Daryl Dragon Passes

[Michael Hagerty]

I know we have the remembrances section---but this is an A&M artist, so I figured it should run separately as well---Daryl Dragon of the Captain and Tennille died today at age 76: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/daryl-dragon-dead-captain-captain-tennille-was-76-1172534

 

[AM Matt]

Got "Twenty Years Of Romance" (1998) Hip - O "Ultimate Collection" & "The Spirit Of Christmas" (from 2007) on CD. Also got "Love Will Keep Us Together" & "Song Of Joy" albums. Matt Clark Sanford, MI

 

[Rudy]

I know we have the remembrances section---but this is an A&M artist, so I figured it should run separately as well---Daryl Dragon of the Captain and Tennille died today at age 76: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/daryl-dragon-dead-captain-captain-tennille-was-76-1172534

I knew he'd been ill for some time. Sad to hear this!

 

[Bobberman]

I have fond remembrances of their one season tv series which was very heavy on sketch comedy but as a 9 year old kid when it happened I thought it was funny and I was introduced more to their music which I also liked I was saddened to hear of their splitting up a few years ago but at least they remained friends and she was there at his side when he passed but still it's a very sad end to a Great life adventure of music RIP Captain.

 

[Rudy]

I was doing a little search on his brother Dennis of the Surf Punks (co-founder and drummer), and found that he passed from a suicide back in September 2017. He was living in Oregon and running his own recording studio at the time, and he was 70. The Surf Punks had a spot in the Urgh! A Music War film, but their appearance did not make it to the A&M soundtrack album.

I'll have to dig out the Captain & Tennille Greatest Hits record I have somewhere in my collection.

 

[Murray]

Very sad news! C&T were one of my favourite acts growing up, and I still have my LPs of all their original albums. Daryl behind his tower of keyboards is one of my enduring memories of the 70’s! Bon voyage Captain...

 

[Carpe diem]

Rest In Peace

 

[Jamesj75]

Sad news, indeed. I always liked the Captain & Tennille. I played the album Song of Joy ad nauseam upon release, and it holds a special place in my heart from a formative time in my life.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Sad news. My first memory of C&T is from the very beginning, when "Love Will Keep Us Together" came out. I thought that tune was great and really looked forward to the album, but wound up being disappointed that there were too many ballads on it. I thought their sound was much better when they did the uptempo things. I thought for sure, since they'd had such a massive uptempo hit, there'd be more of that kind of music on the next album.

Then Song of Joy came out and it had some great tracks (including another favorite of mine, "Shop Around") but I thought it was still a little ballad-heavy, although not as much as the first album

Later on, of course, they had some big hits with ballads, especially "Do That To Me One More Time," so what do I know? Still, without fail it's their fast songs that grab me the most to this day.

Many people probably don't know that both Daryl and Toni did a lot of background studio work.

 

[Actorman]

I was as a big fan of theirs as a kid. I loved their TV series and had the poster of them from the "Come In From The Rain" album on my wall for a time. I wore out both that album and their A&M "Greatest Hits" album.

Back in 2005, R2 Entertainment released a 6-disc box set of all of the duo's A&M and Casablanca studio albums which I purchased. They also released two DVD box sets (one with episodes from the series and another containing their specials) which I bought as well. Looking back, they didn't have quite the on-screen charisma of Sonny & Cher, but it was fun trip down memory lane seeing the stars of the day parade through the guest list each week (included the recently departed Penny Marshall). When it came to the music however, the shows proved to be a great showcase for the couple's talents.

It's really a shame that their success didn't continue on a bit longer into the '80s. I believe they could have put out at least a few more hits had they remained on A&M. Instead, they were lured away by big promises from Casablanca only to be practically ignored by the label after the initial success of "Do That To Me One More Time."

I still think "Love Will Keep Us Together" is one of the greatest and most perfect pop singles of all time.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I have a mono 45 of Love Will Keep Us Together, love that song!!

 

[Rudy]

I wonder if Sedaka could have made the song a hit on his own; his own career revival seemed to hinge on the success of this track by C&T.

 

[Harry]

Sad to hear of Mr. Dragon's passing, but we knew he was in poor health of late.

The Captain & Tennille may have been the spearhead for A&M's eventual entry into the Latin market in the 80s. Their big hit album, LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER (SP 4552) was nearly simultaneously released as SP-4561 and entitled POR AMOR VIVIREMOS with all of the songs re-sung in Spanish over the existing backings tracks. The artist's name was even changed to "Capitan y Tennille".

And a curious postscript to this. A year or so ago I finally acquired a rare Japanese release of five CDs from A&M called HISTORY 100. It's purpose, we believe was to cull a large number of A&M single releases into one package. Why it was so limited, I don't know, but I was happy to find it. It's chock full of odd single-only recordings mixed in with some big hits. But the odd thing is that they included "Por Amor Viviremos" instead of "Love Will Keep Us Together". The English version can be found on that 3-CD A&M 50 release from 2012.

 

[Joeyesterday]

I wish A&M would reissue the 2005 remasters again. I missed getting those and they are crazy expensive on eBay or impossible to find.

 

[Bobberman]

Sad to hear of Mr. Dragon's passing, but we knew he was in poor health of late.

The Captain & Tennille may have been the spearhead for A&M's eventual entry into the Latin market in the 80s. Their big hit album, LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER (SP 4552) was nearly simultaneously released as SP-4561 and entitled POR AMOR VIVIREMOS with all of the songs re-sung in Spanish over the existing backings tracks. The artist's name was even changed to "Capitan y Tennille".

And a curious postscript to this. A year or so ago I finally acquired a rare Japanese release of five CDs from A&M called HISTORY 100. It's purpose, we believe was to cull a large number of A&M single releases into one package. Why it was so limited, I don't know, but I was happy to find it. It's chock full of odd single-only recordings mixed in with some big hits. But the odd thing is that they included "Por Amor Viviremos" instead of "Love Will Keep Us Together". The English version can be found on that 3-CD A&M 50 release from 2012.

I have the definitive collection On Hip o which has the Por Amor Viviremos at the end and I never hear that Spanish version until I got the CD but it's a nice rarity to have

 

[Mark-T]

"Come In From The Rain" still gets to me.

 

[Jamesj75]

For the time being, this story continues to be the lead story at the Corner home page and, thus, a constant reminder of Mr. Dragon's passing as well as the appeal of the Captain & Tennille. Bittersweet...