The Turtles

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The Turtles
The Turtles in 1967 (left to right): Al Nichol, Chip Douglas, John Barbata, Mark Volman, Jim Tucker, Howard Kaylan.
The Turtles in 1967 (left to right): Al Nichol, Chip Douglas, John Barbata, Mark Volman, Jim Tucker, Howard Kaylan.
General information
Genre (s) Pop music , folk rock
founding 1963 as The Nightriders
resolution 1970
Founding members
Howard Kaylan
Vocals, guitar
Al Nichol
Chuck Portz (until 1967)
Don Murray (until 1967)
Last occupation
singing
 Howard Kaylan
Vocals, guitar
 Al Nichol
bass
 Jim Pons (from 1967)
Drums
 John Seiter (from 1968)
Vocals, saxophone
Mark Volman (from 1963)
former members
guitar
 Jim Tucker (1963-1968)
bass
 Chip Douglas (1967)
Drums
 John Barbata (1967–1968)

The Turtles were an American rock band of the 1960s that had their biggest hit with the single Happy Together .

Band history

1963 Howard Kaylan, Al Nichol, Chuck Portz and Don Murray played in the surf band The Night Riders from Los Angeles . After they were joined by Mark Volman, they called themselves The Crossfires and launched the singles Fiberglass Jungle and One Potato, Two Potato . The latter became a local hit after all. They were later joined by Jim Tucker.

In 1965, disc jockey Reb Foster heard them and was so excited that he became their manager and got them a contract with White Whale Records . The Crossfires first changed their name to The Tyrtles (as the counterpart of the Byrds ), but were soon called The Turtles . They were supposedly inspired by the love game of the turtles (turtle = tortoise), which can last up to 24 hours, which probably impressed the group members very much. Initially, the Turtles only covered songs by well-known composers, for example Bob Dylan or PF Sloan . The style of play was very reminiscent of that of the Byrds .

With the Dylan cover It Ain't Me Babe they came in the top 10 for the first time in 1965. The album of the same name included two other Dylan covers.

This was followed by the hits Let Me Be , You Baby and finally Happy Together , her greatest success. The albums You Baby (1966) and Happy Together (1967) were also released.

In the same year Murray and Portz left the band. John Barbata and Chip Douglas replaced them. In the following phase, the singles She'd Rather Be With Me , You Know What I Mean and She's My Girl appeared . A short time later, Douglas also left the Turtles. He was replaced by Jim Pons. Tucker soon also left the band.

On their 1968 album The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands (released in Germany as Elenore ), the band managed to sound as individual in each piece as if they had been recorded by different bands. Elenore and You Showed Me also appeared as singles .

In 1969 the album Turtle Soup was released , produced by Ray Davies of the Kinks . The Turtles' last album, Wooden Head , was released in 1970, and they separated soon after. Volman and Kaylan played in Frank Zappa's group The Mothers of Invention from 1970 and also performed Turtle pieces there. Initially under the name The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie , and, because they were no longer allowed to use the name Turtles, then as Flo & Eddie .

In 1992 the Turtles reunited in New York City for a live recording. However, only Kaylan and Volman were left.

Discography

Studio albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
UK UK US US
1965 It ain't me babe - US98 (19 weeks)
US
1967 Happy together UK18 (9 weeks)
UK 		US25 (22 weeks)
US
1968 Battle of the Bands - US128 (12 weeks)
US
1969 Turtle Soup - US117 (9 weeks)
US

More studio albums

  • 1966: You Baby
  • 1970: Wooden Head
  • 1986: Chalon Road
  • 1986: Shell Shock

Compilations

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US
1967 Golden hits US7th
gold
gold

(39 weeks)US
1970 More Golden Hits US146 (9 weeks)
US
1974 Happy Together Again US194 (7 weeks)
US

More compilations

  • 1975: Reflection - Their Million Sellers
  • 1977: The Turtles: 1968
  • 1982: Turtle-Sized
  • 1982: Turtles' Greatest Hits
  • 1984: 20 greatest hits
  • 1987: The Best of the Turtles (Golden Archive Series)
  • 1988: Turtle Wax: The Best of the Turtles, Vol. 2
  • 1988: Lil 'Bit of Gold
  • 1988: Lil 'Bit of Gold, Volume 2
  • 1995: The Best of the Turtles
  • 2002: Solid Zinc: The Turtles Anthology
  • 2004: Happy Together: The Very Best of the Turtles
  • 2009: Save the Turtles: The Turtles Greatest Hits
  • 2016: All the Singles
  • 2016: The Complete Original Album Collection

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE AT AT UK UK US US
1965 It ain't me babe,
it ain't me babe 		- - - US8 (11 weeks)
US
Let Me Be
It Ain't Me Babe 		- - - US29 (7 weeks)
US
1966 You baby
you baby 		- - - US20 (12 weeks)
US
Grim Reaper of Love
Golden Hits 		- - - US81 (4 weeks)
US
Can I Get to Know You Better?
Golden hits 		- - - US89 (5 weeks)
US
1967 Happy Together
Happy Together 		DE11 (5 weeks)
DE 		AT11 (8 weeks)
AT 		UK12
silver
silver

(12 weeks)UK 		US1
gold
gold

(15 weeks)US
She'd Rather Be With Me
Happy Together 		DE23 (4 weeks)
DE 		- UK4 (15 weeks)
UK 		US3 (11 weeks)
US
You Know What I Mean
Golden Hits 		DE40 (1 week)
DE 		- - US12 (11 weeks)
US
She's My Girl
More Golden Hits 		- - - US14 (10 weeks)
US
1968 Sound Asleep
More Golden Hits 		- - - US57 (6 weeks)
US
The Story of Rock and Roll
More Golden Hits 		- - - US48 (6 weeks)
US
Elenore
Battle of the Bands 		DE32 (2 weeks)
DE 		- UK7 (12 weeks)
UK 		US6 (12 weeks)
US
1969 You Showed Me
Battle of the Bands 		- - - US6 (12 weeks)
US
You Don't Have to Walk in the Rain
Turtle Soup 		- - - US51 (7 weeks)
US
Love in the City
Turtle Soup 		- - - US91 (2 weeks)
US
Lady-O
More Golden Hits 		- - - US78 (4 weeks)
US
1970 Eve of Destruction
It Ain't Me, babe 		- - - US100 (2 weeks)
US

More singles

  • 1966: It Was a Very Good Year (only released as a single in Canada )
  • 1966: We'll Meet Again
  • 1966: Making My Mind Up
  • 1967: Guide for the Married Man
  • 1969: House on the Hill
  • 1970: teardrops
  • 1970: Who Would Ever Think That I Would Marry Margaret
  • 1970: Is It Any Wonder
  • 1970: Me About You
  • 1978: To See the Sun

literature

  • Irwin Stambler: The Encyclopedia Of Pop, Rock And Soul . 3rd revised edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 703 f., ISBN 0-312-02573-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The title reached number 11 in the German charts; see: Günter Ehnert (ed.): Hit balance sheet. German chart singles 1956–1980 . Hamburg: Taurus Press, 1990, p. 208.
  2. ↑ a b c Chart sources: DE AT UK US
  3. ↑ a b Music Sales Awards: UK US