Cult rocker from The Turtels
Mark Volman died
In the 1960s, the guitarist was successful with The Turtles, even played for the president in the White House. Now Mark Volman is dead.
He was 78 years old. Mark Volman, founding member of the 1960 rock band The Turtles, died on Friday morning. As the US magazine reports, the cause of death is still unclear.
After a “short, unexpected illness”, the musician in Nashville died in the US state of Tennessee, as his spokesman is said to have confirmed in an explanation. Volman has also suffered from Lewy body dementia (LKD) for five years.
Together with Howard Kaylan, Volman formed the heart of the Turtles. The guitarist and singer was known for his striking, curly hair. The biggest hit was her single “Happy Together” from 1967, which then climbed to first place on the Billboard charts.
With school band to the top of the charts
Volman started his musical career in the high school in 1963 when he joined the band The Crossfires of his classmate Howard Kaylan. The band, which was later renamed The Turtles, had its first top ten hit in 1965 with a version of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe”.
In 1970, shortly after playing a concert in the White House for President Richard Nixon’s daughter Tricia, the band separated with their record label during a dispute. From then on, Volman and Kaylan performed as a duo Flo & Eddie. They sang in the background for great artists such as Duran Duran or Bruce Springsteen. In 2023, Volman remembered Epic parties with John Lennon or Jimi Hendrix in his memoirs entitled “Happy Forever”. During the then promo tour to the biography, the later music lecturer (he took up his university degree in 1999) looked back in humble: “It all sounds like a dream now. In my heart I’m just a groupie.”
Dementia diagnosis five years ago
Volman has suffered from Lewy body dementia since 2020, a progressive neurological disease with initial symptoms such as hallucinations (he saw civil war soldiers on the field in front of his house), tremors and difficulties of concentration. “It became clear to me that this would herald a completely new part of my life. And I said to myself: ‘Okay, whatever will happen, will happen, but I will go as far as I can,” the guitarist said his thoughts.
Volman leaves his ex-women Emily Volman and childhood love Patricia Volman. With the latter he has the daughters Hallie and Sarina.
Spotonnews
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
