The Turtles are an American rock band led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, later known as Flo & Eddie. The band had several Top 40 hits beginning with their cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965. They scored their biggest and best-known hit in 1967 with the song "Happy Together". The band broke up in 1970. Kaylan and Volman later found long-lasting success as session musicians, billed as the comedic vocal duo Flo & Eddie. In 2010, a reconstituted version of the band, the Turtles Featuring Flo & Eddie, began performing live shows again. The band, originally a surf rock group called The Crossfires, was formed in 1965 in Westchester, Los Angeles by high school friends Kaylan, Volman, Al Nichol, Chuck Portz, Don Murray, and Jim Tucker.^[3] With the help of KRLA and KFWB DJ and club owner Reb Foster (born James Dennis Bruton, March 18, 1936 – August 25, 2019), The Crossfires signed to the newly formed White Whale Records. Adhering to the prevailing musical trend, they rebranded themselves as a folk rock group under the name The Tyrtles, an intentionally stylized misspelling inspired by The Byrds and The Beatles. However, the trendy spelling did not survive long. As with the Byrds, the Turtles achieved breakthrough success with a cover of a Bob Dylan song. "It Ain't Me Babe" reached the Billboard Top Ten in the late summer of 1965, and was the title track of the band's first album. Their second single, "Let Me Be," reached the top 30, while their third hit, "You Baby," charted in the top 20 in early 1966.^[3] The band's second album, You Baby, failed to reach Billboard's Top LPs chart, and of several singles released in 1966, "Grim Reaper of Love" and "Can I Get to Know You Better" barely entered the Billboard Hot 100. One single, the tough "Outside Chance", written by Warren Zevon and featuring guitar work in the style of The Beatles' "Taxman", did not chart. In 1966, The Turtles made an appearance in Universal's beach party spy spoof film Out of Sight, singing "She'll Come Back" on screen. At the start of 1966, drummer Don Murray and bassist Chuck Portz quit the group. They were replaced by Joel Larson and then John Barbata on drums, and by Chip Douglas on bass (October 1966). The first of several key Turtles singles co-written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon, "Happy Together" had already been rejected by countless performers. "Happy Together", both their biggest hit and their signature song, signaled a turning point for both the Turtles and for Chip Douglas, who provided the arrangement. The single replaced the Beatles' "Penny Lane" at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1967. The Turtles' only No. 1 remained there for three weeks. An album of the same name followed and peaked at No. 25. "Happy Together" reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart. This same year saw the Turtles performing the title song (composed by John Williams with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse) for the Twentieth Century-Fox bedroom farce A Guide for the Married Man. Impressed by Chip Douglas's studio arrangements, Michael Nesmith approached him after a Turtles show at the Whisky a Go Go and invited him to become The Monkees' new producer, as that band wanted to break out of their "manufactured" studio mold. Douglas accepted and left the Turtles, ultimately producing three Monkees albums: Headquarters; Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. (both 1967) and co-produced The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees (1968). Douglas was replaced by Jim Pons on bass. 1967 proved to be the Turtles' most successful year on the music charts. "She'd Rather Be with Me" reached No. 3 on the US charts in late spring and actually out-charted "Happy Together" overseas, reaching No. 4 in the UK. Two successive Top 15 songs followed: "You Know What I Mean" and "She's My Girl". Both 45s signaled a certain shift in the band's style. Golden Hits was released later that year, charting in the top 10. The similar album covers for The Turtles! Golden Hits and its follow up More Golden Hits were designed by Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean. In 1967, rhythm guitarist Jim Tucker left the band citing the pressure of touring and recording new material. He moved to Grass Valley where he became an electrical contractor. He has denied that he left the band because John Lennon was rude to him as suggested by the Turtles' lead singer Howard Kaylan.