“Elenore” (The Turtles)

Celebrating the return of the Turtles to SiriusXM radio, today’s classic song of the day is “Elenore.” Released by the Turtles in September of 1968, this single peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the Cash Box Top 100.

You might not have noticed, but for many years the Turtles’ music was effectively banned from SiriusXM satellite radio. This all stems from a lawsuit that the group (essentially Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman) filed against the satellite broadcaster over the payment of royalties. Without getting into all the specifics, the courts ruled in SiriusXM’s favor back in 2021, but the company was apparently so pissed off about the whole affair that they forbade the DJs on 60s Gold and other channels from playing the group’s music. Or maybe, after losing the lawsuit, Flo and Eddie (Mark and Howard) wouldn’t let SiriusXM play their songs. Or maybe it was a little of both.

Whatever the reasons, blocking Turtles music from SiriusXM was a real shame, since the group had a lot of big hits back in the ’60s. It especially messed up the programming of DJ Dave Hoeffel’s 60s Satellite Survey show, which plays the top forty hits of selected weeks during the decade; they had to skip any week that included a Turtles tune, of which there were many.

The good news is that, to the surprise and enjoyment of many, SiriusXM last week started playing Turtles tunes again. The company has made no announcements that I’m aware of and the on-air DJs haven’t talked about it, but all of a sudden Turtles songs are all over 60s Gold and other SiriusXM channels. That is a good thing.

Which brings us to today’s classic song of the day, the Turtles’ “Elenore.” This one was written by Howard Kaylan but credited to the entire group: Mark Volman, Al Nichol, Jim Pons, John Barbata, and Mr. Kaylan, of course. The guys intended “Elenore” as a kind of parody of the sunshine pop they’d been recording, complete with somewhat clichéd lyrics:

You got a thing about you
I just can’t live without you
I really want you, Elenore, near me

Your looks intoxicate me
Even though your folks hate me
There’s no one like you, Elenore, really

Elenore, gee, I think you’re swell
And you really do me well
You’re my pride and joy, et cetera
Elenore, can I take the time
To ask you to speak your mind?
Tell me that you love me better

In Howard’s words:

“‘Elenore’ was a parody of ‘Happy Together.’ It was never intended to be a straight-forward song. It was meant as an anti-love letter to White Whale [Records], who were constantly on our backs to bring them another ‘Happy Together.’ So I gave them a very skewed version. Not only with the chords changed, but with all these bizarre words. It was my feeling that they would listen to how strange and stupid the song was and leave us alone. But they didn’t get the joke. They thought it sounded good. Truthfully, though, the production on ‘Elenore’ WAS so damn good. Lyrically or not, the sound of the thing was so positive that it worked. It certainly surprised me.”

I especially like the “pride and joy, et cetera” line. It’s really kind of an offhand, snarky response to what their label wanted.

“Elenore” was the Turtles’ next-to-last big hit, preceded by “It Ain’t Me Babe” in 1965, “You Baby” in 1966, “Happy Together,” “She’d Rather Be with Me,” “You Know What I Mean,” and “She’s My Girl” in 1968, and followed by “You Show Me” in 1969. That’s a very strong run.

While their recording career pretty much ended with the turn of the decade, the Turtles have continued in one form or another throughout the years. Howard and Mark were both touring as the Turtles on the oldies circuit until recently (most notably heading the Happy Together oldies tours), but poor health has sidelined both of them. Today, the uber-versatile Ron Dante (of the Archies fame) is heading the group, accompanied by a bunch of younger replacements.

But let’s go back to the group’s heyday for today’s daily bonus video of the day. It’s the Turtles performing “Elenore” on the July 24, 1968, episode of The Kraft Music Hall on the NBC network. Gee, I think it’s swell…

[UPDATE: Mark Volman passed away on September 5, 2025. He was 78 years old.]