The Turtles rock band founding member Mark Volman passed away on Friday, September 5, 2025, years after he was diagnosed with dementia. The 78-year-old vocalist and guitarist of the '60s rock band reportedly died in Nashville, Tennessee, following a "brief, unexpected illness," as confirmed by his representative with People Magazine.His lawyer, Evan Cohen, also confirmed the singer's passing in a Facebook post on Friday, remembering Volman not only as a musician but as a force who stood up for the rights of musicians just like him. Cohen wrote in part:"I am sorry to report that my long-time friend and client, Mark Volman of The Turtles and Flo & Eddie (and a couple of years in the Mothers of Invention), has died at the age of 78. Always funny, always upbeat, and a spirited and inventive performer, we will miss him greatly." View this post on Instagram Instagram PostMark Volman had been in the music scene for decades, starting when he co-founded a band with his classmate Howard Kaylan in high school in 1963. They first called themselves the Crossfires, but eventually renamed the band The Turtles and went on to win their first Top 10 hit at No.8 in 1965 with their cover of Bob Dylan's It Ain't Me Babe.The band was famous for their song Happy Together, their sole No.1 hit, which was also voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. The Turtles made other Top 10 hits like Elenore, You Showed Me, and She's Rather Be With Me before evetually splitting in 1970. That said, Volman and Kaylan started performing as the duo known as Flo & Eddie and toured with Mothers of Invention.Mark Volman was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2020In an exclusive interview with People magazine at his home outside Nashville on June 14, 2023, Mark Volman opened up for the first time about his Lewy body dementia and how said neurological disorder had progressed. He said that he received the diagnosis in 2020 after experiencing several symptoms, including tremors, struggles with concentration, and even hallucinations.Happy Together Tour At Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza (Image via Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)During the conversation, the late musician reportedly conjured a vision of a woman with her head bleeding and had repeatedly asked the crew to verify if the vision was real or not. Talking about his dementia, Mark Volman said:"I got hit by the knowledge that this was going to create a whole new part of my life. And I said, 'OK, whatever's going to happen will happen, but I'll go as far as I can.'"Mark Volman recalled in the interview that one of the first symptoms he experienced was slurring during his lectures as a faculty member of Belmont University, a job he started in 2018. For the next two years, until he got the official diagnosis, he said that the hallucinations started, adding that faces would appear out of appliances and furniture, like the woman in the red floral sofa.By April 2020, he was diagnosed with LBD, and while it provided him with answers about the symptoms he'd been experiencing for the last two years, Volman admitted that it also raised a terrifying question. He stated that the only person he knew related to LBD was Robin Williams, and he was already dead.With the help of medication to control his hallucinations and tremors, Volman went on the Happy Together tour in June 2023.Read more: Lalo Schifrin, legendary composer behind ‘Mission: Impossible’ theme, dies at 93Mark Volman is survived by his partner, Emily Volman, and his three kids with ex-wife Pat Volman.