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Mark Volman

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Happy Forever: My Musical Adventures With The Turtles, Frank Zappa, T. Rex, Flo & Eddie, And More Paperback – June 20, 2023

by Mark Volman (Author), John Cody Alice Cooper (Foreword),

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‘Mark is one of the most indomitable yet gentle spirits I’ve ever met. He will always be one of my favorite artists I’ve ever worked with. And someday when I grow up, I want to be just like him.’ – Alice Cooper

‘This book is a puzzle. The outside frame pieces are about me, but the picture wouldn’t be complete without the perspectives of all the people telling you about me.’ – Mark Volman

Mark Volman has led a storied life, and many of those stories are contained in Happy Forever. A true son of Southern California, he has gone from topping the charts with The Turtles (‘Happy Together’) to underground cred with Frank Zappa and beyond. As Flo & Eddie, Mark and his longtime singing partner Howard Kaylan were the not-so-secret ingredient on many other artist’s records, taking Bruce Springsteen into the Top 10 for the very first time and helping T. Rex dominate the British charts. Then came The Ramones, U2, Blondie, Duran Duran, and so many more; the list of credits is long and varied.

Happy Forever covers all of that, along with subsequent forays into animation, a stint as a radio personality in Los Angeles and New York, and a midlife return to academia, which led Mark to create and run innovative college programs in LA and Nashville. But this is not the world according to Mark Volman, and it is not your average musical autobiography. Alongside his own comments, this uniquely insightful book contains contributions from more than one hundred of Mark’s peers, friends, and lovers who share their thoughts on the man himself and on topics that span the social and cultural landscape of past half-century.

Happy Forever’s cast list reads like a who’s who of popular music, featuring members of The Doors, The Monkees, The Byrds, The E Street Band, and many more; producers Tony Visconti, Bob Ezrin, and Hal Willner; voice actors from The Simpsons and the Firesign Theatre; and key figures from the worlds of radio, animation, and academia. The book also includes previously unseen photographs and forewords by Alice Cooper and Chris Hillman.

Print length

368 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Jawbone Press
Publication date

June 20, 2023
Dimensions

6 x 1 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

191103619X
ISBN-13

978-1911036197
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

In a career that has been anything but typical, Mark Volman has gone from topping the pop charts to losing the legal rights to his own name. After hitting #1 with The Turtles, Mark and singing partner Howard Kaylan (aka Flo & Eddie) had a stint with Frank Zappa & The Mothers, then went on to sing with everyone from T. Rex to The Ramones to Bruce Springsteen to Blondie, achieving cumulative sales in excess of one hundred million copies. They also enjoyed concurrent careers as voice actors and musicians in animation (Strawberry Shortcake / Care Bears) and as radio hosts in Los Angeles and New York, where they rubbed shoulders with Howard Stern. Then, in the biggest change of all, Mark returned to school, earning three degrees and running innovative programs in Los Angeles and Nashville. He continues to entertain every summer as host of the Happy Together tour.

John Cody is a freelance musician (drummer) who has toured and recorded with over two hundred artists. In addition, he has written and taught about music history for various publications and schools. This is his first book. He lives on the west coast of Canada. For more information about his music and writing, visit www.johncodyonline.com

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Jawbone Press (June 20, 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 191103619X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1911036197
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.41 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #277,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #88 in Pop Artist Biographies
- #716 in Rock Band Biographies
- #2,353 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies

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JL Populist

Not Your Typical Rock and Roller

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2023

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This book tells the story of Mark Volman who was an integral part and founder of The Turtles.
You can't miss the tall, heavyset guy with an afro in the Turtles videos singing and playing tambourine.

In reading this book it doesn't take long to see that there is much more to the story than that one band and that big, goofy guy singing.
This is Mark Volman's life story. It's a story of a 50 something year partnership, an evolution spiritually, family life, two marriages that dissolved without the ex's hating each other.
Mark Volman is not a normal rocker in many ways. It's about a lot of respect from his peers and an inspiring story of what he accomplished on the side while style performing musically.

This is one of the most fascinating books about a rock star that I have read to date! It's a series of paragraphs from interviews. The people interviewed make the book even more interesting.

I highly recommend this book whether you're a fan of Mr. Volman's music over the decades or just want to read about an immensely fascinating man and his incredible life.

One person found this helpful

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Mike

Musicologists will love it

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2023

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Great insights in to the 60’s era. Predominantly, transcribed interviews. Musicologists will love the concept. May be tedious for a casual reader.

7 people found this helpful

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James Davis

SOMEONE WORTHY OF EMULATION

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2023

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What I LOVE about this book (besides everyone involved, especially Mark) is the format. Done in the same style as the book written about Sly & The Family Stone by the journalist from Rolling Stone magazine. It is wonderful to read a vast, endless sources with completely different opinions & questionable memories about the exact same events. Usually I have to read many books from various sources to obtain a clear understanding of ANY given event, yet here I gratefully need only one publication to fully comprehend the subject(s). I grew up close by & am aware of many of these surroundings first hand although unfortunately I was outside the inner workings. What I can say is that "THAT" song was played along with Elton's "Your Song" as the apex of our wedding reception. A sort of Soul Exposure betwixt us as partners announced to the world with PRIDE. THANK YOU MARK & EVERYONE INVOLVED for allowing me to relive a time so precious & fragile that slipped away all too soon. Oh, how fortunate we are to experience a moment like this together . . . FOREVER!

One person found this helpful

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Daniel T. Baker

Great Rock n' Roll History at its best.

Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2023

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I bought the first Turtle album and loved their music every since. Seen them twice in concert and they put a memorable show. One I will not forget. This book relates to the struggle they had to go through to make a living and get to play their own songs, This is the problem that singers face when they sign a contract. I wish there was more in depth to the story that we could find out about, but that is for another day Or maybe Howard talks about it in his book.

3 people found this helpful

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baffle Raffle

Always happy with the Turtles.

Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2023

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Started out really enjoy the book , what a great idea for a biography let your friends tell your story. And the first 100 pages or so all was good, but then the drag came. It's mark the good Mark the perfect, not to mention Mark the boring. And so many pages about Frank Zappa, who cares if I wanted a book about Him I would buy that book. I don't know about anyone else but I find Frank Zappa a dull, boring , pompous boring fool. Yes I know I said boring twice. Anyway back to the Turtles , a group from way back, which I love good to hear things turned out so good for them. It's hard to read stories about people who made You so happy being so unhappy. Thanks for the great memories rock on and thanks for past information to young people maybe they can miss so of the traps and rocks in the road. If You like 60's rock groups this on is a must.

3 people found this helpful

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T. G. Vellini

Hits the Mark!

Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2023

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The fascinating story of Mark Volman of Crossfires, Turtles, The Mothers, Flo & Eddie and Strawberry Shortcake Fame. Incredible tales of the Rock ' Roll Life told from the inside. I love the format; instead of Mr. Volman telling us his story it's told by others- family, friends, musicians who worked with him and music industry insiders. They tell his story. And they don't always agree as they each give their own perspective. And Mark interjects from time to time commenting on their reminiscences and viewpoints. So it's kind of a Rock 'n Roll Rashomon. It's fun, insightful and interesting. Mark and his long time partner Howard Kaylan were two of the best voices in contemporary music.

4 people found this helpful

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Burroughs Anderson

A Trip Through Time

Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2023

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I wasn't a big fan of Flo & Eddie, but I did like Zappa. I also enjoy reading about the groups of the 50's and 60's and where certain members ended up. Now I can say that I am a fan of Volman and Kaylan and their amusingly unconventional and idiosyncratic lives. This is a fascinating and personal ride through that era.

4 people found this helpful

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Tommy Lee

Not an autobiography at all

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2023

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I've loved the music and humor of Mark Volman for many years. He's had a fascinating life. Sadly, this book is disappointing. It's a collection of quotes from many, many other people, most of them about Mark but others about associated subjects. Mark himself occasionally interjects comments and corrections, but his own voice is barely present. The book was primarily written by John Cody, who collected the material in a series of interviews. The huge number of short quotes from others make the book disjointed and frustrating to read, and many of the quotes are redundant or uninteresting. If you want to read a funny and entertaining book about the music and story of the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, Zappa, and other adventures then Howard Kaylan's book "Shell Shocked" is far superior. Perhaps Howard already told all the good tales, so Mark had to take a different approach. He certainly has the brains to write a better book, using some of the quotes but telling his own story. Maybe he was too busy to do that. As it is, this collection of quotes doesn't work very well.

20 people found this helpful

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