The two were the original founding members of the mid-to late 1960s rock and pop band the Turtles. After the Turtles dissolved in 1970, Volman and Kaylan first joined Frank Zappa's band 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]
During the 1970s, Kaylan and Volman continued to work as session musicians. They were backing vocalists on the T. Rex 1971 song "Get It On", singing the inadvertent extra chorus that "worked". The duo sang background vocals also on early T. Rex albums and were close friends of the band's vocalist Marc Bolan. The duo was also in good relations with Alice Cooper, and they were the opening act on the "Billion Dollar Babies Tour" during the spring of 1973, going on to record background vocals for Cooper's albums From the Inside, Flush the Fashion and Zipper Catches Skin. The duo was also the house band for the Canadian TV talk show 90 Minutes Live with Peter Gzowski. They also sang background vocals on "Telephone Booth", a 1974 song by Hoyt Axton.
Early 1980s
The duo sang backing vocals also on Bruce Springsteen's first top ten hit on the Billboard chart, the 1980 song "Hungry Heart", while 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 1970s/early 1980s German synth-pop, new wave and techno music, such as D.A.F. and Kraftwerk.
Mid-1980s
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 U.S. 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.
2000s
On August 1, 2013, Flo & Eddie, having gained ownership of The Turtles' recorded output, 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.[3] 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.[4] A few days later, Sirius XM agreed to pay $210 million to major record labels.[5] On November 28, 2016, Sirius XM agreed to pay between $25–99 million to the pre-1972 song owners.[6]
2010s
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, the Buckinghams, Mark Lindsay, and the Monkees' member Micky Dolenz (2010 only).[7]
^Kaylan, Howard; Tamarkin, Jeff (2013). Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 203. ISBN978-1480342934.
