Mark Volman, singer and co-founder of ’60s and ’70s rock bands The Turtles and Flo & Eddie, has died at age 78.

Volman died Sept. 5 in Nashville after a “brief, unexpected illness,” his representatives told People and The Associated Press. He had told People he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a common type of dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease that causes a progressive decline in mental and physical abilities, in 2020.

USA TODAY has reached out to his representative for confirmation.

Volman was known for his upbeat demeanor and comedic style. Some may recognize him for his coke-bottle glasses and wild, frizzy hair, which the British entertainment outlet NME infamously reported he had insured for $100,000 against fire, theft or loss due to illness in 1968. Volman was described as embodying the feel-good music of the bands he cofounded.

“Always funny, always upbeat, and a spirited and inventive performer, we will miss him greatly,” his lawyer, Evan Cohen, said in a Facebook post Sept. 5. “And, as if it needed to be said, ‘Happy Together,’ a masterpiece of 60s pop, will continue to be loved by all, because, like Mark, Howard, and The Turtles, it just makes people feel good.”

The Turtles

California native Volman co-founded The Turtles − after cycling through names The Nightriders, The Crossfires and The Tyrtles − with his high school friend, New Yorker Howard Kaylan, in the 1960s, reported Deadline and Rolling Stone.

The band’s founding members featured Kaylan on lead vocals, Volman on backup vocals, Al Nichol on lead guitar, Don Murray on drums, Chuck Portz on bass and Jim Tucker on rhythm guitar. The band made its mainstream breakthrough with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe,” which landed in the Billboard Top 10 in the summer of 1965.

The band found peak popularity in the late ’60s, releasing hits like “She'd Rather Be with Me,” “You Know What I Mean,” “She’s My Girl,” “Elenore,” and its most iconic chart-topper, “Happy Together,” which took the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in spring 1967.

Band members changed over the years; Don Murray and Chuck Portz were replaced by John Barbata and Chip Douglas, Douglas was replaced by Jim Pons, and Barbata was replaced by John Seiter. Tucker ultimately left the band, reducing it to a five-piece ensemble.

Flo & Eddie

Throughout, Volman and Kaylan remained steadfast, founding their own rock-comedy duo after the dissolution of The Turtles in 1970. Volman and Kaylan had joined Frank Zappa’s band the Mothers of Invention as “Phlorescent Leech & Eddie” and, when Zappa was injured and unable to perform for a time, the duo released an album with other members of the band.

Thus Flo & Eddie was born, with Volamn shortening “Phlorescent Leech” simply to “Flo” and Kaylan going by “Eddie.”

The pair maintained a successful and busy touring schedule until about 2018, after which Kaylan developed health problems that took him off the road, he told Forward magazine.

Volman performed until the end despite dementia symptoms

“The challenges of this world affect everybody, and it’s been kind of fun being on the other side of a challenge like this and saying, ‘I feel good,’” he told the magazine at the time. “My friends are here. I’m still here. And I want people to connect with me.”

Volman was married to his high school sweetheart, Patricia Lee Hickey, for 25 years, from 1967 to 1992. The couple had two daughters, Sarina Marie and Hallie Rae Volman, before divorcing. In 2000, he remarried Emily Volman before divorcing in 2015, according to People.

Volman continued performing after his 2020 diagnosis, fighting through increasingly debilitating symptoms he described to People in 2023 like hallucinations, tremors and struggles with concentration.

After his 1992 divorce, Volman attended Loyola Marymount University at age 45, earning a bachelor’s degree with several honors, according to his “Professor Flo” website bio. He went on to earn a master of fine arts with an emphasis on screenwriting in 1999 from Loyola Marymount and later taught courses at several colleges and universities.

Volman is survived by both his ex-wives, two adult daughters and his brother, Phil Volman.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mark Volman of The Turtles, singer behind 'Happy Together,' dies at 78

Reporting by Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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