Flo & Eddie

Flo & Eddie are a musical pop duo consisting of Mark Volman (Flo, short for "Phlorescent Leech") and Howard Kaylan (Eddie).

Flo & Eddie
Mark Volman ("Flo") (left) and Howard Kaylan ("Eddie") (right) in a 2008 tour
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, U.S.
GenresRock and roll
Years active1965–present
LabelsReprise, Warner Bros., Columbia
Associated actsThe Turtles, the Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa, Checkpoint Charlie
Websitehttp://www.theturtles.com
MembersMark Volman
Howard Kaylan

The two were the original founding members of the Top 40 rock group the Turtles. After the Turtles dissolved, Volman and Kaylan first joined the Mothers of Invention as Phlorescent Leech & Eddie. Contractual restrictions imposed early in their career prevented Volman and Kaylan from using the name "the Turtles", as well as their own names, in a musical context.[1].

Post-Mothers

When bandleader Frank Zappa was injured during a concert in London in 1971, Kaylan and Volman found themselves at an impasse, as the Mothers of Invention were out of action for a time. They responded to these events by recording The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie on Reprise Records with most of the other members of the Mothers of Invention.[2] Although it failed to chart, they continued releasing albums, including the more successful Flo & Eddie; Illegal, Immoral and Fattening; Moving Targets; and Rock Steady with Flo & Eddie.

During the 1970s, Kaylan and Volman continued to do session work. They were backing vocalists on the T. Rex song "Bang a Gong (Get It On)", singing the inadvertent extra chorus that "worked." They sang background vocals on early T. Rex albums and were close friends of Marc Bolan. Also good friends with Alice Cooper, they were the opening act on the "Billion Dollar Babies" tour during the spring of 1973, and went on to record background vocals for Cooper's albums From the Inside, Flush the Fashion and Zipper Catches Skin. They were the house band for the Canadian TV talk show 90 Minutes Live with Peter Gzowski.

They sang background vocals on Bruce Springsteen's first Top Ten hit song on the Billboard chart, "Hungry Heart."

In 1982, they released a four-song EP on Rhino Records (RNEP 603) under the name Checkpoint Charlie. The record is a dark but whimsical take on late 70s/early 80s German synth techno new wave music, such as D.A.F. and Kraftwerk.

In 1984, as the Turtles ... featuring Flo & Eddie, (together with three other groups from the 1960s: Gary Puckett, Spanky and Our Gang, and the Association), they traveled across the US and Canada as "The Happy Together Tour". The following year they got together with the Buckinghams, Gary Lewis and the Grass Roots, for a 1985 version. For the eight months the tour was on the road, it was consistently one of the top 10 grossing tours in the country. During the summers of 2010 and 2011, Flo & Eddie had heavy touring schedules throughout the U.S. both as part of the Happy Together: 25th Anniversary Tour, along with the Grass Roots, Mark Lindsay, the Buckinghams, and Monkees member Micky Dolenz (2010 only).[3]

They also had a collaboration with animation studio Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, dating back to when said company made the cartoon scenes in Zappa's film 200 Motels. Flo & Eddie did the music for their films Down and Dirty Duck and The Adventures of the American Rabbit, the television special Peter and the Magic Egg, and their Strawberry Shortcake television specials. The last one led said franchise creators at American Greetings to also bring in the duo for The Care Bears show.[4][5][6]

On August 1, 2013, Flo & Eddie filed a lawsuit against satellite radio broadcaster Sirius XM for failing to pay sound recording royalties in the states of New York, California and Florida. On September 22, 2014, a California judge ruled that under state law, Sirius XM had to pay to digitally broadcast pre-1972 sound recordings.[7] On June 22, 2015, a Florida judge ruled in favor of Sirius XM, as that state has no specific legislation concerning sound recording property rights.[8] A few days later, Sirius XM agreed to pay $210 million to major record labels.[9] On November 28, 2016, Sirius XM agreed to pay between $25-99 million to the pre-1972 song owners.[10]

Discography

With Frank Zappa:

Flo & Eddie:

Under Other Names:

  • Checkpoint Charlie EP (Rhino, RNEP 603) (1982)

Backing Vocals:

Complete list at the Turtles website: http://theturtles.com/discography/

Producers:

Filmography

References
  1. "The Turtles Website/History pt. 1". The Turtles – Flo & Eddie, Inc. 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  2. Billy James. "Necessity Is: The Early Years of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention". Google Books. Retrieved 2014-07-04.
  3. McQuistion, James (April 30, 2011). "Happy Together Tour Returns In Summer 2011". Retrieved 2011-05-12.
  4. Kaylan, Howard; Tamarkin, Jeff (2013). Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 203. ISBN 1480342939.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Kuvo, Kelly. "The Turtles' Double Yummy Blow Your Mind Strawberry Shortcake Recipe revealed". Scram Magazine. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  6. Brown, Tom (January 5, 2016). "Rock Stories: Tom Brown remembers the dope smoking and drama at Flo & Eddie's "Strawberry Shortcake" sessions". Night Flight. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  7. Carlisle, Stephen (2 October 2014). "Flo and Eddie v. SiriusXM Radio: Have Two Hippies from the 60's Just Changed the Course of Broadcast Music?". Office of Copyright. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  8. "SiriusXM Wins Florida Lawsuit Over Performance of Pre-1972 Music". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  9. "Record Giants Win $210M Settlement from SiriusXM Over Pre-1972 Music". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  10. "SiriusXM Wins Appeal Over Pre-1972 Sound Recordings in Florida". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
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