Rock and pop icon dead at 78 after brief illness: ‘An incredibe talent

Mark Volman, the singer for the 1960s popular rock and pop group The Turtles, has died.

He was 78.

His reps told Rolling Stone that he died in Nashville on Friday after a “brief, unexpected illness.” The site said that Volman had also been battling Lewy body dementia which he was diagnosed with in 2020.

“Sad to hear about the passing of my friend Mark Volman,” The Monkees’ Micky Dolenz wrote on X. “I’ll always remember his humor & voice with the Turtles.”

Dolenz shared a phot oof them together at a charity tennis event back in the 1970s.

“Sending love and condolences to Mark’s family, friends, and fans,” he added.

“We’ve lost our Flo,” Danny Deraney wrote on X. “Rest in peace Mark Volman. Such an incredible talent with The Turtles and The Mothers of Invention. Mark could play almost any instrument and without a doubt is the prototype of being the original hype man in modern music.”

Volman’s lawyer, Evan Cohen, also posted about his death on Facebook.

“Always funny, always upbeat, and a spirited and inventive performer, we will miss him greatly,” Cohen wrote.

Volman founded The Turtles along with Howard Kaylan, and they were best known for their 1967 No. 1 hit “Happy Together.”

Billboard noted that the group had 17 songs hit the Billboard Hot 100 with five of those going on to become top 10 hits.

“’Happy Together,’ a masterpiece of 60s pop, will continue to be loved by all, because, like Howard, and the Turtles, it just makes people feel good,” Cohen wrote. “Thank you Mark, for your 60+ years in music. My dep condolences to the Volman Family, and to Howard, of course.”