Buried Treasure: The Turtles

The Turtles are another one of those great bands from the 1960s that almost nobody except the baby boomers who came of age during the Lyndon Johnson Administration will remember. The quintet had a nice run during the second half of the decade as they landed many folk influenced soft-rock hits on Top 40 radio. Despite the political turbulence of the era their music was typical of the sunny, Southern California sound popular at the time, offering tight, pleasing harmonies and upbeat, melodic arrangements.

Formed by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman in Los Angeles The Turtles began their career with a fine cover version of a Bob Dylan song, "It Ain’t Me, Babe" that became a top ten hit in 1965 and their popularity grew from there.

In short order they had two more hits, "Let Me Be" and "You Baby" and then in 1967 The Turtles became huge with the tune that really made them famous. "Happy Together," their only #1 record, was among the more popular songs of the decade and if young people today know the band at all it will be through this monster chart-buster. Their follow-up to that smash hit was the exuberant "She'd Rather Be With Me" which went to #3. The group's next couple of years continued to be fruitful. They had successes with "You Know What I Mean," "She's My Girl," "Elenore," "You Showed Me," "Can I Get To Know You Better," and more.

The team of Kaylan and Volman really were The Turtles. They led a band with a constantly changing supporting cast that at one time included Chip Douglas who later went on to produce The Monkees. After The Turtles disbanded the duo, believe it or not, did a complete musical metamorphosis by joining Frank Zappa in The Mothers of Invention followed by a separate career where they were known for a long time as Flo & Eddie. At various times they also sung with Bruce Springsteen, T. Rex, and Alice Cooper.

In the '90s there was a Turtles reunion and Kaylan and Volman are still active in the new century as you can see on The Turtles official website.


Comments

  1. Todd Mason12:48 PM, January 26, 2012

    Oh, I think folks remember "Happy Together" and then Flo and Eddie got them another audience, and then Salt and Pepa might've helped them a little with another yet with their cover of "You Showed Me"...

    ReplyDelete
  2. George2:24 PM, January 26, 2012

    I loved THE TURTLES as a kid. Flo and Eddie certainly had a long and productive career.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anders Engwall3:53 PM, January 26, 2012

    What a fine band. "You Dont Have To Walk In The Rain" is another favourite.

    According to legend, they once played at the White House for Nixon's daughter's birthday party. Evidently they were her favourite band at the time. Also according to legend, the band members were completely stoned out of their minds at the occasion. I really want to believe that story is true.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anders Engwall4:00 PM, January 26, 2012

    Another thing: in 1978, Flo & Eddie produced the first and only LP by DMZ, themselves a prime example of Forgotten Music... "Mighty Idy" is a killer:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Bq_4vKUZs

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

WHAT'S HOT TODAY!

Slower Than Slow: 16 RPM Records

Image
Have you ever heard of a long forgotten vinyl format, the 16 2/3 RPM record? They were half the speed of the 33 1/3 RPM albums that were the traditional standard for recorded music. Most record players in the 1950s and 1960s came with a speed setting to play these long forgotten discs that were considered novelties even during the years they were available. Because most, but not all, 16s had big holes and were 7" in diameter many of them were mistaken for 45 RPMs and at that size the speed allowed for up to 20 minutes of playing time per side. However, there was no true standard size and they were also manufactured to be 9, 10, or 12 inches in diameter, and these larger records played even longer. Just like the other speeds and formats 16s could be played one record at a time or stacked on a changer for continuous play. Radio stations often used the discs for pre-recorded radio shows containing interviews, dramas, and documentaries. More frequen
Read more

Chicago: An Album By Album Analysis Of The Terry Kath Era (1969 - 1977)

Image
The original lineup of Chicago has always been one of my all time favorite bands. My affection for this great horn band is such that I want to discuss all of the albums they recorded before Terry Kath's unfortunate and accidental passing. Their debut album is now forty years old, and it's followup is not far behind, yet their music endures to this day. * * * * * Everyone Must Own * * * * Excellent * * * Good * * Fair * Poor * * * * * Chicago Transit Authority (1969) - Whether they were playing screaming psychedelic hard rock, jazz, blues, or love songs, everyone in the band proved they were worthy of the huge mass success that followed CTA 's release. The band's ability to play anything and play it well is the hallmark of their debut album. The stars are Robert Lamm, Terry Kath, and the horns, and even Peter Cetera demonstrates he can be a rock and roll animal when he wants to be. The standout tracks are Lamm's "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It
Read more

Laurie London - He's Got The Whole World (In His Hands) (1958)

Image
Today we're going to discuss an almost totally forgotten hit record along with a little bit of related Billboard chart history. The inspiration for this post came about while sorting through some extremely old 45s that I didn't remember I owned. I've had "He's Got The Whole World (In His Hands)" by Laurie London - a rare, popular, gospel hit - in my record collection since my childhood, even though it wasn't really mine. The single belonged to either my mother or my grandmother who lived with us. I played it once in awhile because I was always allowed free access to their records, and it was eventually absorbed into my collection. Despite the name, teenager Laurie London (born January 19, 1944) was a boy singer who - at age thirteen - became a one-hit wonder in his native UK and in America the following year. Information about London is sparse. Details vary depending on the particular website you're reading, but according to Wik
Read more

Louis Armstrong - Louis In London (2024)

Image
Louis In London is a live album of a concert Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars recorded for the BBC on July 2, 1968. It was first aired by the network on September 22, 1968. Armstrong died in 1971 and his health was already taking a a sad turn when this concert took place. It's often been called his last great performance because his health deteriorated significantly shortly thereafter, and his ability to tour was severely limited. When the great tumpeter and singer received a tape recording of his London show he marked it "for the fans" because he was so proud of it. He also made copies on his recently installed high-end Tandberg tape system for each member of the All-Stars. In 1970, nine of the thirteen tracks from this new CD were released on LP as  Louis Armstrong's Greatest Hits Recorded Live  on Brunswick Records in both America and in the UK. The CD was digitally transfered form the original BBC telecast recording and no
Read more

Why Do 45 RPM Records Have Big Holes?

Image
Today we're going to find out why 45 RPM records have much larger holes than 78s and 33s. Believe it or not I often wondered about this burning question when I was collecting hundreds of these little seven inch gems back the 1960s. According to several websites, including Answerbag , the reason for the large hole used by 45s was simple. It was difficult for the old 78s, with their smaller holes, to find their way onto jukebox spindles. The large hole effectively eliminated that problem. Strangely, seven inch 45s were often pressed with the smaller holes used for LPs in many countries outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Overseas the inserts (commonly know as spiders) were manufactured into the large holes at the factories but they could be punched out if desired. The Beatles' British single of "Love Me Do," pictured here, is a typical example. Why were the spiders built into English 45s? I was unable to fi
Read more