As reported by Variety, musician Daryl Dragon—the “Captain” half of Captain & Tennille—died earlier this week of renal failure. A spokesperson says that Dragon’s ex-wife Toni Tennille, who divorced Dragon in 2014 but had been in contact with him in recent years, was at this side when he died. Dragon was 76.
Dragon grew up in a family of performers, with his father being composer Carmen Dragon, his younger brother growing up to be a member of ‘60s pop group The Dragons and ‘80s band Surf Punks, and his godfather being actor Danny Thomas. Dragon played in a handful of bands in the early ‘60s, and by the end of the decade he had become the keyboard player for The Beach Boys. As the story goes, it was actually Mike Love from The Beach Boys who first started referring to Dragon as “Captain,” with him decided to lean into the nickname by wearing a captain’s hat onstage.
In 1972, during a break in touring with The Beach Boys, Dragon auditioned to be the keyboard player for a musical that was co-written by Toni Tennille. He got the gig, and he later recommended Tennille to The Beach Boys when they needed a backup piano player. Tennille and Dragon recognized that they collaborated well, and after the Beach Boys tour they formed their own group: Captain & Tennille.
As the duo began to develop a following in Los Angeles, they landed a record deal and eventually released a version of Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield’s “Love Will Keep Us Together” as their first single and got married a few months later. The song was a massive hit, selling over a million copies in 1975 and solidifying Captain & Tennille as an iconic part of ‘70s culture, though subsequent singles like “The Way I Want To Touch You,” “Muskrat Love,” and “Do That To Me One More Time” (despite being big hits on their own) failed to make such a lasting impact. Still, Captain & Tennille stuck to it for decades, touring and releasing new music right up into the 2000s and continuing to play into the dynamic of Dragon being cool and quiet while Tennille was loud and vivacious.
In the late-2000s, Dragon developed a tremor that limited his ability to perform live music, and in 2014 he and Tennille filed for divorce. They reportedly remained friends, though, and in early 2017 his condition had begun to improve along with his relationship with Tennille. In a statement, Tennille asked fans to remember him “with love,” as she does.
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That’s sad. I heard a lot of their tunes growing up from my parents listening to them.
Was it like my folks…on 8 track?
Probably more like a car radio tuned to an AM Top-40 station.
Aww. I’m old enough to remember how huge C &T were in the 70’s. They even had a TV show! Their contrasting public personalities were almost Penn and Teller level; with Captain staying mostly quiet, being quietly teased but amused by Tenille. I heard “Love Will Keep Us Together” a few days ago on the radio and was reminded of what a solid pop song it is. RIP Captain.
Why couldn’t they have gone with Dragon & Tennille? Then they might have become a hard riffing prog metal act.
Why does a guy named Dragon need a nickname? But Superdave, The Captain, and Mean Gene all in the last day or so. Death is hunting nicknames.
somebody make sure Weird Al is alive!
If Death is hunting people with stage names, say goodbye to most of rap, hip-hop, and pop music. Hello, Elvis Presley. C&T were great, and Daryl will be missed. RIP
You can add Neil Young’s wife, Pegi to that list as well. Damn, 2019 wanted to get started on the death parade pretty fast.
Ex-wife. He married Darryl Hannah a few months back.
Superdave died????!? Aw fuck.
Dragon and Tenille sounds like an 80’s detective comedy staring kickboxer Don Wilson
Saw them perform in my youth when they were the opener for, IIRC, Neil Sedaka himself. Quality pop from the era.
…and Death will tear you apart!RIP, Mr. Dragon
So is the Joy Division song a rejoinder? “Love will keep us together!” “No, Love will tear us apart. Again.”
Apparently this was the case – Ian Curtis wrote it after hearing “Love Will Keep us Together” on the radio,
I’d rather hear C&T then Joy Division.
BLASPHEMER!!!!!
… Dang. Well, to each their own.
They say the world don’t move to the beat of just one drum…
Ernie Anderson new year 1977 promo.
Aw, RIP, Captain. My favorite song by them when I was a little girl was “Lonely Night (Angel Face)”.
I still unapologetically love that song.
From Wikipedia: Tennille filed for divorce from Dragon in the State of Arizona on January 16, 2014, after 39 years of marriage. Dragon was unaware of the termination of his marriage until he was served with the divorce papers.Jesus how tragic. One of my greatest fears.
I’m shocked those muskrats couldn’t make it work.
I guess Love couldn’t keep them together
I do not know if it was true (or just wishful thinking) but I did read one rumor that the divorce may have had more to do with issues of the finances of healthcare vis-a-vis Daryll’s condition – in other words, the divorce was not a “separation,” per se, but a legal maneouver to keep themselves financially solvent. Take it with a grain of salt.
That was the impression I got at the time. I know a lot of older couples who have had to divorce for financial reasons, like healthcare benefits, etc.
At that point, for 39 years, why even bother separating?I mean things had to be pretty toxic between them if Tennille served papers without Dragon even knowing it was gonna happen.But you’ve known each other for forty years and been married for almost the same length. At that point I say “fuck it” and ride into the sunset together. I mean it was only 5 years ago…
Or his condition made it difficult. If his tremors had a cognitive component as well, like Huntingtons does, it can be hard to deal with
One of your greatest fears is playing with the Beach Boys, starting a successful band with a woman you are married to for 39 years, and then she divorces you?
The whole ‘til death do you part’ thing doesn’t always stand up in the face of serious illness. And the depression that often accompanies it. I can testify firsthand.
The Captain, Mean Gene, and Super Dave all on the same day (and at the same age, no less). Weirdest “These things happen in threes” trio I can remember.
And all three were 76
What I heard through the usual L.A. biz chatter, was that they got divorced when he got sick so his medical bills wouldn’t wipe out their combined wealth and leave her broke when he died.
To poorly paraphrase Yakov Smirnoff, In Soviet America, health care makes YOU sick.
That story doesn’t jibe with his claim that he didn’t know about the divorce until he got the papers, and wasn’t even aware she wasn’t happy.The stuff that’s been historically told about them is their marriage was never really a great love story, and Dragon wasn’t a very emotional person. No kids in 39 years of marriage during an era where that was unheard of. Tennille often cited difficulties with his family as a constant problem. He supposedly became hard to live with in his later years (who doesn’t, really?)She doesn’t come off very well in this story, either. She left him when he really needed her most, without even telling him first. Her statements for the obituary talk about how his friends loved him but she just talks about what he did for her professionally and creatively.
I thought I remember hearing that as well.
Listening to the underrated Beach Boys album, Carl and the Passions “So Tough” on which he played a significant part in his honor. In particular, he co-wrote with Dennis Wilson the gorgeous ballad “Cuddle Up” which closes the album.
First, Mean Gene. Then, Super Dave. Now, The Captain from Captain & Tenille. Cool your tits, 2019!!!! It’s just your 2nd day!!!!
In the late-2000s, Dragon developed a tremor that limited his ability to perform live music, and in 2014 he and Tennille filed for divorce. They reportedly remained friends, though, and in early 2017 his condition had begun to improve along with his relationship with Tennille. So… she leaves him when he gets a debilitating illness and becomes his friend again when he gets better? Now that’s love!
I met them in the early 90s and she was super friendly and talkative and prettier than she is in pictures, and he was also nice but was quiet and took a back seat to her. If they split because of medical bills, that’s yet another sad statement on health care here….
I remember seeing a TV special they did in 1978 where they had a jazz funeral for the captain’s hat. The hat came back pretty quickly, but at least he outlived it for 40+ years. RIP, Captain.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1734&dat=19780331&id=rOkbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mVEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3658,2753883
Leave it to Mike Love to ruin yet another thing by giving a guy with the coolest last name ever (Dragon!) a lame nickname like ‘Captain’….
Thank god for the anonymity of the internet. They were the first band I ever saw in concert. After all this time, I’m still trying to remember why. There are some mistakes you can never live down.
Oddly enough, brother Dennis Dragon (mentioned above as being a member of 80s joke-punk band the Surf Punks) died in September. Found their self-titled LP in a Goodwill in West Virginia in 1997. http://www.malibutimes.com/malibu_life/article_833b3102-b9a7-11e7-ade5-63ff43a6a048.html
His obit reads like a parody of California.