Captain and Tennille
FORMED: 1973
Vibrant, relentlessly upbeat harmonies made Captain (born Daryl Dragon, Aug.
27, 1942) & Tennille (born Toni Tennille, May 8, 1943) stars during the
latter half of the '70s. Dragon, dubbed the "Captain" because of his distinctive
headgear, had played keyboards with the Beach Boys prior to teaming with
his wife. Their first hit on A&M, the buoyant "Love Will Keep Us Together,"
was a million-selling chart-topper in 1975, and a reissue of their 1974 single
"The Way I Want to Touch You" also went gold. The couple hung three more
gold records in their den in 1976 -- "Lonely Night (Angel Face)," "Shop Around,"
and Willis Alan Ramsey's "Muskrat Love" -- and that was enough for ABC-TV
to install them as hosts of their own variety program. "Do That to Me One
More Time" was the last #1 item for the pair in 1979. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music
Guide
Toni Tennille
BORN: May 8, 1943, Montgomery, AL
With her husband, Daryl Dragon, pop singer Toni Tennille made up the popular
'70s duo the Captain & Tennille. Tennille was the vocalist for the group,
while Dragon played the keyboard and other instruments. She is known for
her pop, rock, jazz and orchestral music and has sold more than a million
records with popular hits like "Do That to Me One More Time" and "The Way
I Want to Touch You."
Toni Tennille was born into a musical family in Montgomery, Alabama. Her
father, Frank Tennille, sang and recorded under the pseudonym Clark Randall.
He was with Ben Pollack's band and was still performing with the band when
Bob Crosby took over. Toni Tennille attended Auburn University in Alabama,
paying her way by singing popular tunes of the '30s and '40s.
In 1975, she married Daryl Dragon. The two combined their musical talents
to produce the Captain & Tennille. During the partnership, the duo earned
an impressive five gold albums, six gold singles, two platinum albums and
one platinum single. In 1976, the two entered the television scene with their
own show on ABC, Captain & Tennille Variety Show, and appeared on several
other ABC specials. Captain & Tennille's Greatest Hits, released in 1977,
included the duo's 1975 Grammy Award-winning Song of the Year "Love Will
Keep Us Together."
In 1980, she hosted the syndicated Toni Tennille Variety Talk Show. Two of
Tennille's hit albums, All of Me and More Than You Know, were produced herself
and then fine-tuned by the Count Basie Orchestra's musical arranger Sammy
Nestico. In 1984, when the couple moved to Nevada, Tennille began to work
once again on renditions of songs from the '30s and '40s. She is known in
the United States and Canada as a frequent symphony guest artists, with eight
to ten appearances a year.
In 1992, she broadened her career to include the stage, starring in the Los
Angeles production of Stardust. She received rave reviews in all the trade
magazines for her musical performance.
The Captain & Tennille made a 20th anniversary album in 1995, featuring
some of the group's hit singles and jazz ballads from the last twenty years.
The album, Captain & Tennille -- 20 Years of Romance, also marked the
couple's 20th wedding anniversary.
Studying classical piano for ten years has allowed Toni Tennille to broaden
her career to include songwriting. Through her participation in the Captain
& Tennille, her orchestra tours across the United States and Canada,
her jazz and pop albums and her television appearances, Toni Tennille has
become known as a complete singer and entertainer. Nevada Governor Bob Miller
named Tennille an Ambassador for the Arts for her numerous contributions.
~ Kim Summers, All Music Guide