Happy Together

The Turtles are possibly the most underrated band of the `60's. Two smart kids named Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman started hanging out around the neighborhood and at Fairfax High in the early `60's. By the mid-`60s they had a surf band called The Crossfires from Planet Mars. A DJ friend helped them get a record deal and they became the Turtles and started recording a series of popilicious hits for White Whale. You know the songs: "Happy Together," "You Baby," "Elenore," etc. And something you may not know was that they were also trying to push boundaries with albums like "Battle of the Bands," where they masqueraded as 11 different bands with funny names and individual styles, and "Turtle Soup" where they collaborated with Kink-genius guy Ray Davies to produce a really great album. So anyway, White Whale got mad at them for following their bliss and fired the rest of the band, making the Howard and Mark play with strangers.

Soon the relationship with between the record company and the Turtles was over, with the record company holding onto the Turtle name, Howard and Mark's names, and all the music. Howard and Mark became "Flo and Eddie." As such they recorded with Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. At some point, they won the bidding for their music and now have control of all of it, and after that, they eventually regained the use of the Turtles name. It's been a pretty great career for these funny, smart kids from L.A., and unlike so many groups from the `60's the Turtles never really went away, they just changed names for awhile. Check em out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSV1URdtgTc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h0-raymymU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY0weHalB7Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JecuqZV2vQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NVI1fEiSs0