When I was a kid some relative gave me The Turtles Elenore single and I became a fan. This song was their biggest hit and it is a great song.
The band was formed by Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan. They were saxophone players who did whatever was trendy in order to make a living as musicians. They were also in the choir together in high school.
They played surf-rock mostly at the time. They also played backup for The Coasters, Sonny And Cher and The Righteous Brothers when they came through. After a while, Howard and Mark gave up the sax and became singers. They signed a deal with White Whale Records as The Crosswind Singers. When British groups took over America, they tried to pass themselves off as British singers and renamed themselves The Turtles.
Like The Byrds, The Turtles recorded a Bob Dylan song for their first single It Ain’t Me Babe and it was a hit. They recorded some more songs that that were top 40 hits but this one did the trick. They decided to record Happy Together after many other artists passed on it. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #2 in Canada, and #4 in the UK in 1967.
After Happy Together hit they flew to England and met The Beatles, Brian Jones, Graham Nash, Donovan, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. The Beatles played them the unreleased Sgt Pepper’s album. Howard Kaylan would later write the 2003 Comedy movie “My Dinner With Jimi” with events surrounding and leading up to this trip.
Kaylan and Volman sang backing vocals on several recordings by T. Rex, including their worldwide 1971 hit “Get it On (Bang A Gong). Later they did the backup vocals on Bruce Springsteen’s Hungry Heart.
They became known as Flo (Phlorescent Leech) and Eddie. Kaylan and Volman joined Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention as Flo and Eddie because of contractual restrictions of their record company.
Volman and Kaylan were very smart. When White Whale’s master recordings were sold at auction in 1974, the duo won the Turtles’ masters, making them the owners of their own recorded work. They also hosted some radio shows in the 70s and 80s and recorded soundtrack music for children’s shows like the Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake.
If you are in any way interested in watching band documentaries… watch The Turtles doc! It is hilarious. I will include the full doc above the song.
Here is the documentary…watch it if you have time. What they did to their last manager (who was also their first) is classic!
Happy Together
Imagine me and you, I do
I think about you day and night, it’s only right
To think about the girl you love and hold her tight
So happy together
If I should call you up, invest a dime
And you say you belong to me and ease my mind
Imagine how the world could be, so very fine
So happy together
I can’t see me lovin’ nobody but you
For all my life
When you’re with me, baby the skies’ll be blue
For all my life
Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together
I can’t see me lovin’ nobody but you
For all my life
When you’re with me, baby the skies’ll be blue
For all my life
Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together
Ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba
Ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba
Me and you and you and me
No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be
The only one for me is you, and you for me
So happy together
So happy together
How is the weather
So happy together
We’re happy together
So happy together
Happy together
So happy together
So happy together (ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba)
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Uplifting and enjoyable.
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The initial idea for ‘Happy Together’ came to Alan Gordon at a candy store in Brooklyn, New York, who wrote the song with Gary Bonner. Most people say it is about unrequited love where a man’s feelings of love aren’t returned, none of this darkness appears in the lyrics. The singer desperately wants the girl to imagine how the world could be so very fine if they were together, and it is possible that she is not moved by his plea. I think these lyrics are overanalyzed when the guy starts talking about the weather and is said that he did this because he realized that they will never be anything more than passing acquaintances, so he gives up hope of getting the girl.
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It is a deeper song than it’s given credit for.
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Flo ‘n’ Eddie! The Turtles did some great music…
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Yes they did…that bio on them is great also.
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Pretty good song that stands the test of time. I never knew much about them, or that Flo & eddie worked with Zappa… or so many other artists! I did know they did backing vocals for Psychedelic Furs on one album, which seemed weird, but maybe not now looking at who else they appeared with including Duran Duran and Blondie.
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I think Volman lives in Brentwood near Nashville. They have a great sense of humor.
Yea they were everywhere together…and very smart for buying the Turtles masters.
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Happiness pours out of this song and I drink it up like wine. Cheers!
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First time I heard this as a kid, I thought, “Nice, catchy.” Then they broke into that epic chorus and I fell in love with the song, and so did all my friends. Not the deepest lyrics, though (there was always something a bit tongue-in-cheek about their lyrics).
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Yes and “Eleanor” was the same way.
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Yep (and with even tongue-in-cheekier lyrics).
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“Happy Together” is among the ultimate picker-uppers, even though supposedly it’s about love that doesn’t materialize. Thanks for posting the documentary. Usually, I enjoy such films and will try to watch it this weekend.
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Remember that one for a Wednesday! It seems good. Lennon though was pretty mean to their bass player Jim Tucker…kept messing with his name…the way John did.
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Yep, it’s a perfect tune for hump day. In fact, I already featured it back in November. At some point when I may run out of ideas, I may sneak it in again and hope nobody is going to notice – and by then will have forgotten this comment! 🙂
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Well there you go! I must have remembered it subconsciously! It is a feel-good song.
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Not much to add to the conversation, but great song!! Makes me feel good every time I hear it.
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“Happy Together” is a perfect pop song, and one of my top 20 favorites of the 60s.
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I find this one a little too saccharine sometimes, but it’s one heck of a chorus. They’re great singers too.
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I like Elenore much better than this one. And it was a parody of this one.
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Etc…..
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A happy sing-along song.
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This is going in our set list with that band we’re forming. I do good tambourine.
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I’m there dude…we will do Elenore also.
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Of course.
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They were brilliant. Loved them as a kid even though i had no idea what they looked like. Thst they were not what you might call typical goodlooking popstars, quite the opposite, makes me love them even more since i went through their back catalogue and saw that documentary. Fab!
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I’m glad you saw the documentary….that makes you want to hear them more!
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