Basically, unknown, not unappreciated. White Whale was a horrible label for such a talented band to be a part of. Only the big hits got much attention while the albums were amazing. PLUS, the Turtles were also fantastic live putting on top notch entertainment. They didn't just play their songs and sounded like the record like so many 60's bands. The Turtles always took delight in surprising their audience with unknown talents and polish.
Drummer John Barbata also played for "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young" and "Jefferson Airplane/Starship" as well as their various member's solo albums. He also played drums as a Session Musician on a large number of other artist's albums.
What is rarely mentioned when talking about The Turtles is how young they were when they achieved all of this success. Mark and Howard were both just 20 when Happy Together hit. 22 when it was all over.
I loved the Turtles! I had no idea they had such a varied and extensive background. It’s very interesting to know. Thanks for putting this awesome show together! It’s a gem!
Back in the mid 70's I worked in a Herbal Shoppe in Boulder Colorado and I had a basket of dried peyote buttons sitting on the counter that folks who knew what they were could partake of s few of them free. One day I was behind the counter reading a book when someone said: "Hey -- are these for sale?" I looked up and the person speaking was the frizzy haired guy from the Turtles. I told him go ahead take some free. He grabbed a few and left like a happy camper. I checked around and it turns out the Turtles were playing at the University of Colorado that evening.
I always liked that the Turtles always seemed to me to have an ironic take on pop music. They had a certain comedic element, which always struck me as very cool.
specially after 3 of them joined Zappa in 1970, then, WEIRDNESS was added to Irony-Comedy... super funny, but very Serious-Professional Musical Entertainment
She'd Rather Be With Me. One of my all time favorites! I'd forgotten they had so many hits. Great group. Talking Turtles with Matt. Perfect opening video for 2022!
I have seen Mark & Howard together live a few times on oldies circuit. Their songs are so great, and they are so fun! Happy Together is am alltime 60's classic! So are many of their other pop rock hits!
Yes, I'm Sam Burkes, was in a classic oldies cover band in Tucson Ariz., The Billie Shears Band! ..We worked with the newer incarnations of the Turtles once in 1990 at the Co. Fairgrounds as part of their "Happy Together" tour with the Grassroots. Mark Volman was eyeing us steadfastly as we ran through our set of sixties/seventies classics..In 1998, we worked with them again, few different members, at a 'fake-wave' water park NW of Tucson. They made the funny joke about playing poolside parties early on as the Crossfires/Early Turtles, and, now, here we are again, relegated to playing LARGER poolside gigs!! I cracked up, standing near the sound tech running their sound!! Those two were born entertainers and singers!! Definitely a treat. Saw the '66 Turtles at a south shore L.I. surf/teen club, summer of that year. They used all 'Jordan' sound/ guitar/bass amplification, borrowed from the Mammas and Pappas...Stenciled on sides of the cabinets. Al Nichol and Jim Tucker had their FireGlo Rickenbacker guitars, Nichol's 12- string, they did those songs that uses those jangly sounds. Johnny Barbata was drumming, think, for them. So I personally had more exposure to these guys than any other big time group of that era!! Sam A. Burkes lll
In the late 80s I worked at the Bottom Line in Greenwich Village. Flo and Eddie did a lot of shows there during the holidays. I got to meet and talk with Mark and Howard a few times and they were very cool guys. Needless to say their performances were superb. They both have such great voices.
..Our band opened for them at a water fake-wave theme park in Tucson, 1998..After the shows, got to meet/talk briefly with Howard & Mark just as they received their paycheck, introed myself as one of the guys in the opening band. Asked who was playing bass for them when I saw them in summer '66 on L I., NY. Howard was ruminating out loud, wondering who was with them. Said I recall bassist playing a semihollow Epi or Guild bass..Poor Howard couldn't recall, neither could Mark..They excused themselves, and they & their SUV got on their way..Really cool guys, pretty down-to-earth..Those cats were singing sob's!! What voices!!
@samburkes7552 Cool Story Man! You mentioned L.l., N.Y. Was it out East they played? And talk about voices! These Cat's get snubbed for the R&R Hall of Lame, which it has become! So many Great Groups & Solo Artists left out from the 50's & 60's! Turtles could do it ALL! Stay with us Boy's. You made my childhood & adult life Happy! 👍🏻
As I type this, I'm listening to The Turtles 1965 LP on vinyl. Howard Kaylan's ability to shift from sexy teen crooner to growling hard rocker is astounding. Not a bum tack on The Turtles' first album. They weren't a Poor Man's "Byrds". They transitioned from The Crossfires, a hot South Bay Surf band from the neighborhoods bordering LA International Airport to a first-rate Folk Rock & Pop band. Frank Zappa featured Howard and fellow-Turtle, Mark Volman with "The Mothers" as "Flo & Eddie". That ain't hay.
Re: "Almost There' - "These guys aren't The Seeds, trying to be a bit garagy there". That song was one of their early songs from the prior year (B side of "It Ain't Me Babe"), before there was a "Seeds sound", and typical of the early garage sound. For mid-1965, the boys did themselves proud as that is a nugget, but a bit too uptempo to be included on their debut folk album.
I was a kid when Happy Together hit the Top 40 AM radio and wow, what a classic. I loved it immediately, the first time I heard it, and have never tired of listening to it. It was one of those songs like The Letter by the Box Tops, California Dreamin' by the Mamas and Papas, and Light My Fire by The Doors, you know, hooks and arrangements that last a lifetime and more.
I absolutely LOVED that song back in early 67. I remember that time well - 'Happy Together', 'Ruby Tuesday', 'Penny Lane' and 'Georgy Girl' were all big hits at about the same time and I thought those were the four greatest songs ever for a while back then. The 'greatest ever' thing never lasted too long, because there was so much great new music always coming out. But those four still really resonate with me, I can still get that feeling that I got back then lsitening to those songs. I was in the first grade at that time!
I hear ya. All the songs mentioned hit me a certain way. But right in the Soul. Speaking of Soul, just a fun fact. The Box Tops were the 1st Caucasian Group to record for the Motown Label.
Great look at a 60’s rock band I didn’t know a lot about. Happy Together and It Ain’t Me Babe were the only songs I was really familiar with. I now want to listen to some more Turtles songs.
I was like 17 when my family went to visit relatives in LA. My Uncle happened to be a studio session drummer at Columbia Records and was a bit nuts. He volunteered to "babysit" my brother and I while the other went out for an evening. Well, he took us to The Whiskey (he knew everyone so we got in). Playing that night were The Turtles and The Doors! My Uncle hung out with the band members. Great experience I'll never forget. Needless to say, my Uncle was never asked to watch us again... 😂
Turtles did a show in my high school gym in Palos Verdes, South of L.A. in 1965. Opening act was the surf band, The Surfaris ("Wipe Out" was their big hit). Great show! 🎶✌️😎🏝️🌊🏄
Oh my what Memories my first concert the Jefferson Airplane and the turtles open for them I was in 12 years old oh my God the wonderful memories you have brought back I am subscribing to your wonderful channel on very glad you showed up I'm going to binge watch thank you
I am loving this look at the Turtles! I have been binging Pop Goes the 60's all day along with Let It Be. What a wonderful surprise to find a new episode! Looking forward to part 2!
It's funny Matt, when you played the snippet of Flying High I said to myself "This sounds like a bad Seeds song'. Then you mentioned the Seeds. Great minds eh :-). I grew up in LA in the 60's. It was pretty common to see major acts playing in the Akron, May Company or other large shopping area parking lot. Sonny and Cher, The Seeds, The Mamas and the Papas, The Doors and yes, The Turtles. Looking forward to Part 2. I just finished the Get Back documentary. I can't wait to hear your take on it. Happy New Years to you and your family, RNB
Hey Rick! Thank you for the comment. I do have a second set of videos on the Get Back doc. The first is a 3 part series where I joined John Heaton and Paul Mills on Paul's new channel, My Inner Groove. My upcoming Get Back videos will be out later this month.
I saw them in Riverdale, NY sometime around 1974 in a small college auditorium. Great show, great comedy, a really fun evening. Fond memories of the band!
Thank you Matt for doing this Turtles history. They definitely weren’t just a one hit wonder group. One of the best music documentary’s I’ve ever seen was the Rhino release Happy Together: The History Of The Turtles The Hits, The History, The Humor. I’d hightly recommend that to anyone interested in looking into The Turtles further. It’s a great watch. Looking forward to Part 2. Really enjoy your vids. :- )
"Ellinor," which was written half as a goof--"Write a hit, man!," is maybe my fave of all their tunes. Really cool ass band. They had fun, you could tell. Chip Douglas was a damn good bassist, and played on some of the best Monkees stuff , like "What Am I Doin' Hangin' 'Round?" Never really got the recognition he deserved, IMO.
Happy Together is one of the songs that got me to change my name to Happy and influenced my music. Such a fun song thank you for helping me finally understand the story
I'm somewhat younger and got into the Turtles through Frank Zappa, believe it or not. In my studies of 60s music, I began to appreciate them more. Thank you for this comprehensive documentary!
I have so loved The Turtles. Thank you for doing these posts about them, highlighting their talent and innovation. They really are an important band for that '60's to early '70's time.
Fantastic Matt. I always loved the Turtles. I love the hits and also Outside Chance and Just a Room are also particular favorites of mine. As with all your programs about bands I like, I end it with more songs and albums to love after watching and listening. Thanks.
Wow. Every time I watch one of these wonderful vids surveying the careers of 60s bands I find myself going straight over to iTunes to pick up all the wonderful deep cuts I might never have heard otherwise. Love discovering new old songs. I thank you, but my credit card might not be so enthusiastic…
I really like the Turtles, including some of the songs that you don't seem to care for. They are kind of a microcosm of 60's music, having dabbled in folk rock, surf music and a sort of bubble gum sound. They did good stuff in each of those sub genres. If a person has never heard any 60's music and wants to get a feel for what music was like at the time, I think the Turtles would be the band I would have them listen to, and I think that person would become a fan of the music.
Nice cover into the Turtles. Their journey was a rollercoaster ride, but what a ride. And Chip Douglas was visionary with shifting the arranging and playing bass on Happy Together.
Of course when he produced the Monkees Headquarters album he is listed as producer Douglas Farthing Hatlelid and then as Chip Douglas on bass. Way too much information...
@@terryprill2510 That was probably an effort to collect two paychecks. Producer and player. Happens all the time and, if you wrote the song, the money gets better yet.
The Turtles were one of the great 1960s bands. Maybe because there was a fun, comical vibe to the group like Jan & Dean and the Monkees, their music wasn't taken as seriously as The Beatles, Byrds, Doors etc. Songs like "Grim Reaper of Love", "Happy Together", "She's My Girl", and "She Rather Be with Me" are amazing singles that are very innovative and creative even in that groundbreaking period. The Battle of the Bands album is a landmark recording in that the Turtles take on different musical personas that include pop, surf, folk, country, psychedelia and prog rock. Nick Lowe would do this 10 years later on his Pure Pop for Now People album. Another great presentation Matt. You know your stuff!
A Happy New Year Matt, and again, thanks for connecting some dots here with this frankly rather seminal albeit short-lived band. The Bonner & Gordon hits, the connections to The Seeds & The Monkee's (you can really hear the influence from the bands former Bass player), these guys were flirting with genius (Happy Together, My Girl..) and well worth the deep dive. Much appreciated!
I had been hoping that you would do a deep dive on the Turtles one day and here it is. I can only hope that this follows to to the work of Flo and Eddie and the myriad of albums that they worked on. Thank you :)
Well, Matt, you have me hooked. I started with some of your Beatles videos and really loved them. I was a big Turtles fan in the mid-60s and even have a first pressing of the single "You Baby"/"Wandering Kind" on White Whale that I got when it first came out. I'm subscribed now and looking forward to going through all your videos. You do a wonderful job of analysis and critique. Keep it up! Jon
“Guide For The Married Man” was the theme of the movie of the same name. And I don’t know HOW many weeks “Happy Together” was in hot rotation on the mighty 93/KHJ Los Angeles. But if you like the original, check out the Zappa version with Flo & Eddie! If you EVER liked a record by The Turtles, I highly recommend this 3-part series.
Guide For The Married Man! Loved it when it came out. Didn't realize the Turtles did the Soundtrack till a few years after the movie came out. Excellent!
Oh, man! I LOVE Bob Lind's "Down In Suburbia"! Yeah, it treads the same ground as The Monkees' later "Pleasant Valley Sunday", but it's still cool! (Although the Hallelujah Chorus ending is a bit weak.)
hey Matt,excellent review and history of one of my favorite bands...they just never seem to be recognized for their harmonies,humor,musicianship and song craft...there's an l.p. that was put out by demon records recently{on green vinyl-no less} titled "the turtles '66" that has a lot of those "in-between" songs you were talking about with a lot of the in between musicians also performing such as, Joel Larsen {drums}, Don Murray {original drummer} John Barbata {replacement drummer-and awesome showman+drummer} Chip Douglas a/k/a Douglas Farthing Hatelid {replacement bass} Chuck Portz {original bassist} plus, Al Nichol, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan {the original guitarist and vocalist's}. there's great photo's, and...it's in mono. can't wait for part 3.keep up the good work...i always like your in depth reporting,obscure photo displays{a lot i've never seen before} and the change up of all the lp's behind you {i've got that one, I've got that one ooohhh i don't have that one , gotta get that other one,etc, etc}...sorry for the long comment...
Happy New Year, Matt! Thank you for another great band history video! I’ve been listening to The Turtles literally since I started hearing records on my parents turntable, yet I learned more while watching this. I agree, their direction should have been more slanted towards folk-rock on the “You Baby” album. I’ve always loved the title track, and thanks for mentioning “Just A Room”, a particular favorite of mine. Knowing they passed on including the brilliant ”She’ll Come Back” for that album is unfortunate. “Happy Together” is the album I knew from childhood, a solid, clunker-free lp in my book! p.s. Nice Dino Danelli reference, and appropriate in regard to drummer John Barbata……….
Solid content. I learned a lot. Thank you for exposing me to "one eyed midgets tell us lies." I'm looking forward to hearing your take about Jim Tucker meeting John Lennon in '67.
I just buy the 6 Deluxe double CDs and this band is fantastic ! One of the best from Laurel Canyon ! It's my trip of the moment and I just seen your video ! It's perfect ! Thank you ! Can't wait the part 2 !
It's About Time! The Turtles are one of the most important American Bands to successfully counterattack the British Invasion. John Barbata remains one of the Greatest Sixties Drummers (Originally Studio Sessions) and then with The Turtles, CSN&Y, Jefferson Airplane, amongst other music artists. Chip Douglas (Douglas Farthing Hatlelid) brought beautiful harmonies to The Turtles, as he would later do as Studio Producer and Bass Player with The Monkees. Did You Know? “Happy Together” was created by Bonner-Gordon in the process of simply tuning their guitars. Listen closely to the repetitive riff. “She’s My Girl” ventures into Pschedelia with a swirling arrangement + video. Kalyan and Volman are 2 of the most undervalued vocalists in pop music history, later recording a funny live album with Frank Zappa as “Flo and Eddie.”
This stuff Matt does here fills in missing gaps in a lot of what I thought I knew. Great work here. Anyhoo, guess I better dig up the chords for Happy Together. :)
I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT PART!!! The Turtles are currently my favourite band, I even got 'Shell Shocked' and 'The Turtles present; The battle of the bands' for Christmas this year!!
Anotehr great post! Im really glad you superimpose the faces of the band member changes and pictures of songwriters and personalities .Suggestion …Could you finish up telling us who is still alive and what became of remaining members in your vids. Give a good closure. Thanks for all you are doing. My request for future is the Left Banke. Thanks.
Hey R P. Part 3 is already in the can and I generally don't talk about who is still alive because in a year or 2, more will be gone. In an effort to keep these "ever green" I try not to date them with too much on "where they are now." The Left Banke is now in my cross hairs so I hope to have that out next month.
@@popgoesthe60s52 Yes. I get it. The “ever green”. I too would prefer the ageless faces and memories. Can’t wait for Part 3. And Left Banke. Thanks again. A real treat.!
Great way to start off the new year with a review of the Turtles - one of my all-time favorites! Never knew that another pair of songwriters wrote some of their biggest tunes. Always loved their harmonies & arrangements. Howard Kaylan is a great front man with really emotive vocals & an amazing vocal range. Check out the "She'd Rather Be With Me" video from the Ed Sullivan show (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Fb5i6UgGKo8.html&ab_channel=TheEdSullivanShow). No lip syncing and they're having a great time together. Look forward to seeing part 2!
By the time I saw the Turtles live, it was 1988 and they were already an “Oldies Act”. It was the most surprisingly enjoyable show I’ve ever seen. In more recent years, I have caught the Happy Together” tour several times and enjoyed it each time.
Pure Roger McGuinn. He plays it solo on acoustic guitar but not like a beautiful spiritual ballad as in The Turtles classic. Whoever produced that tune for the Turtles is a genius.
Well done young man. My favorite song is, She'd Rather Be With Me. I saw Howard & Mark on an Oldies Circuit twice. I even have 1 of Marks Drum sticks he used as a percussionist while performing. A radio DJ who put on the show gave it to me. Would have been cool to have it autographed. Best of Health Howard & Mark. Long Live the Turtles!
Jim Pons had quite the musical run with bands. I too feel that the Leaves version of "Hey Joe" is the best of many. While he was invited to play with the Turtles where he achieved probably his best success, he later ended up playing with Frank Zappa and the Mothers. Ironically, he couldn't read music so the piano player had to write the charts for him in order to satisfy the musical perfectionist Zappa. When Jim left music, he moved to NYC and became the videographer for the New York Jets. .for over 10 yrs. Quite the switch. He finally moved to Jax, Fl where he is today. Some career indeed.
Like many singles-based bands The Turtles albums tended to make for an uneven listening experience, gems amid rocks. But what a revelation when you grouped the folk-rock tracks together, which from a 2022 perspective still sound great and can line up well with their pop hits. Your posts are always a pleasure, Matt. Looking forward to part 2. --Stuart
Indeed, classic tracks from The Turtles! Thanks, Matt, I'm looking forward to future installments. While I'm here, I may as well add that I once met Reb way back, 40 years ago. He was dating a family friend at the time. Photographed his 'Revolver' gold record that The Beatles gave to him. Amazing history with sixties radio disc jockeys alone!
They (Howard and Mark in Westchester) went to the same school as the infamous Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme (whom I read dated Bill Siddons; the Doors manager).The Turtles definitely put out quite a few good songs. I really like the songs "Elenore" and "She's my Girl."
