Greatest songs of the 60's!!! Great vocals and harmonies, Fantastic arrangement, fine drumming, - A perfect Pop song all around, Kaylan had an outstanding voice as heard in one my favorite Flo & Eddie songs -Feel Older Now, Which is comparable to Ian Gillan, -Flo & Eddie did some great stuff with Frank Zappa, superb singing on songs like T.Rex's Get it On Bang a Gong and Bruce Springteen's Hungry Heart. Mark Volman and Howard Ksylan were a dynamic duo.
Great video. Even when the heavy stuff of the late 60s was thought of as the cool new sound you still had sugary pop like the Turtles. Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes. Hitchin' A Ride.
Dean Torrence relived his now bygone glory days of Surf and Drag music when he joined the Turtles for the flip side to Elenore (Surfer Dan), which WAS the best of a flock of bad, nonsensical flip sides that dominated the group's 1968 singles.
The songs from Turtle Soup and Shell Shock sound great, I’ll pick them up first chance I get. I really enjoyed this series about the band. Thank you for this.
i was disappointed in myself, many years ago they played in my town under the name Flo and Eddie, but at the time i didn't know who that was, i thought it was a cover band or some lesser members, not the leads. then i heard the story of them going by those names and i regretted not going!
I REALLY began to pay attention to the Turtles after Frank Zappa tapped them to do the Live at Fillmore East with Mother's of Invention. Loved their humor, musical experiments and devil may care attitude.
I found this 3 part history more interesting than I thought I would. I bought many of their singles when I was young, but never any of the albums. Their last two LP's have peaked my interest and I'll be looking for them on CD. It's never too late to go back and find music that you missed. Thanks again for your research and presentations.
This band history, like the 4 part history on the Association, is quite good, informative and entertaining. Matt Williamson does a really fine job in his presentation of the narrative about the Turtles, a band that I grew up with during the mid to late 1960s. Kudos to Matt and Pop Goes the 60s! (Now I'm waiting for your band history presentation on The Hollies! )
Thank you! SOOooo much better than the official Turtles documentary! One of my favorite bands of that decade. I would like to request that you might do something similar for Paul Revere and the Raiders one of these days.
They were chasing the charts in the most conventional way to the very end instead of playing to their strenghts of irony and sarcasm. That's why Kaylan and Volman fitted so well to Zappa.
Thanks to your series Matt, I now realize the Turtles are actually far more interesting than I thought! What a ride they had... and a lot of great music that didn't reach enough ears. You Showed Me was also covered by the Lightning Seeds, pretty much in the slower arrangement of the Turtles. That's how I know the song best, being an alternative music kid of the 90s.
Being a lifelong fan of The Turtles as well as Mark & Howard's post Turtles years, I appreciate all of the detail that you put into the 3 episodes that you put together. Another quality Pop Goes the 60s show !
I attended the "Happy Together Tour" performance a couple months ago, expecting to see Volman and Kaylan. Was dissappointed that no Turtles original members performed thier hits, only Ron Dante, who had played with/produced The Turtles at some point. But, did get to see surviving members of Cowsills, Association, Gary Puckett, others...
I was partial to the music played on FM radio in the late 1960's but AM radio was ubiquitous and like it or not, pop songs were heard almost everywhere. While I wouldn't buy a record by the Turtles, I never minded it when a song of theirs was on the radio, they were catchy tunes and Volman's vocals were up there with the best. I still enjoy listening to them, sometimes intentionally, LOL!
I really looked forward to your part three as someone who as a young boy bought a cassette of "Turtle Soup" and played it literally until it died a few years later. I should mention I was also one of the handful of people in the U.S. who went through great lengths to buy the vinyl release of the Kinks VGPS. Yes, it really was that difficult! As for the Turtles, I've always found this period the most interesting, confusing and frustrating part of the Turtles legacy. I really believe they were approaching a creative peak with much improved songwriting and quality albums like "Battle of the Bands" and especially "Turtle Soup". It ended way too quickly. Besides the management issues they had I would never underestimate the adverse impact to their success being signed to White Whale Records. White Whale was a very weak label. They only knew how to produce singles and most of their success all came from the Turtles. At the time "Turtle Soup" was released the best thing that could have happened to them would have been getting signed to a new label that would have given them the resources to produce quality albums and properly promote them. White Whale was simply a disaster for them. As stated in this video it was very difficult for 60's bands to transition to where music was going in 1969. Most were unsuccessful. I believe the Turtles had the potential to be one of the success stories.
If White Whale was honest, the band would have really raked it in because of the combination of music publishing and record production/label was all under one roof. At lease some of them got a payday.
Thanks for 3 part . Didn’t realize the Turtles kept on going right through to 1970..I wondered why they went with the name Flo and Eddie. Looking forward to next series.
Appreciate Matt, that you did a three part series on the Turtles entire history as a group. Never knew much about them, but always enjoyed their music. Watching live clips of them performing on various television shows in the '60s on TH-cam, I've always wondered how Mark Volman's playing the "clown" came across to people. Reading peoples comments about the videos, seems many people took how he was acting in the wrong way. Seems also that the trouble the band had with its label, White Whale (who saw the band as a "cash cow", as you put it, and weren't open to have the band grow in its music) was mirrored in how the Beach Boys label, Capitol, treated the Beach Boys after they recorded Pet Sounds, and their future albums (Capitol still treated them as a surfing group). I wanted to ask you if you've considered doing a video, possibly with John Heaton or others, talking about how the Beatles thought of their fans, and the problems the fans caused the band when they were together as a group.
I have many Beatle topics on my list but I haven't considered how they thought of their fans. That would be an interesting topic for sure. Thanks for the suggestion.
I discovered The Turtles in the mid 80s when they toured with Gary Lewis, the Grass Roots and the Buckinghams. The next day I bought the Rhino Records Greatest Hits album and I've been a fan ever since!!!
Jerry Yester's brother, Jim, was a prominent member of the Association. Also, John Seiter's brother, Jimmi, was long time road manager, associate producer and touring musician for the Byrds, then the Flying Burrito Brothers.
Love The Turtles, I was able to speak with Howard at his book reading in Seattle, funny guy with some great stories. I asked him why the wrecking crew wasn't involved with their music and he said "white whale couldn't afford to pay them"
Thanks again, Matt. Turtles rarities also are on a five-CD box set from Laserlight and on a two-CD anthology from Rhino called Zinc. I also have a vinyl gatefold two-record set from Telmak with 20 songs called The Turtles Greatest Hits. So many incarnations. I did like Give Love a Trial more than you, and the song Earth Anthem is beautiful and worth a mention. But my favorite Turtles song is the trippy and dramatic She's My Girl, which I'm surprised they could play on the Ed Sullivan Show (given the lyrics). The shift to waltz time near the end is classic.
Moving targets is mind blowingly fantastic . I have recently discovered a none related turtles album from the same period which rivals pet sounds at the very least . Tommy James and the shondells I think were alone now
Thanks for the 3-parter on The Turtles... I'm somewhat familiar with their later silliness with Zappa and The Mothers. My favorite classic Turtles cut: My Girl. Fabulous short treat of a psychedelic song. Howard's voice is SO choice there. These guys STILL make me smile. They just embody joy somehow. And I just love how they cruised on, stayed themselves, educated and refined their intellectual awareness, and didn't become acid casualties. Thanks also for the recommends on which compilations to seek out. Migod I love good psychedelic era music
In case some didn't know, Kaylan put out a new cd titled Dust Bunnies. Songs he wanted to do earlier in their career. It rocks. His voice is in great form. Pretty good songs.
Fantastic series you’ve made on The Turtles. I love the last 3 albums Battle, Soup & Shell Shocked. when I was 12 I only knew the tune Happy Together by them so I went to the record store and special ordered the 1974 Sire Compilation. That’s what got me introduced and into the band. I think that album has a great selection of the hits and wonderful oddities. And it was about all you could get by them in the seventies as their albums were out of print. Glad Rhino and Sundazed brought their catalog back. Thanks Matt! All the best, Ellis ps I had a 1 hour phone conversation with Mark Volman once. One of the highlights of my musical fandom life!
In 1980 Bruce Springsteen came out with "The River." My brother had it so I listened to it at his house on headphones. The song "Hungry Heart" came on. I whipped off the headphones, looked at my brother, and proclaimed, "it's the Turtles! He looked at me incredulously and replied, "No it's not, it's Bruce Springsteen. I said, "No, I mean, on background vocals." I checked the liner notes, and sure enough, background vocals were credited to Flo and Eddie!
They would've HAD a lot more big hits if radio had ever bothered to play any of them!!
I think it’s CRIMINAL what White Whale Records did to The Turtles. It serves them right that they are one record company that went broke EARLY! Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (or Flo and Eddie, if you prefer… Frank Zappa did!) are two of the all-time GREAT vocal talents ever recorded! Even their commercials SMOKED!
I have been a Volman and Kaylan fan since 1965. Thank you so much!!!
saw Flo and Eddie in the early 80"s opened for Stephen Stills at Foothill College in Los Altos CA, did all their hits and was a great show
Found this cause I was curious to hear about The Turtles. Very well spoken and fair description of their music through the periods.
Thank you Mr. Moccasin.
Great three part history. Excellent production and very engaging. Thank you!!
Surprised you didn't mention Flo and Eddies work with TRex. Their background vocals were key to TRex's sound. Very much enjoyed this history.
This is great helpful catch up on seemingly lost stories about the Greatest forgotten 60s best!
I would also add that Mark and Howard pushed hard to collect digital royalties on pre-1972 songs for all the Sixties bands.
Really enjoyed these Thanks!
Aw this was so neat to watch. I've always appreciated The Turtles' songwriting and musical talent (what a great singer Howard is!) while also really loving how friendly and fun they always seemed to be, like they genuinely had a great time playing together.
Now I have to go compare The Byrds' and The Turtles' versions of You Showed Me, on repeat 😆
I lived in Orange County growing up. The cool thing to do as a teen in the early - mid 70's was to listen to KMET 94.7 on Sunday night. The Dr. Demento show came on at 7pm. What followed though was a cool show called Flo and Eddie: By the fireside. "Flo and Eddie by the fireside what a way to end the night, warm and cozy by the fireside. Settle back, enjoy the view, Flo and Eddie have a show for you, warm and cozy by the fireside." Cool jingle, right? Flo and Eddie interviewed various artists and played some of their music. I wished I could have heard more of their shows but they came on at 10 pm and it was on a school night. Thanks for the walk down memory lane Matt! I haven't thought of Flo and Eddie since '75.
I thoroughly enjoyed your 3 part Turtles series. I always thought Somewhere Friday Night and a few other songs from this period had a Monkees Headquarters vibe to them. I know Chip Douglas was no longer producing them, but I hear his influences in their sound. Thanks Matt for your hard work and due diligence. I really appreciate all you do. Best wishes, RNB
Though I liked some Turtles songs, was never a big fan. Gotta say though; that was a excellent documentary on them. Kept me interested enough to watch all three. Have you done any for other groups?
I was a Turtle fan in the 1960s (our family had many of their early 45s) and I first encountered Flo and Eddie (not knowing they were Volman and Kaylan) on the T Rex album The Slider (1972), performing the high harmonies, such as the excellent Metal Guru. Later, I found out they also were on the previous T Rex album, Electric Warrior (1971)...I enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work.
Thank you, Stephen!
The T. Rex hit "Get It On" would not be the same without their harmony vocals.
I was a fan and in High School back in the 60s
I really like their backing vocals on Planet Queen
Thank you the turtles will always be one of my favs.
I've loved all three of these videos. I've always loved The Turtles, however, I was too young to see them as a kid. I did see Flo And Eddie as in 1978 and they featured a lot of The Turtles music in that show. As a side note, I took a girl there on our first date and she didn't get it. I never took her out again.
Thanks for a great documentary! I attended a concert in 1967 with the Turtles as the headliners. The opening act was the Buffalo Springfield. A preview of trends to come.
Wow what a great line up!
I love The Turtles!! Such great music!
This three part series is great…thank you for putting it together…!!!
I’m a longtime Turtles and Flo & Eddie fanatic, and it’s great to learn more about them.
Well done Sir!!!
Thank you Stew!
My sister wore out a few 'Battle of the Bands' 8-track tapes claiming it has a sound for every taste
Like I always say, this is the ABSOLUTE BEST 60s rock & roll history TH-cam page, period! Thank you for all your hard work!
Thank you, David!
Thank you for this great thorough 3 parter...always loved these guys and are definitely in my Top 10 fave bands....these guys deserved to be in the RRHOF for sure...thank you and cant wait to see whats next from you.Take care
My first concert was Alice Cooper at the Nassau Coliseum. Flo and Eddie opened for them, and I had no idea who they were, but thoroughly enjoyed them. I was well familiar with The Turtles, but did not make the connection. This would have been around 1973 or 74.
Nice retrospective. "The Turtles" were privileged to be the 1st band I saw in 1965 ish at 15 years old. the show especially with the mental education that occurred at the show (ha ha) propelled me in a different direction. I bought the albums with "Eleanor (a favorite) and "Happy Together". They continued my musical and mental journey. Thank You Turtles, especially " Flo and Eddie" with Frank Zappa a true musical genius, the Bach, Beethoven of the 1960's!
I loved this; also, I love how you said "Chief Kamanawanalea" with a straight face. I've seen the documentary Happy together: The history of The Turtles many times- it ends with Mark and Howard's "management woes". It's appalling how they were treated by White Whale.. Love Howard's book "Shell Shocked". Thanks for this; very much appreciated!
My pleasure, Joyce!
Great three part series Matt can’t wait to see what the next one is gonna be!
My thoughts too! Thanks Matt for your great research and presentation.
Thank you Matt for these videos!
WOW.....What a great story on a band that I followed from the beginning, when Columbia Record Club sent me a copy of the first album, and didn't ask for it back (long story) I thought I had the only stereo copy! But you have one! Good for you! I picked up Golden hits 1 and 2 at some point, and found a copy of Turtle Soup, in a cutout bin, in 1974. Great find! I read Howard's book, and he said The Turtles hated the original mix for Turtle Soup. Ray was very offended when they made him remix it. Oh well. So many great stories in Howard's book.
Thanks I enjoyed all 3 parts! I bought all those Rhino Turtle albums in the 80s and also found the original White Whale Turtle Soup, Happy Together and Golden Hits albums. I even have a green record in the shape of a turtle!
“Lady O” on the Turtle Soup album was originally written & recorded by the brilliant Judee Sill on her debut album in 1970. The Turtles did a fine job with this song, too! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Wow this whole series has been great! I thought I knew a lot about the Turtles but "You Showed Me"..(pun intended).
Thank you, Rich! More to come.
Found this by accident and have enjoyed all the background info on bands. The only word that fits is WOW! Terrific job
Welcome, Jeffrey and thank you for the kind comments!
Great research and story you did on one of the very best groups of the 60's, the Turtles. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for explaining why they went under "Flo & Eddie"... it was always a mystery to me, and seemed somewhat arrogant, until I understood why.
Thank you for these three videos on The Turtles. I am afraid I never took these musicians seriously. How wrong I was.
Thanks Matt, interesting that "us baby boomers" who grew up listening to the Turtles and still do on the Oldie Stations still remember most of the words to their great songs and perhaps always will..
This is awesome. I love your documentary. I actually am friends with Jim Pons. He lives here in Florida and is still playing bass but now with a bluegrass band.
Thank you for commenting, Deborah!
The YT algorithm put your series in my feed. YT got this one right! Have watched a few of them (Jefferson Airplane, The Turtles, The Byrds, etc.). I grew up in the 60s/70s and heard all this music as it was released. Your presentations and explanations are GREAT! Thank you!
"Me About You" is a brilliant song. I think I told Mark that when I met him.
The Turtles were one of those groups that I really loved their hits, but found it hard to listen to the other songs. Exception being, I really enjoyed every song on "Battle of the Bands", perhaps because a) it was good, and b) songs that might not have done it for me became good when I put them into the context of the group they were pretending to be. "Too Much Heartsick Feeling" being a perfect example. If The Turtles did the song, not too crazy about it, but when done by the Quad City Ramblers, complete with picture of the group, it was fantastic. Such a good parody of the type of country music at the time out of Nashville where the singer is so sad, and includes a spoken part. Brilliant!
Howard and Mark were back up vocalists on T. Rex’s biggest albums Electric Warrior and The Slider. That’s them on “Bang A Gong”.
My older brothers took me to a Frank Zappa concert when I was a kid and Flo and Eddie were his singers. Just Frank and a bass player and drummer and Flo and Eddie. They did Happy Together for their encore, if I recall correctly. It was a lot of fun.
Wow, cool experience - thanks for sharing!
@@popgoesthe60s52 Frank broke a guitar string and mentioned that he'd had a cold and was "boiling over with snot".
My favorite band...The Turtles good job!
The first Flo & Eddie album is excellent. Two of the Shell Shocked songs, Goodbye Surprise and There You Sit Lonely, were re-recorded for this album. The first two Flo & Eddie albums are available on CD in one package.
Thanks for that additional info, Ed!
I saw the fluorescent leech and Eddie at cincinatti gardens “the garden party” in the early ‘70s. So many bands like Joe Walsh and Barnstormers, Edgar Winter Group and I seem to remember sha na na. As a 14 year old I had loved the Turtles and hand no idea who Flo and Eddie were until I saw them in stage. Amazing concert that I’ll always remember. Great set of videos ..thanks!
Thanks for watching, Steven!
GOODBYE SURPRISE is another favorite of mine! Thanks for spotlighting it! Thanks to the nice folks at Rhino and Sundazed for their yeoman work in keeping Turtles music alive. In addition to the book you mentioned (and thank you!), Mark Volman has taught college courses from time to time on the business of the record business, using the hard lessons he and Howard learned. Excellent History work!
Thank you. This was a fun one to do. I appreciate the comments!
Thank you for doing this. So many of the Turtle songs sound either alike, or re-hashes of someone else's songs. Their late 60's songs sound like solid early-to-mid-60's songs.
I appreciate the comment Glenn!
Yeah baby!! Go Matt...what a great job!!
Highly recommend Howard Kaylan's book that's linked in the description. Great insight into the Turtles era as well as their Zappa time.
Shell Shocked..........I have a copy.....
Great three part series Matt , Loved this , I grew up with The Turtles. What a Great time in History to Live :) QC
great content. Always loved the Turtles. Thanks.
Excellent thanks so very much , seems like yesterday, this was all new stuff, they were a big part of the late 60s, when am radio was about all most young people had, what great music, so many creative forces, I loved and still love diversity, your show is absolutely spot on, triggering so many memories ! At that time it seemed like it would all last forever, but when you get toward 70 , I realized life was like a fuse , and it goes faster and faster, once you retire , and have time , the time seems in fast forward, sorry to ramble , great show , your damn good , very relaxing, my friend !!!!!!
Hey Michael! Thank you for the warm comment. More triggered memories to come!
I never knew much about the Turtles
Their story is very interesting.
Glad I came across this 3 part deal on the turtles on you tube.I was a big fan of them back in the 60s.I didn’t know about all the different classifications that existed,all I knew was I liked a great sounding song.I was surprised to hear “Elenor” was a send up.All I heard was to my ears a great song.Today I find myself gravitating to am oldies stations (I try to avoid Canadian ones because they are under Trudeau #1 orders to play 40% Canadian content)because they play these great hits that FM eschews.No one seams to notice that “classic rock” has become the same 30 songs over and over again.If only someone would play the (apparently dreaded) “pop” hits on terrestrial radio I could enjoy them in stereo too
I didn't know Trudeau enforced a 40% canadian content playlist! Those poor Canadians! Thanks John!
Another excellent job. Thanks for the education.
I really enjoy your history lessons!
Greetings Matt ✌ I throughly enjoyed your 3 part series on The Turtles 👍 IMO Happy Together is in the Top 10 of the Greatest songs of the 60's!!! Great vocals and harmonies, Fantastic arrangement, fine drumming, - A perfect Pop song all around, Kaylan had an outstanding voice as heard in one my favorite Flo & Eddie songs -Feel Older Now, Which is comparable to Ian Gillan, -Flo & Eddie did some great stuff with Frank Zappa, superb singing on songs like T.Rex's Get it On Bang a Gong and Bruce Springteen's Hungry Heart. Mark Volman and Howard Ksylan were a dynamic duo.
Thank you, Ernie. This ended up being a longer series than I intended but I'm glad I covered so much ground!
Thanks for the three part history Matt. A great job.👍🇬🇧🇺🇸
Great Turtles vids....THANKS
Very interesting series! Have the Turtles been inducted in the Rock an Roll Hall of Fame? If not they should be nominated, really deserve it.
Great video. Even when the heavy stuff of the late 60s was thought of as the cool new sound you still had sugary pop like the Turtles. Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes. Hitchin' A Ride.
Dean Torrence relived his now bygone glory days of Surf and Drag music when he joined the Turtles for the flip side to Elenore (Surfer Dan), which WAS the best of a flock of bad, nonsensical flip sides that dominated the group's 1968 singles.
Saw the Turtles twice. Jan & Dean once. Thanks for the info on Dean Torrence!
The songs from Turtle Soup and Shell Shock sound great, I’ll pick them up first chance I get.
I really enjoyed this series about the band.
Thank you for this.
Battle Of The Bands and Turtle Soup are my favourite albums.
The vinyl LP Greatest Hits was the first one I bought. Has my favorites as I grew up in the 60s.
i was disappointed in myself, many years ago they played in my town under the name Flo and Eddie, but at the time i didn't know who that was, i thought it was a cover band or some lesser members, not the leads. then i heard the story of them going by those names and i regretted not going!
Thanks for the great 3-parter, Matt. It was nice to see a deep dive on such an important band in rock n roll history.
Thanks for watching, Kenneth!
I just discovered your channel. I thoroughly enjoyed this video series about The Turtles. Thanks!
Awesome 3-parter!
I REALLY began to pay attention to the Turtles after Frank Zappa tapped them to do the Live at Fillmore East with Mother's of Invention. Loved their humor, musical experiments and devil may care attitude.
I found this 3 part history more interesting than I thought I would. I bought many of their singles when I was young, but never any of the albums. Their last two LP's have peaked my interest and I'll be looking for them on CD. It's never too late to go back and find music that you missed. Thanks again for your research and presentations.
I’m glad you enjoyed them David. Thank you for the comment!
This band history, like the 4 part history on the Association, is quite good, informative and entertaining. Matt Williamson does a really fine job in his presentation of the narrative about the Turtles, a band that I grew up with during the mid to late 1960s. Kudos to Matt and Pop Goes the 60s!
(Now I'm waiting for your band history presentation on The Hollies! )
Hello David. I do have the Hollies on my very long list which will be a fun one! Stay tuned.
Pop Goes the 60s I look forward it!
Excellent series.
Thank you! SOOooo much better than the official Turtles documentary! One of my favorite bands of that decade. I would like to request that you might do something similar for Paul Revere and the Raiders one of these days.
Yes! I will be covering the Raiders in the future. Thanks for the comment and request!
They were chasing the charts in the most conventional way to the very end instead of playing to their strenghts of irony and sarcasm. That's why Kaylan and Volman fitted so well to Zappa.
Thanks to your series Matt, I now realize the Turtles are actually far more interesting than I thought! What a ride they had... and a lot of great music that didn't reach enough ears.
You Showed Me was also covered by the Lightning Seeds, pretty much in the slower arrangement of the Turtles. That's how I know the song best, being an alternative music kid of the 90s.
Mark Volman's new auto-biography HAPPY FOREVER is also worth reading, very unique, with perspectives from many including his ex-wives!
Being a lifelong fan of The Turtles as well as Mark & Howard's post Turtles years, I appreciate all of the detail that you put into the 3 episodes that you put together. Another quality Pop Goes the 60s show !
Much thanks, Louis!
I attended the "Happy Together Tour" performance a couple months ago, expecting to see Volman and Kaylan. Was dissappointed that no Turtles original members performed thier hits, only Ron Dante, who had played with/produced The Turtles at some point. But, did get to see surviving members of Cowsills, Association, Gary Puckett, others...
Howard & Mark are dealing with health issues. ✝️ I was lucky enough to see them both in concert.
I was partial to the music played on FM radio in the late 1960's but AM radio was ubiquitous and like it or not, pop songs were heard almost everywhere. While I wouldn't buy a record by the Turtles, I never minded it when a song of theirs was on the radio, they were catchy tunes and Volman's vocals were up there with the best. I still enjoy listening to them, sometimes intentionally, LOL!
I really looked forward to your part three as someone who as a young boy bought a cassette of "Turtle Soup" and played it literally until it died a few years later. I should mention I was also one of the handful of people in the U.S. who went through great lengths to buy the vinyl release of the Kinks VGPS. Yes, it really was that difficult! As for the Turtles, I've always found this period the most interesting, confusing and frustrating part of the Turtles legacy. I really believe they were approaching a creative peak with much improved songwriting and quality albums like "Battle of the Bands" and especially "Turtle Soup". It ended way too quickly.
Besides the management issues they had I would never underestimate the adverse impact to their success being signed to White Whale Records. White Whale was a very weak label. They only knew how to produce singles and most of their success all came from the Turtles. At the time "Turtle Soup" was released the best thing that could have happened to them would have been getting signed to a new label that would have given them the resources to produce quality albums and properly promote them. White Whale was simply a disaster for them. As stated in this video it was very difficult for 60's bands to transition to where music was going in 1969. Most were unsuccessful. I believe the Turtles had the potential to be one of the success stories.
If White Whale was honest, the band would have really raked it in because of the combination of music publishing and record production/label was all under one roof. At lease some of them got a payday.
Thanks for 3 part . Didn’t realize the Turtles kept on going right through to 1970..I wondered why they went with the name Flo and Eddie. Looking forward to next series.
I think they could not perform or record with their real names due to lawsuits....Fact check me though in Howard's book and the episode here....
Great job on this series!
Thank you, Gerald!
Appreciate Matt, that you did a three part series on the Turtles entire history as a group. Never knew much about them, but always enjoyed their music. Watching live clips of them performing on various television shows in the '60s on TH-cam, I've always wondered how Mark Volman's playing the "clown" came across to people. Reading peoples comments about the videos, seems many people took how he was acting in the wrong way. Seems also that the trouble the band had with its label, White Whale (who saw the band as a "cash cow", as you put it, and weren't open to have the band grow in its music) was mirrored in how the Beach Boys label, Capitol, treated the Beach Boys after they recorded Pet Sounds, and their future albums (Capitol still treated them as a surfing group). I wanted to ask you if you've considered doing a video, possibly with John Heaton or others, talking about how the Beatles thought of their fans, and the problems the fans caused the band when they were together as a group.
I have many Beatle topics on my list but I haven't considered how they thought of their fans. That would be an interesting topic for sure. Thanks for the suggestion.
Superb overview! Great work.
This series was fantastic. Always been a fan of The Turtles and learned a lot. Keep making great content.
Thank you, Jacob! Much appreciated.
I discovered The Turtles in the mid 80s when they toured with Gary Lewis, the Grass Roots and the Buckinghams. The next day I bought the Rhino Records Greatest Hits album and I've been a fan ever since!!!
I love hearing about younger people (those not alive and buying records in the 60's) that discover and appreciate bands like the Turtles!
Jerry Yester's brother, Jim, was a prominent member of the Association. Also, John Seiter's brother, Jimmi, was long time road manager, associate producer and touring musician for the Byrds, then the Flying Burrito Brothers.
I have this picture in my mind of Mike Love doing his infamous “Dad dance” listening to “Surfer Dan”…..
Love The Turtles, I was able to speak with Howard at his book reading in Seattle, funny guy with some great stories. I asked him why the wrecking crew wasn't involved with their music and he said "white whale couldn't afford to pay them"
Thanks again, Matt. Turtles rarities also are on a five-CD box set from Laserlight and on a two-CD anthology from Rhino called Zinc. I also have a vinyl gatefold two-record set from Telmak with 20 songs called The Turtles Greatest Hits. So many incarnations. I did like Give Love a Trial more than you, and the song Earth Anthem is beautiful and worth a mention. But my favorite Turtles song is the trippy and dramatic She's My Girl, which I'm surprised they could play on the Ed Sullivan Show (given the lyrics). The shift to waltz time near the end is classic.
Hey Bruce, thank you for weighing in. Earth Anthem is a good song and She's My Girl is surprising to me that more people don't remember it.
Moving targets is mind blowingly fantastic . I have recently discovered a none related turtles album from the same period which rivals pet sounds at the very least . Tommy James and the shondells I think were alone now
Totally enjoyable Matt a very fine band which I have always liked very informative great stuff.
Great series. Always great to take a deep dive into a 60s act that often is pigeonholed by a single song
Thanks for the 3-parter on The Turtles... I'm somewhat familiar with their later silliness with Zappa and The Mothers.
My favorite classic Turtles cut: My Girl. Fabulous short treat of a psychedelic song. Howard's voice is SO choice there.
These guys STILL make me smile. They just embody joy somehow. And I just love how they cruised on, stayed themselves, educated and refined their intellectual awareness, and didn't become acid casualties.
Thanks also for the recommends on which compilations to seek out. Migod I love good psychedelic era music
I’ll be doing more psychedelic themed video so stay tuned!
@@popgoesthe60s52 You gotta do LOVE...
Excellent. Thanks again. Now I must get some of this.
Thanks Matt, loved this series on the Turtles. Learned a lot from your three videos. Great job. Cheers
My pleasure, Eddie!
In case some didn't know, Kaylan put out a new cd titled Dust Bunnies. Songs he wanted to do earlier in their career. It rocks. His voice is in great form. Pretty good songs.
Fantastic series you’ve made on The Turtles. I love the last 3 albums Battle, Soup & Shell Shocked. when I was 12 I only knew the tune Happy Together by them so I went to the record store and special ordered the 1974 Sire Compilation. That’s what got me introduced and into the band. I think that album has a great selection of the hits and wonderful oddities. And it was about all you could get by them in the seventies as their albums were out of print. Glad Rhino and Sundazed brought their catalog back. Thanks Matt! All the best, Ellis ps I had a 1 hour phone conversation with Mark Volman once. One of the highlights of my musical fandom life!
How cool you got to speak to Volman! Thank you for watching and commenting, Andrew!
Wild that Battle Of The Bands ONLY got to #128.