ABBA

Singer-songwriter from Westchester, Los Angeles, California, who graduated from high school the same year his band, The Turtles, charted with their first top-five hit, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe”. The success of the single catapulted them into the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars, which included Ronnie Dove, Bryan Hyland, Tom Jones, Peter and Gordon, Billy Joe Royal, and The Shirelles. The Turtles chalked up a few more hits, “Can I Get to Know You Better”, “Grim Reaper of Love” and “Outside Chance”, before topping the charts with “Happy Together”. Other hits followed: “Elenore”, “She’d Rather Be with Me”, and “You Showed Me”.

The band broke up in 1970 and Mark and fellow Turtle Howard Kaylan joined the ranks of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Forbidden to use their own names because of an ugly lawsuit with their record company, the pair billed themselves as The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie, or Flo and Eddie, for short. They made several albums with the Mothers and one film, 200 Motels.

In 1971, Flo and Eddie struck out on their own, releasing albums and singing background vocals for other artists. They also voiced over cartoons, like 1974’s Down and Dirty Duck. Eventually their lawsuit was settled and they were able to go back on the road as The Turtles… featuring Flo and Eddie. Frank Zappa asked them to rejoin his band in 1987, but it was a brief reunion, resulting in only a handful of rehearsals.

In 1992, Mark decided to go to college. He enrolled at Loyola Marymount University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Fine Arts in 1997. It did not take long for him to put his education to work. He started up his own record label the same year.

He went on to pursue his Masters degree at Loyola and taught there from 1997 through 2004. From there, he went on to teach at Belmont University and Los Angeles Valley College. He has since gone on to pursue his Ph.D.

Mark has his own website, Ask Professor Flo. A link is listed below.

Bruce Springsteen recordings

Hungry Heart (Bruce Springsteen)

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