The Turtles Mark Volman Diagnosed With Serious Health Condition: Will He Retire?

The Turtles singer Mark Volman is determined to continue touring amid his health battle.

For the first time, Volman spoke about his health diagnosis during an interview with People for the magazine's weekly issue while getting busier with his book and tour. The Turtles' founding member spoke about his condition but assured fans it would not affect his current schedule.

What Happened to Mark Volman?

The 76-year-old vocalist sat down for an interview from his Nashville home, saying he was diagnosed with a progressive neurological disorder, Lewy body dementia, in 2020. The same disease also affected Ted Turner and Robin Williams.

The Alzheimer's Association explains that LBD is progressive dementia that affects a person's functions, including thinking and reasoning. Among the symptoms include REM sleep behavior disorder, rest tremors, rigidity, fluctuating cognition, visual hallucinations, and memory loss, among others.

For Volman's part, he had himself checked after experiencing tremors and hallucinations while also having struggles with a concentration in 2020. He told the news outlet that he has been trying to adapt to the challenges of the disease over the past few years.

Although he already knew the setbacks, the singer chose to see it as an unexpected next chapter that would not affect his desire to perform.

"I got hit by the knowledge that this was going to create a whole new part of my life," he said. "And I said, 'OK, whatever's going to happen will happen, but I'll go as far as I can.' "

Mark Volman's Career, Legacy

Before conquering the music scene, he started showing his love for music when he joined Howard Kaylan's high school band in 1963. From Crossfires, the band rebranded to The Turtles and savored its first top 10 hit when it released its version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965.

From there, Volman and his bandmates continued performing and releasing hit tracks, including "Happy Together," which beat The Beatles' "Penny Lane" off the top slot of music charts.

Throughout his active years, the musician found himself collaborating and establishing friendships with Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Bono, and Bruce Springsteen.

Outside his career as a musician, he also joined the faculty of Belmont University in Nashville for a music business program. But while trying to get through his lectures in 2018, he reportedly started experiencing the symptoms of LBD.

"Right now, for me, it's not scary, although it probably should be," Volman said, adding how his health issue would not dictate his future as a musician.