Happy Birthday Mark Volman

Mark Volman was born April 19, 1947 in Los Angeles, California. He was a portly child who enjoyed watching Howdy Doody and eating Scooter Pies.

Volman and his buddy Howard Kaylan performed together in HS with the band ‘The Crossfires’. Mark graduated from Westchester HS in 1965 with a solid 1.9 GPA. They changed the band name to “The Turtles” and signed with White Whale Records.

The Turtles

The Turtles’ version of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe” reached the Top 10. More hits followed—“Happy Together,” “She’d Rather Be With Me,” “Elenore” and “You Showed Me”. Mark and Howard proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that even unattractive guys could get laid if they were in a rock band.

Contractual and creative differences with their label forced the band to split up and relinquish the rights to their name. Mark’s parents had to call him ‘Hey You’ or risk getting sued. No one could call him Mark Volman. By 1970, Volman and Kaylan (now known as Flo and Eddie) had reemerged as part of the Mothers of Invention. How that happened is anyone’s guess.

Happy Birthday Mark Volman — Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan aka Flo and Eddie or The Turtles Illustration By Paul King Art

After many years of legal fighting, Mark was able to use his own name once again and retain the rights to his master tapes. Mark and Howard got the band back together, and went on the road with The Turtles.

After a prolonged absence, Volman returned to school in 1994, enrolling at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He completed a master’s program and was valedictorian of his class. He joined a fraternity and was captain of the football team. More importantly, though, he had found his calling. Volman became a professor in teaching students how not to be screwed in the music business by crooked managers and lawyers. Volman is happily married and is a born again christian. Cheers Mark.