The Turtles’ singer Mark Volman reveals dementia diagnosis
Mark Volman, the singer and founding member of the popular 1960s group The Turtles, has revealed that he was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia in 2020.
Despite the diagnosis, Voltman has told People that he intends to tour with the current lineup of The Turtles. “It’s the safest place for me to be. I can’t get lost or hurt,” Volman joked.
Voltman continued to reveal he first noticed something was wrong in 2018 while working as a music professor at Nashville’s Belmont University. “I remember slurring, and I wasn’t sure what was going on,” Volman told People. “My brain wandered. I’d go off track. It made no sense.”
Soon after this episode, the hallucinations characteristic of the dementia form followed. He said he remembers envisaging Civil War soldiers outside his house and even making out faces on his furniture. LBD shares many characteristics with Parkinson’s disease, meaning the two can sometimes be misdiagnosed initially.
Robin Williams was another notable LBD sufferer. Tragically, the comedian committed suicide in 2014 following several years of suffering. Volman, however, has sworn to make “the most out of every day” and will continue to exercise daily and take his medication to keep the symptoms at bay.
“I got hit by the knowledge that this was going to create a whole new part of my life. And I said, ‘Okay, whatever’s going to happen will happen, but I’ll go as far as I can,’” Volman added.
“The challenges of this world affect everybody, and it’s been kind of fun being on the other side of a challenge like this and saying, ‘I feel good.’ My friends are here. I’m still here. And I want people to connect with me.”
The ‘Happy Together’ singer was also famed as one of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, where he performed alongside fellow Turtle Howard Kaylan; the pair played by their stage names Flo and Eddie. On June 20th, Volman is set to release his new memoir, Happy Together.
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