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The Turtles guitarist and vocalist Mark Volman has died aged 78.
Volman died in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday (Sunday 5) after a ‘brief, unexpected illness’.
Volman was a founding member of The Turtles, who initially went by the Crossfires, in 1963. He was a student at Westchester High School in California at the time, along with member Howard Kaylan.
Alongside Volman and Kaylan, the Turtles was made up of lead guitarist Al Nichol, rhythm guitarist Jim Tucker, bassist Chuck Portz and drummer Don Murray.
The Turtles had a number of hits to their name in the 1960s, including It Ain ‘t Me Babe in 1964, Happy Together in 1967 and Elenore in 1968.
The classic rock band broke up in 1970, after which Volman and Kaylan formed the musical duo Flo & Eddie. They toured with Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention and created backing tracks for artists including Bruce Springsteen.
Volman was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia (LBD) in 2020. Lewy body dementia is a progressive brain disorder, causing changes to sleep, behaviour and movement.
Volman continued to perform through the early stages of his illness.
He revealed his diagnosis in 2023 and the same year published his memoir, Happy Forever: My Musical Adventures With The Turtles, Frank Zappa, T. Rex, Flo & Eddie, and More.
In his final Instagram post in January, Los Angeles native Volman asked his followers to come together amid the destructive wildfires.
Volman’s representative confirmed the rockstar had died this week in a statement to People.
Volman is survived by his wife Emily Volman, his ex-wife Pat Volman, their daughters Hallie Volman and Sarina Miller and his brother Phil Volman.
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