flo & eddie

Mark Volman: born apr 19, 1947 in los angeles, ca
Howard Kaylan: born jun 22, 1947 in new york city, ny

Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan joined Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention in 1970. They had been the leadsingers of The Turtles. They recorded and performed as The Mothers Of Invention until Zappa's accident at the Rainbow Theatre, December 1971.

In Zappa's band they were refered to as The Phlorescent Leech (Mark Volman) and Eddie (Howard Kaylan). In the 1970's, they recorded a number of solo albums as "Flo & Eddie".

In 1987, they were asked to join Zappa's band, but for some reason or another, they only took part in some of the earlier rehearsals.

selective discography

bootleg

flo & eddie / frank zappa: an evening in detroit city
    (2004, 3cd-bootleg, ger, moustache's magic music mmm04/38-39-40)

Filmography:

1971 Frank Zappa's 200 Motels (as members of the Mothers of Invention)
1975 Dirty Duck
1980 Loose Shoes
1989 The True Story of 200 Motels

  video

• var.art.: beat club – the crazy world
      (??, laserdisc, ??, ??) - incl. flo & eddie: feel older now

concerts

• 1976/11/19 concert 'cobo hall', detroit, mi, usa
  • a recording of this concert circulates

random notes

Mark Volman: Born Apr 19, 1947 in Los Angeles, CA

     From the Turtles website, via Charles Ulrich:
Mark Volman was born April 19, 1947. After a brief period living in Redondo Beach, his family moved nearby to Westchester.

     From: ZappaLVR
I'd always been under the impression that Flo & Eddie & Frank might have continued indefinitely (well, you know what I mean) had Frank not been pushed off the Rainbow stage by irate British "fan" in 1971.  Frank's subsequent lengthy recovery period resulting in no more band with Flo & Eddie, who were economically forced to seek other musical employment.  The wheelchair-ridden Frank then moved into the Wazoo/Jawaka "big band" period and never looked back so-to-speak.  Is this not likely?

     From: Biffyshrew (biffyshrew@aol.com)
That's pretty much the way I understand things.  There was no actual "breakup."  Apparently Flo & Eddie were hurt that FZ never contacted them during his months off the road.  They didn't know whether they were still in the Mothers or not.  Even the appearance of _Waka/Jawaka_ in mid-1972 may not have sealed the issue, as it was billed as a Frank Zappa solo LP.  In any event, it wasn't until some months later that Flo & Eddie unveiled their own "solo" debut.  The real rift with Zappa came when F&E, in publicizing their album, apparently said some denigrating things about FZ.  (I don't know exactly what they said; it may have been no more than the kind of harmless--if barbed--ribbing that F&E dished out to *everybody*.)  This, unsurprisingly, infuriated FZ, who in turn took some potshots at F&E ("as jive as can be") in the press.  But the acrimony didn't last, as F&E reunited with FZ for a one-shot performance in Detroit in 1976, and later almost became the centerpiece of the 1988 band...which would have been a *very* different animal had this panned out.

After leaving the Mothers, they released at least 5 albums with the name Flo and Eddie.
        1- The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie (1972)
        2- Flo and Eddie (1973)
        3- Illegal, Immoral and Fattening (1975)
        4- Moving Targets (1976)
        5- Rock Steady with Flo and Eddie (1981)
 
#4, Moving Targets, contained the song "Keep it Warm" which had quite a bit of airplay.

#5, Rock Steady, was re-released in 1987 by Rhino records as "Prince Flo & Jah Edward."  This contains a reggae version of Happy Together!

Rhino also put out a compilation CD in 1987 called "The Best of Flo & Eddie," which contained tracks from the first 4 albums above, plus songs from the movies "Dirty Duck" and "Texas Detour."  Flo and Eddie have done lots of soundtrack and backing vocal work.  (They sing backup in the song "Bang a gong.")

#3, Illegal Immoral and Fattening, was recently released on CD.

Also a disk called "The Turtles featuring Flo and Eddie Captured Live" was released by Rhino in 1992.  It contains the old Turtles hits like Happy Together, Elanoire (sp), and others...  The white hair and beard look  - - - different - but the voices are still the same.

Reunited the Turtles a year or two back and did a 20th or 25th anniversary tour (or maybe even a 30th anniversary?). 
Oops,  I should have included Flo and Eddie in the news about being in the studio with Terry and Duran Duran.  Apparently they did backing vocals.  This is all verified information from Warren Cuccurullo himself.

Flo and Eddie were also the afternoon drive-time DJs at WXRK-FM ("K-Rock" -- Howard Stern's home station) in New York for a while, about a year ago.  Anybody know why they left the airwaves? I really don't think they were cut out for that industry.  Probably the stresses were too much for them, and I don't  expect they liked living in New York. Howard thought they were idiots and used to poke fun at them a lot (lucky for them they weren't in competition).
One snippet had two Flo & E impersonators talking about what washed up boring has-been rock stars from the 70's they could call today.  One of them suggested the guitarist from Blodwyn Pig.  I died laughing.

They have been doing The Bottom Line in NYC for the last umpteen years on New Years. I saw them last year and two years before that as well. Excellent show.
They usually do a little segment on the Zappa years, but most of the show is Turtles material (which is nice, but after a while, it takes on an oldies show feel). They usually do the Sanzini Brothers. A bit slower than on the Illegal Immoral and Fattening album, but still worth while. Last year they did a long Nikki Hoi segment. I have a homebrew bootleg of the show from 90-91.
They did a Batman spoof in the beginning, and a Menudo spoof after the intermission.

Flo and Eddie have played at the Bottom Line in New York practically every New Year's Eve weekend that I can remember since the mid 70's.  On one of these occasions in the late 70's, Frank Zappa showed up and played a few songs with them.  Last year at the Bottom Line they did a large chunk of side one of We're only in it for the Money for "all the Zappa fans out there," which was odd because they didn't sing on that album.  Most of the audience had no idea what was going on, but they did a great job.

And if you think about it, flow and eddy are two things that water does... pretty neat pun huh?

For you completists out there (I haven't seen this mentioned yet), Flo & Eddie did the prominent background vocals on Springsteen's "Hungry Heart".

They wrote/performed the music for the Care Bears. Luckily we don't get this in the UK, so no idea what it is/was. They also appeared on the 'Gumby' compo album (some sort of conservation doodad), along with Dweezil.

Also, I heard that they did the backing vocals for Marc Bolan's "Bang a Gong".
Only 70% sure on this one. I think my source was _I'm with the band_. Regarding your uncertainty regarding Flo & Eddie's ties to Marc Bolan and T.Rex.
They did indeed do backing vocals on "Bang a Gong", and vocals on the first 3 T.Rex albums.

Yeah I know some of you folks here don't care much for the F & E era, but for those of us who do, let me say that they did excellent versions tonight (12/94) at the Bottom Line  of the following:
   Magic Fingers          Mystery Roach
   Lonesome Cowboy Burt   The Air
   Call Any Vegetable     Eddie Are You Kidding

We caught the Dec 31st 1994 early Bottom Line show. They did a buncha Turtles, then announced it was "opera time" Proceeded to do some 200 motels (inc. Lonesome Cowboy Burt), Eddie are You Kidding and Call any Vegetable. Voices in fine form. Mark mentioned that Howard is now a restaurateur in Oregon; Howard said Mark is back in college! "I made the Dean's list!" crowed Mark. They mentioned the anniversary of the death of F.Z. and said "we love doin' this shit".

Old news but ...  I saw F&E on a tour in April of '80 or '81 They did a great satire of Pink Floyd's The Wall.  They called it "The Fence".

Flo & Eddie's stint on the New York airwaves... someone speculated that they were only on for a year because "they weren't cut out for that industry" or that "the stresses were too much for them"...

You couldn't be further off-base; Flo & Eddie PLANNED on only DJ-ing for that long. ("We're Only in it for the Money"?) If you've ever heard them, you know that they blow away 99% of the DJs out there! They are major talents in many fields, and they didn't want to waste the rest of their lives stuck on the radio, playing other people's music. So they took the money and gave New York a one-year gift. As far as the "stress", their activities run rings around all the DJs that I've known.

re: Marc Bolan
Flo & Eddie were friends of Marc. He dug the Turtles, and they dug T Rex. And sang on lots of his tracks.

They also sang the backups on "Love My Way" (Psychedelic Furs), "Johnny Angel/New Dance" (RadioMusic) and on the 3rd Knack album, among others.

     Dr. Tracy Knight sez:
A longtime reader and fan of horror and other fantasy fiction, Howard Kaylan recently had his first short story published. The story, "Hi, Bob," appears in the anthology Phantoms of the Night, edited by Richard Gilliam and Martin H. Greenberg and published by DAW books.

     Jan van Kemenade  sez:
Flo & Eddie appear on the Bruce Springsteen 'Live 75-85' album. The track is called "Hungry heart". I doubt whether they were on stage, my guess is it was a studio overdub. But I'm not sure on that.

     From: JMitchison
Please see Steely Dan box set "Citizen"
Demo of "Everyone's Gone To The Movies "F + E in fine form on b/v

     From: mark spieller (mspielle@cts.com)
F&E sang back up on the studio version of "hungry heart" --Springsteen's first charting single and when the tour played The Meadowlands, Springsteen flew F&E out to sing back-up live for that one song.
F&E also did a syndicated radio show during the late 70's, early 80's called Flo & Eddie by the Fireside.

     From: Patrick Neve
Sometime right around the time of Frank's death, Mark and his girlfriend were running a health food store in Burbank.  Here is an excerpt from an interview of unknown origin: 
Eddie: We're sitting in.... "Sprouting Wings".
Flo: Right.
Eddie: Tell us what it is.
Flo: "Sprouting Wings" is a.. health-food store that is um, run by me and    my girlfriend here, in Los Angeles, uh in Burbank California. Uh, health food, vitamins, suppliments, and a 30-seat all-vegetarian cafe that    serves uh, healthy food for people who are interested in purifying their bodies. 
Interviewer: So, why don't you play "Would You Like A Snack" here?
Flo: (laughing) Yeah, this would be a good time for it.

     From: doodah999
     Date: 17 Sep 1997 19:13:01 GMT
Over the labor day weekend here in Virginia Beach, Va. we had the American Music Festival where over 30 bands play on the beach. This year they had amongst them the "Turtles". I must say that it was great to see that they still have  some Zappa In them. The chatter between songs reminded you of the Fillmore days in a haunting kind of way. They spoke of the last time they were here with Frank and how they ended up in the  Virginia Beach jailhouse for obsenity charges. I remember the this show in  1974. They said there would be no Zappa performed today however the crowd cheered when they broke into a 5-6minute jam of "Road Ladies". I thought I had been Zapped through time. It was great.

     From: Tony Zoccolillo
I saw Flo&Eddie in July 98 in Syracuse, NY.  A benefit for Easter Seals, it was an outdoor show.  They were great.  The only Zappa they did was "Road Ladies".  Unfortunately, thunderstorms were rolling in and the show was cut short.  They look the same, a little older and grayer.  Their bad was decent.

     From: Ronald Raygunz
Mark and Howard will be on "Suddenly Susan" on Feb 8th,'99.

     From: Paul Hinrichs (paulhinr@mindspring.com)
     Subject: Mark Volman: Master Of Music
     http://www.lmu.edu/colleges/cfa/comm/FACULTY/p-time/volman.htm
Mark Volman is a founding member of the musical group THE TURTLES. They have had ten top-10 records and have sold over 40 million records worldwide, the most famous being "Happy Together." Mark has also sung and made records with Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, The Ramones, T-Rex, and many others. He has written music for both film and television, including the award winning children's TV shows, Strawberry Shortcake, and the Care Bears. 
Mark has been a radio on-air personality and has created radio syndication, as well as, creating commercials for both radio and TV. The Turtles continue to tour and perform over 60 concerts a year. Mark graduated Magna Cum Laude and was the Valedictorian from Loyola Marymount University and has been teaching there since 1997. He also teaches in the music department at Los Angeles Valley College. He will complete is Masters in Fine Arts in the spring of 1999.

     From: jonevan (jonevanNOjoSPAM@hotmail.com.invalid)
Does anyone remember a show on PBS a long time ago with Flo and Eddie? 
Is it available anywhere?
It was a one time show I think, not a series and was on in the late '70s.  It started out with an old man and his old fat wife- Flo (in drag) and Eddie.  They ate dinner and then were watching TV on a sofa and they both fell asleep.  While they are asleep, our point of view changes and all we see is the TV.  It looks like they were watching Don Kirshner or the Midnight Special.  The bands on TV were all Flo and Eddie doing a bunch of impersonations.  I'm pretty sure Led Zepplin was
one and it probably included George Harrison Jimi Hendrix Marc Bolan and they may have performed the beautiful and moving "Jumping Jack Flash between your legs" number.  Although I don't remember it clearly, I think they did a pretty good job of looking like and acting like other big rock stars.  They proved themselves as great impersonators of the sounds of other artists, but I think this was the first and maybe the only time on film (I don't know for sure) that they proved how good they were at mimicking other areas too.

     From: jonevan (jonevanNOjoSPAM@hotmail.com.invalid)
Does anyone remember a show on PBS a long time ago with Flo and Eddie?

     From: Ralph Wayvone (plato@sk.-nospamsympatico.ca)
I DO remember that! F & E but their hair up Kabuki style and put on slit sunglasses and capes to make fun of KISS. I remember one line was "now this is a cheap little concert" with flashpots going off. They also lampooned Joni Mitchell with her "yodel"-like breaking voice routine (that now is Sara McGlaughlin's shtick)....very funny stuff.

     From: Doug Grose (dgrose@theturtles.com)
The Turtles/Flo & Eddie's web site is located at:
http://theturtles.com
There is also a complete discography, recent news and announcements, and current touring information.

     From: kalang@ipo.att.com
I got a chance to see them perform as part of Dick Clark's Rock Review (or something like that) about 10 years ago at Great Adventure in NJ. One of the bands was The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie. They were pretty hilarious as they were very sarcastic about singing their old 60's hits. The band came out and started playing a heavy metal tune and then Eddie says "Wait a minute ! (band stops) we don't play that sh*t, we play this sh*t !" and launched into Happy Together. They were clearly doing it for the money, but they goofed around through the whole 20 minute set.