# Mark Volman

Mark Randall Volman (born April 19, 1947) is an American vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with his bandmate and friend Howard Kaylan, a member of the 1970s rock duo Flo & Eddie, where he used the pseudonym Flo (short for The Phlorescent Leech). Volman also became a stand-out figure upon joining Frank Zappa's band, The Mothers of Invention.

## Early life

Volman was born in Los Angeles, California, on April 19, 1947 to a Jewish father and Catholic mother. He grew up in Westchester, a suburb of Los Angeles, where he performed in the proto-Turtles band the Crossfires and graduated from Westchester High School in 1965.

## Career
### Music and film

Volman and Howard Kaylan were founding members of the Turtles, a popular band of the late 1960s. In December 1968, NME magazine reported that Volman had insured his distinctive frizzy hair for US$100,000 against fire, theft or loss due to illness. As their band folded, Volman and Kaylan discovered that the terms of their contract forbade them to use not only the name 'The Turtles', but also their own names. Kaylan and Volman were recruited by Frank Zappa, joining the Mothers of Invention, and they also worked together as Flo & Eddie in music, in film (they provided music and voices for animated films like Down and Dirty Duck), and in radio broadcasting. In 1971 Volman appeared on the soundtrack to Zappa's humorous pseudo-documentary film, 200 Motels.
In 2015, Kaylan and Volman celebrated their 50th year, touring and performing more than 60 concerts a year, billed as "The Turtles ... Featuring Flo & Eddie" with their Happy Together Tour, a classic revue-format show featuring some popular bands of the mid-to-late 1960s musical era. During this tour in 2015, Volman was diagnosed with throat cancer, but was declared cancer-free in 2016. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Volman and Kaylan have been "leading the charge against the uncompensated use of their music—and using state-based misappropriation, conversation and unfair competition claims because sound recordings only began falling under federal copyright protection in 1972."
With Kaylan's retirement due to health issues in 2018, Volman is the last original member of the Turtles still performing with the band.

### Academia

In 1992, at age 45, Volman started his bachelor's degree at Loyola Marymount University. He was an active undergraduate member of the choir and a Founding Father of the California Chi chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Volman graduated with a B.A. degree in 1997 magna cum laude and was the class valedictorian speaker. During the speech he led the graduates in a chorus of "Happy Together". CBS Evening News covered Volman's graduation and interviewed his parents, who were perplexed at their son's academic accomplishments.
Volman earned a Master's degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in screenwriting in 1999, also from Loyola. Since that time, he has taught Music Business & Industry courses in the Communications and Fine Arts department at Loyola. He has also taught courses in the Commercial Music Program at Los Angeles Valley College. He is currently an associate professor and coordinator of the Entertainment Industry Studies Program at Belmont University, in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business and conducts seminars about the music industry for various academic institutions from junior high school to university level. In addition, he offers consulting on music business and entertainment through the website Ask Professor Flo.

## Personal life

Volman married high school sweetheart, Patricia Lee Hickey in January 1967, and they were married for 25 years. The couple had two daughters, Sarina Marie and Hallie Rae Volman. Volman married his second wife, Emily in 2000. They were divorced in 2015.
In June 2023, Volman disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia.

## Discography
### With The Turtles
#### Studio albums

| Year | Album | Label |
| 1965 | It Ain't Me Babe | White Whale |
| 1966 | You Baby | White Whale |
| 1967 | Happy Together | White Whale |
| 1968 | The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands | White Whale |
| 1969 | Turtle Soup | White Whale |

#### Singles

| Year | Title (A-side / B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated | Album | Label |
| 1965 | "It Ain't Me Babe" / "Almost There" (from You, Baby) | It Ain't Me, Babe | White Whale |
| 1965 | "Let Me Be" / "Your Maw Said You Cried (In Your Sleep Last Night)" | It Ain't Me, Babe | White Whale |
| 1966 | "You Baby" / "Wanderin' Kind" (from It Ain't Me, Babe) | You, Baby | White Whale |
| 1966 | "It Was a Very Good Year" / "Let the Cold Winds Blow" | It Ain't Me, Babe | White Whale |
| 1966 | "Grim Reaper of Love" / "Come Back" (from Wooden Head) | Golden Hits | White Whale |
| 1966 | "We'll Meet Again" / "Outside Chance" (from Golden Hits) | Wooden Head | White Whale |
| 1966 | "Making My Mind Up" / "Outside Chance" (from Golden Hits) | Happy Together | White Whale |
| 1966 | "Can I Get to Know You Better?" / "Like the Seasons" (from Happy Together) | Golden Hits | White Whale |
| 1967 | "Happy Together" / "Like the Seasons" | Happy Together | White Whale |
| 1967 | "She'd Rather Be with Me" / "The Walking Song" | Happy Together | White Whale |
| 1967 | "Guide for the Married Man" / "Think I'll Run Away" | Happy Together | White Whale |
| 1967 | "You Know What I Mean" / "Rugs of Woods & Flowers" (from Happy Together) | Golden Hits | White Whale |
| 1967 | "She's My Girl" / "Chicken Little Was Right" (Non-LP track. A re-recording of this song later appeared on The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands) | More Golden Hits | White Whale |
| 1968 | "Sound Asleep" / "Umbassa the Dragon" (Non-LP track) | More Golden Hits | White Whale |
| 1968 | "The Story of Rock and Roll" / "Can You Hear the Cows" (Non-LP track) | More Golden Hits | White Whale |
| 1968 | "Elenore" / "Surfer Dan" | The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands | White Whale |
| 1969 | "You Showed Me" / "Buzzsaw" | The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands | White Whale |
| 1969 | "House on the Hill" / "Come Over" | Turtle Soup | White Whale |
| 1969 | "You Don't Have to Walk in the Rain" / "Come Over" | Turtle Soup | White Whale |
| 1969 | "Love in the City" / "Bachelor Mother" | Turtle Soup | White Whale |
| 1969 | "Lady-O" / "Somewhere Friday Night" (From "Turtle Soup") | More Golden Hits | White Whale |
| 1970 | "Teardrops" / "Gas Money" | Non-LP track (released under the alias: "The Dedications") | White Whale |
| 1970 | "Who Would Ever Think That I Would Marry Margaret?" / "We Ain't Gonna Party No More" | More Golden Hits | White Whale |
| 1970 | "Is It Any Wonder?" / "Wanderin' Kind" (from Wooden Head) | Golden Hits | White Whale |
| 1970 | "Eve of Destruction" / "Wanderin' Kind" (from Wooden Head) | It Ain't Me, Babe | White Whale |
| 1970 | "Me About You" / "Think I'll Run Away" | Happy Together | White Whale |
| 1978 | "To See the Sun" /"The Owl" /"Surfer Dan" (Alternate Version)/"The Last Thing I Remember" (Alternate Version) | Rhino Records 12″ EP Picture Disc (1968 Outtakes) |

### With The Mothers of Invention
#### Studio albums

| Title | Year |
| Chunga's Revenge | 1970 |
| Fillmore East – June 1971 | 1971 |
| 200 Motels | 1971 |
| Just Another Band from L.A. | 1972 |

#### Singles

| Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated | Album | Year |
| "Tell Me You Love Me" b/w "Will You Go All the Way for the U.S.A.?" [sic] | Chunga's Revenge | 1970 |
| "Tears Began to Fall" (remix) b/w "Junier Mintz Boogie" (non-album track) | Fillmore East – June 1971 | 1971 |
| "Magic Fingers" b/w "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" | 200 Motels | 1971 |
| "What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning" b/w "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" | 200 Motels | 1971 |

### With Flo & Eddie
#### Albums

* The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie (1972)
* Flo & Eddie (1973)
* Illegal, Immoral and Fattening (1975)
* Flo & Eddie Interview with Barry Mann, Special Promotion Record for Radio Stations (1975)
* Moving Targets (1976)
* Rock Steady With Flo & Eddie (1981)
* The History of Flo & Eddie and the Turtles (1983)
* The Best of Flo & Eddie (1987)
* The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie Captured Live! (1992)
* New York "Times" (2009)