Who Are these Guys?

I suppose you have to be over forty years old to even have a clue who these two guys are. So sue me! I am over forty, although I would not recognize either of their faces should they pass me on the street. Not that I would be anywhere near their neighborhood, nor would they want to be near mine… So who are these guys?

They’re Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan!

What you say? Who are Volman and Kaylan? Why they’re Flo & Eddie! Geeze.

So who is Flo? Who is Eddie? Ok, Ok… they’re vocalists from waaay back. The Turtles. Remember now? No? Geeze. Now quit making me feel older than I already am by asking me who the Turtles are. Just Google it to get an in-depth history lesson.

For those of you who have never heard of these two artists, or for those of you old fogies who barely remember much of the ‘60s through all the acrid smoke and psychedelic haze, here’s a fresh refresher course on a few snippets of the history of this dynamic duo from an era when Pop music actually was fun and had a tempo most everyone could dance to… not that I ever really learned how to dance anyway.

Howard Kaylan, born Howard Kaplan, and later known as Eddie, is a founding member and the lead vocalist of the ‘60s Pop group known as the Turtles. Mark Volman, AKA: Flo (Phlorescent Leech) his eternal sidekick and co-founder of the group, comprises the second half of this comedic musical duo.

Kaylan and Volman met in their Los Angeles area high school choir, both singing tenor. Volman joined Kaylan’s high school surf combo as a roadie just after the group was renamed the Crossfires. For two budding vocalists it was ironic that the band played mostly instrumentals, heavy on a surf guitar-style lead. It was 1962, in a pre-Beatle invasion environment. At the ripe age of fifteen, the saxophone wielding duo booked the band for UCLA fraternity parties, earning $200 a gig along with all the drunken debauchery they could swallow. It wasn’t until they won numerous battle of the band contests that the pros began taking their talent seriously. They were forced to learn Pop hits of the time and began working as a backup band for big name entertainers like the Coasters, the Righteous Brothers, and Sonny & Cher.                             

 In 1964 on the eve of the Crossfires' eminent breakup, they were signed to a no-name record label, canned the surf music and became the Turtles. Their first hit “It Ain’t Me Babe” a Dylan tune played to their own arrangement, shot them to the Top Five nationally. Not long afterward they opened for Herman’s Hermits at the Rose Bowl to over fifty-thousand kids. In the spring of 1967 they released one of my favorite hits “Happy Together” knocking the Beatles’ “Penny Lane” from the #1 slot for three weeks. Even though the band was called the Turtles, they were, in spirit still the Crossfires from Westchester High.

At the end of 1970, Kaylan and Volman signed on as members of Frank Zappa's band, The Mothers of Invention. Eight albums and the film, 200 Motels came from that partnership, as did the stage names "Flo & Eddie". The duo was not allowed legal use of their own names until multiple Turtle lawsuits were settled.

Nevertheless, one of my favorite Mothers of Invention albums of all time remains the recording entitled: “The Mothers Live at the Fillmore East June 1971,” featuring Kaylan and Volman on vocals. The track called “Mudshark” still resonates in the corners of my mind today if only as a great comedic and dynamic vocal arrangement with abounding arpeggios. It tells of the origins of the legendary rock star tale of the “incident at the Edgewater Inn”  involving the Vanilla Fudge, Roger Daltrey, Led Zeppelin, a groupie, and a fish called a mudshark. There allegedly exists some 8mm film of the event but to date nothing has surfaced. “Latex Solar Beef” also kicks some butt when it comes to the vocal “…talkin’ ‘bout your adenoids, baby” complimented by rip-shredding embellishments of signature Zappa riffage. If you can still find the CD it is worth a close listen for numerous curious reasons besides the Flo & Eddie contributions.

In addition to the sixteen album releases since the demise of the original Turtles, Flo & Eddie have sung backup vocals for T-Rex, Steely Dan, Ray Manzarek, Bruce Springsteen, The Psychedelic Furs, and the Ramones. They have consistently been one of the top grossing tour groups in the country.

The Top 40 Pop-rockers are still touring today at sixty-two years old billing themselves as “The Turtles… featuring Flo & Eddie”. In 2008 they teamed up with another famous ‘60s Pop star Peter Noone, AKA: Herman of Herman’s Hermits. But mentioning Noone recalls another story for another time. Good old Pop stars still continue their quest to entertain us, keeping their music alive.

teeg

 Quotable quote:

“Of course, chicks keep popping up. When you`re in a hotel, a pretty young lady makes life bearable.” – Roger Daltrey

                                                                                                   ----30----

Photo Credit: © Utopia Artists, LLC

Sources:

http://www.theturtles.com/turtles.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flo_&_Eddie

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Kaylan

http://www.quotelucy.com/quotes/roger-daltrey-quotes.html

http://www.neotomicaliviac.com/2009/04/interview-with-howard-kaylan-of-turtles.html