The Turtles

Artist Playlists

About The Turtles

Moving through folk, California pop, and psychedelia, The Turtles recorded a string of hits during the ’60s, becoming one of the era’s most memorable bands. ∙ Formed in 1963 by a group of high school friends, The Turtles debuted two years later with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe,” which hit No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. ∙ “Happy Together,” their iconic signature song, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967, and was quickly followed by “She’d Rather Be With Me,” which went to No. 3. ∙ Bassist Chip Douglas, who arranged “Happy Together,” was recruited to leave the group by Michael Nesmith, who tapped him to become The Monkees’ new producer. ∙ On 1968’s The Battle of the Bands, a concept album which spawned the hit singles “Elenore” and “You Showed Me,” The Turtles pretended to be 11 different groups. ∙ Ray Davies was behind the boards for the band’s 1969 LP, Turtle Soup, giving The Kinks’ frontman his first official production credit for a group other than his own. ∙ After the group’s 1970 breakup, singers Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman joined Frank Zappa’s The Mothers of Invention, appearing on Chunga’s Revenge as The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie. ∙ As Flo & Eddie, Kaylan and Volman continued recording and also did extensive session work, providing backup vocals to such artists as T-Rex, Alice Cooper, and Bruce Springsteen.

ORIGIN
Los Angeles, CA, United States
FORMED
1965
GENRE
Rock

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