The Turtles Trivia Quiz

Answer: It Ain't Me Babe

The Crossfires were originally a Surf genre band. When they signed with White Whale Records they changed to a Folk Rock style popular in the sixties and changed their name. The Turtles initially called the band The Tyrtles in the same manner as The Byrds, but the name eventually became The Turtles. The Byrds had a hit with "Turn, Turn, Turn" so The Turtles thought they would have success with Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe". Johnny and June Cash also recorded a successful Country version of "It Ain't Me Babe".

"The Times They Are a-Changin'" was recorded by many artists including The Byrds. Manfred Mann and Joe Cocker are among the many artists who recorded a version of "Just Like a Woman".

Answer: Out of Sight

Other bands to perform in "Out of Sight" were The Knickerbockers, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Freddie and the Dreamers, Dobie Gray and The Astronauts. It was the only mainstream film appearance by The Turtles. "She'll Come Back" was written by band member Howard Kaylan with Nita Garfield. The soundtrack for the movie was released by Decca Records. "Hogan's Heroes" cast member Larry Hovis wrote the screenplay for the movie.

"The Nude Bomb" was a 1980 Maxwell Smart film with Don Adams. Nancy Sinatra was in the cast of "The Last of the Secret Agents" in 1966. "Come Spy with Me" was a 1966 release featuring Smokey Robinson singing the theme song.

Answer: A Guide for the Married Man

Gene Kelly directed "A Guide for the Married Man" featuring Walter Matthau and Inger Stevens. The score for the title song was written by John Williams and had lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. The song was released as a single and was included on The Turtles' 1967 "Happy Together" LP.
"Divorce American Style" (1967) was a Norman Lear film starring Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds. "Grand Slam" (1967) featured Edward G Robinson trying to pull off a diamond heist in Rio. "The Fastest Guitar Alive" (1967) cast Roy Orbison as a Western secret agent.

Answer: John Barbata

John Barbata replaced original drummer, Don Murray, in 1967. Ironically 1967 was the year that The Turtles had their most impressive chart history. The Turtles knew John from his earlier days with a Surf band called The Sentinels. When he wrapped up his stint with The Turtles he went on to be a part of Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Stills and Nash and Jefferson Starship. Among the many artists he did session work for on more than 60 albums were Eric Clapton, Dave Mason, Grace Slick, The Grateful Dead and Leon Russell. John Seiter from Spanky and Our Gang replaced him in The Turtles.

Session player Hal Blaine played on numerous sixties classics. Bobby Elliot was known for his work with The Hollies. Kenneth Thomas "Kenney" Jones began his career with The Small Faces and was asked by The Who to join the band when Keith Moon passed away.

Answer: False

On March 25th, 1967, "Happy Together" reached Number One in the US. It was the first song written by Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon that the Turtles recorded. The duo had shopped the song to so many bands the demo tape was almost worn out. The Turtles began performing the song live and eventually recorded it. Bass player Chip Douglas was the arranger.

The song knocked "Penny Lane" from the top slot and was replaced in April by "Somethin' Stupid".

Answer: The Monkees

Micheal Nesmith was one of the Monkees. He was impressed with Chip's production work and when he saw The Turtles perform at the legendary Whisky a Go Go he asked Chip to produce The Monkees. The Monkees were trying to move toward a more original sound. When Douglas accepted the job with The Monkees he was temporarily replaced by bassist Laramy Smith and later by Jim Pons.

Answer: Elenore

"Elenore" was one of the band's biggest hits, reaching Number Six in the US in 1968. While it was released as a single credited to The Turtles, the group simply called themselves Howie, Mark, John, Jim and Al on the album. "Buzzsaw" was credited to The Fabulous Dawgs, "Surfer Dan" was a throwback to the Crossfires. For "Too Much Heartsick Feeling" the band called themselves The Quad City Ramblers. Another song to chart well for the band from the album was "You Showed Me". It was written by Jim McGuinn and Gene Clark of The Byrds and reached Number Six in 1969 by The Turtles.

On the "The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands" album the band assumed the name Nature's Children as the artists doing "Elenore". The back cover depicted the band dressed in different outfits for each band they assumed.

Answer: Ray Davies

"Turtle Soup" was the first production work Ray Davies of The Kinks ever did for another group. Only two songs released as singles dented the US Billboard charts; "You Don't Have To Walk In The Rain" and "Love In The City". "You Don't Have To Walk In The Rain" made it to Number 51 while "Love In The City" stalled at Number 91. All but one of the tracks on the album were composed by members of the band. The album met with critical applause but was not a commercial success.

Peter Noone fronted Herman's Hermits. Reg Presley was the singer for The Troggs. Eric Burdon was the front man for The Animals.

Answer: Jan and Dean

Jan and Dean were credited with designing both covers. It was the first of more than 200 album covers designed primarily by Dean Torrence. After Jan's accident Dean focused some of his his attention to designing album covers for various artists. He went on to do nine covers for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, three of which were nominated for a Grammy for "Best Album Cover of the Year".

Bruce and Terry sang a version of "Hey Little Cobra". Mr. Gasser and the Weirdos recorded "Hot Rod Hootenanny". Tommy and The Tom Toms recorded a song called "Tomahawk".

Answer: Mothers of Invention

Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan were founding members of The Turtles and remained with them throughout the five-year history of the band. When the band dissolved they joined The Mothers of Invention in 1970 along with bass player Jim Pons. In the mid-eighties they regained the right to use the name The Turtles and began billing themselves as The Turtles Featuring Flo and Eddie. They toured with sidemen on revival tours and worked on studio projects with other groups. They can be heard singing background on T Rex's "Bang a Gong" and Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart".

In 1974 Kaylan and Volman won the original masters of their material from White Whale at an auction. They also hosted an LA radio show for several years.