Posted on: April 30, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 3

If you’re imagining how the world could be so very fine this summer, then you’ll no doubt be elated to hear that The Happy Together Tour — featuring five major artists from the sixties — will be returning again this year.

Beginning in early July, The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie, The Association, The Grass Roots, The Buckinghams and Mark Lindsay, former lead singer of Paul Revere & The Raiders, will be embarking on a trek that will take them to approximately twenty U.S. cities where they’ll be performing a spectacular, fun-filled show full of their greatest hits (see full itinerary at Entitle Books blog).

In 2010, Happy Together hosts Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (also known as Flo & Eddie) took their show on the road in celebration of the 25th Anniversary Happy Together Tour that featured The Grass Roots, The Buckinghams, The Mamas & the Papas, Gary Lewis & The Playboys and, of course, The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie. The tour in ’85 lasted eight months and was one of the top grossing tours of the year.

With the exception of The Association (who first appeared on a Happy Together Tour in 1984), this year’s line-up remains virtually the same as last year’s, with five stellar artists boasting a combined 53 Top 40 Billboard hits, many of which they’ll be performing in concert. It’s like turning on your radio and listening to your favorite songs for more than two hours.

“Happy Together” by The Turtles hit #1 on the charts in 1967 (displacing the Beatles’ “Penny Lane”) and remains a staple on classic rock radio to this day. Although their biggest hit and signature song, it’s just one of their nine Top 40 hits, which includes such popular songs as “She’d Rather Be With Me,” “Elenore,” “You Showed Me” and “It Ain’t Me Babe.” In 1968, far ahead of their time, they would release one of music’s first concept albums, The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands, where they pretended to be eleven different bands with different names, each providing a song in a different genre.The album — which showcased their incredible range of vocal talent — spawned the hits “Elenore” and “You Showed Me” (both peaking at #6 on the Billboard charts). Mark and Howard have remained plenty busy over the years with both The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie and their extracurricular music activities. In 2009, a new Turtles compilation CD was released titled, Save The Turtles: The Turtles Greatest Hits, which was issued on their own FloEdCo label. In all, the band has sold over 60 million albums worldwide to date.

The Association — who are new to the Happy Together Tour this year — first hit the music limelight in 1966 with the release of “Along Comes Mary,” which was followed by their first number one hit, “Cherish.” In 1967, they would release two other Billboard Top 10 singles, “Windy” (#1) and “Never My Love” (#2). In the midst of their success that same year, The Association made history by being the first band anywhere to open a rock festival – the now historic Monterey Pop Festival. One of the most successful bands to come out of the 60’s, they have sold over 80 million records. The Association have earned 6 gold records and 2 platinum records during their career and their album, The Association Greatest Hits (Warner Bros.), continues to be one of the longest best-selling albums in the history of the label.

“Indian Reservation” by Paul Revere & The Raiders hit #1 on the charts in 1971, selling over 4 million copies which made it the biggest selling single for Columbia Records for almost a decade. This massive hit followed quite a few that came before it from the band including “Kicks,” “Hungry,” “Just Like Me” and “Good Thing” (as well as the Mark Lindsay Top Ten solo hit, “Arizona,” from 1970). In all, the band would achieve no less than fifteen Top 40 hits.

The Grass Roots burst upon the scene in ’67 and would not only amass over a dozen Top 40 hits, but go on to perform in front of an estimated 600,000 people in Washington, D.C. on July 4, 1982 setting an all-time attendance record for an concert performance consisting of just one act. Between 1967 and 1972 — thanks to numerous hits such as “Midnight Confessions,” “Let’s Live For Today,” “Sooner or Later,” “I’d Wait A Million Years” and “Temptation Eyes,” the band would set a record for being on the Billboard charts for 307 consecutive weeks.

“Kind of a Drag” from The Buckinghams would also reach the pinnacle of chart success, yet mark just one of many popular hits from the band including “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” “Don’t You Care,” “Susan” and “Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song).” Their success in 1967 would lead them to be named “The Most Listened To Band in America” by Billboard Magazine.

The Happy Together Tour was such a good time had by all last year that they decided to bring it back again this year.

If you think that “kicks just keep getting harder to find,” then look no further… this show is where you’ll want to be come summer time.

Here’s what the artists have to say about the forthcoming Happy Together Tour:

“When we look at the music that created the best parts of American history,
the songs of these artists on this tour, Happy Together 2011, are at the top of the list.”

–Mark Volman / The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie–

“In turbulent times we tend to look to the music of our youth for
solace, escape, and the remembrance of happier times. The artists
on this year’s Happy Together Tour are the same guys I palled around
with in the 60s and 70s, and I can’t imagine a more fun group to be
touring with this summer to make that great music once again.”

–Mark Lindsay / Former Lead Singer of Paul Revere & The Raiders–

“We are back! Because of the success The Happy Together Tour 2010 enjoyed
last year, The Buckinghams have been asked back to be a part of The Happy
Together Tour 2011. We are so grateful to our fans who came out in large numbers
to support us. The lineup this year is tremendous with hit after hit! So once again,
the magic will continue with the greatest songs of the 60’s.”

–Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna / The Buckinghams–

“We’re looking forward to The Happy Together Tour and working with
old friends. When you get the opportunity to tour with your buddies,
there’s no down side to going to work every day.”

–Larry Ramos / The Association–

The Happy Together Tour 2011*

July 8 – NYCB Theatre at Westbury in Westbury, New York

July 9 – Toyota Presents the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut

July 10 – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire

July 11 – Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

July 13 – Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania

July 14 – Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis, Massachusetts

July 15 – South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset, Massachusetts

July 16 – Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey

July 17 – Sovereign Pacific Arts Center in Reading, Pennsylvania

July 19 – Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida

July 21 – River Center Performing Arts Center in Columbus, Georgia

August 4 – Fraze Pavilion for the Performing Arts in Kettering, Ohio

August 5 – Centennial Terrace in Sylvania, Ohio

August 6 – Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Illinois

August 7 – Wisconsin State Fair Grandstand in West Allis, Wisconsin

August 24 – Kentucky State Fairgrounds in Louisville, Kentucky

August 25 – Effingham Performance Center in Effingham, Illinois

August 26 – Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois

August 27 – Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota (Corn Palace Festival)

August 29 – Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul, Minnesota

*More dates to be announced soon.

http://www.pollstar.com/resultsArtist.aspx?ID=231912&SortBy=Date&SearchBy=happy%20together

3 People reacted on this

  1. I have seen The Happy Together tour for the last two years T the Hrd Rock Hotel In Florida. It was one of the best times I had listening to the music I grew up to. The acts were great and everyone sounded wonderful. Thanks to the Turtles for putting this show together, it means alot to me, please don’t forget to come back to the Hard Rock. Thanks an adoring fan

  2. We attended the Happy Together Tour at the Fraze in Kettering Ohio last night. It was a great time and brought back many happy memories. However, We had heavy hearts due to the death of Rob Grill, we love him and will miss him forever. Thanks to the Turtles for such a great show.

  3. Melayna and I went to the Happy Together concert at the Kentucky State Fair. It was fantastic. They sounded just as they did on the radio in the 60s. I will treasure this memory.

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