Biography of The Turtles

The Turtles were a pop/rock quintet 1963-69, with varying personnel, though always featuring lead singer Howard Kaylan (b.Jun 22, 1945) and backup/harmony singer Mark Volman (b.Apr 19, 1944). Other original members were guitarists Al Nichol (b.Mar 31, 1945) and Jim Tucker, and bassist Chuck Portz (b.Nov 8, 1945). They began life as a surf band called the Crossfires, but by the time of their debut album on White Whale Records, they'd become a folk-rock group singing Bob Dylan songs including their first hit, "It Ain't Me Babe." More characteristic of their style, however, was the sweet pop hit "You Baby" of 1966. The Turtles topped the charts with "Happy Together" in 1967 and scored several more romantic pop hits before they split up at the end of the '60s, after which Kaylan and Volman hooked up with Frank Zappa in the Mothers, then performed on their own as Flo And Eddie. Today, they continue to perform under that name and as the Turtles. ~ William Ruhlmann