Captain and Tennille fans no doubt remember the duo’s 1970s hit Love Will Keep Us Together, but word has emerged today that love simply wasn’t enough. The pop music duo is getting a divorce. Toni Tennille filed for divorce from Daryl Dragon, her husband of more than four decades, on January 16th. She is 73 years old and he is 71.
Daryl Dragon stopped playing his signature keyboard back in 2010 after being diagnosed with a neurological disorder that caused serious tremors, similar to Parkinson’s disease. Dragon played the keyboard for the Beach Boys before he met Toni Tennille.
In addition to Love Will Keep Us Together, the Captain and Tennille had a few other hits during the 1970s, including one called Muskrat Love. Now one might think with song titles like this that a pop duo couldn’t have possibly been very popular, but that isn’t the case. Love Will Keep Us Together was the best selling single in 1975. Written and originally recorded by Neil Sedaka, the Captain and Tennille breathed new life into the song, replete with Daryl Dragon’s bouncy keyboard sound and Tennille’s big smile and shiny bowl cut bob.
During the 1990s the Captain and Tennille played venues in Lake Tahoe and they celebrated with a big 20th anniversary show in 1995 at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip in Las Vegas. Toni Tennille found a second career as a big band singer during much of the 1990s.
Lots of people will be bummed when they learn that love didn’t keep the Captain and Tennille together. That was an institution left over from the 1970s that by now practically everyone figured had survived. This no doubt means those poor little muskrats will be the next to throw in the towel after decades of love.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
