The Turtles: The Story of a 1960s Folk-Rock Sensation

Music band the Turtles was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. Renowned for their joyously melancholic and occasionally cheeky music, the Turtles delved into many music genres such as breezy pop, psychedelic music, and folk rock. At times being musically adventurous, the Turtles experimented with psychedelic rock, exotica, odd time signatures, improvisations, theatrics, and satire. The band specializes in vocally rich, craftily arranged music. The original members of the band were Howard Kaylan, Mark Volman, Al Nichol, Chuck Portz, and Don Murray.

Originated from a surf rock group called the Crossfires, the Turtles had a string of hits in the mid- 1960s. Happy Together, both their biggest hit and their signature song, signaled a turning point for the band. The single was the band’s first and only chart-topper that replaced the Beatles’ Penny Lane at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1967. Their single She’d Rather Be With Me quickly followed it and went to No. 3.

The British invasion-inspired group that first emerged in 1963 had released a few singles but with no success. The Turtles underwent a series of name changes before registering their first hit single as folk rockers in 1965 with a version of Bob Dylan’s It Ain’t Me Babe.

The Turtles charted several other top 40 hits, including It Ain’t Me Babe (1965), You Baby (1966), She’d Rather Be With Me (1967), Elenore (1968), and You Showed Me (1969). Many hits of the band are included in their ambitious 1968 album The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands. The band released five studio albums, 20 compilation albums, seven extended plays, and 26 singles. They had one No. 1 Hit and five Top 10 Hits.

Though many remember only their 1967 hit, Happy Together, the Turtles were one of the more enjoyable American pop groups of the ’60s, moving from folk-rock to a sparkling fusion chamber pop and straight-ahead, good-time pop reminiscent, the whole infused with beautiful vocal harmonies.

The Turtles hit the Top 40 during 1965-1966 with Let Me Be and You Baby. Though the 1967 Happy Together spent three weeks at number one on the American charts, and proved to be one of the biggest hits of the year, the Turtles’ next three singles hit the Top 20 each: the number three hit She’d Rather Be with Me, You Know What I Mean, and She’s My Girl.

Feeling that they had to stretch artistically to keep pace with their more critically respected rivals, the band made their music progressively more psychedelic, starting with You Know What I Mean. However, they were still much closer to the pop/rock mainstream than to the premier psychedelic groups of that era.

The band produced Sound Asleep by themselves after asserting their rights in late 1967. This was the band’s first single after Happy Together to miss the Top 40. The Story of Rock and Roll was out of the Top 40 as well. However, on September 1968, Elenore was released and had hit number six. The concept LP The Turtles Presents the Battle of the Bands was released on November 1968 that consisted of 11 songs those sounded like 11 distinct bands, one for each song. It was an interesting concept and was a measured success. You Showed Me was another number six hit.

As the Turtles’ commercial success waned by the end of the 1960s, they became plagued with management problems, lawsuits, and conflicts with their label, White Whale Records, leading the group to break up in 1970.

The Turtles Top 10 Song

The American rock band The Turtles had several hits in the 1960s. Below are their ten most successful songs on the Billboard Hot 100, ranked by peak chart position (with the year they reached that peak)

1. Happy Together – Peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967​
2. She’d Rather Be with Me – Peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 in 1967​
3. Elenore – Peaked at #6 on the Hot 100 in 1968​
4. You Showed Me – Peaked at #6 on the Hot 100 in 1969​
5. It Ain’t Me Babe – Peaked at #8 on the Hot 100 in 1965​
6. You Know What I Mean – Peaked at #12 on the Hot 100 in 1967​
7. She’s My Girl – Peaked at #14 on the Hot 100 in 1967​
8. You Baby – Peaked at #20 on the Hot 100 in 1966​
9. Let Me Be – Peaked at #29 on the Hot 100 in 1965​
   10.The Story of Rock and Roll – Peaked at #48 on the Hot 100 in 1968

The Turtles Discography

• It Ain’t Me Babe (1965)
• You Baby (1965)
• Happy Together (1967)
• Golden Hits (1967)
• The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands (1968)
• Turtle Soup (1969)
• More Golden Hits (1970)
• Wooden Head (1970)