“She’s My Girl” (The Turtles)

In honor of Mark Volman’s passing, today’s classic song of the day is the Turtles’ “She’s My Girl.” Released in October of 1967, this one peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100—even though some radio stations banned the song, thinking the line about morning glories was some sort of drug reference.

Mark Volman was born on April 19, 1947, in Los Angeles. He and his friend Howard Kaylan formed the Turtles in 1965 and almost immediately got a recording contract with White Whale Records, an LA-based independent label. The hits started shortly after.

“She’s My Girl” was the Turtles’ fifth top twenty hit, with another two still to come. The song was written by Alan Gordon and Garry Bonner, who also penned the Turtles’ biggest hit, “Happy Together.” As with all the Turtles’ tracks, Howard Kaylan sang lead with Mark Volman backing him up.

When the Turtles disbanded in 1970, Mark and Howard discovered that they were contractually prohibited from using not only the Turtles name, but also their own names on future projects. That’s why, when they joined Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention shortly after, they called themselves the Phlorescent Leech & Eddie, or just Flo & Eddie for short. Mark was Flo.

Mark and Howard, still calling themselves Flo and Eddie, reformed the Turtles in 2010 to tour on the oldies circuit. They were founding members and constant performers on the seemingly endless annual Happy Together tour, named after their biggest hit.

Mark Volman was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015 but, after treatment, was declared cancer-free the following year. When Howard Kaylan retired in 2018 due to ongoing health issues, Volman continued touring with the band. In 2023, he disclosed he’d been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, and retired from touring the following year.

Mark Volman passed away on September 5, 2025, after a short illness. He was 78 years old.