Daryl Dragon

Daryl Dragon
Captain & Tennille
Dragon with wife Toni Tennille, 1976.
Background information
Birth name Daryl Frank Dragon
Also known as
  • Captain
Born (1942-08-27) August 27, 1942
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)
Instruments
Years active 1959–2013
Labels A&M, Casablanca
Associated acts

Daryl Frank Dragon (born August 27, 1942) is a retired American musician and songwriter, known as Captain from the pop musical duo Captain & Tennille, with his former wife, Toni Tennille.[1]

Career

Dragon was born into a musical family, and is the son of conductor, composer, and arranger Carmen Dragon, and the elder brother of Dennis Dragon, a member of the 1960s pop combo The Dragons and the 1980s surf band the Surf Punks. His godfather was actor and comedian Danny Thomas.

Dragon's familiar image and stage name came from his time as a keyboard player with The Beach Boys from 1967 to 1972. Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love gave him the nickname "Captain", and it stuck; Dragon began wearing a nautical captain's hat to go along with the name. As Captain in Captain & Tennille, Dragon was frequently silent and a man of very few words, playing a foil to his outgoing, vivacious wife, Toni Tennille.

Music work outside Captain & Tennille

In 1962, Dragon became a member of the band Charles Wright and the Wright Sounds, a group which included future Watts Band member John Raynford.

In 1968, Dragon and his brother Dennis formed a studio band called The Mission, which produced a one-off single on the small Bet Records label: "Calmilly"/"Galing Made It". The songs later appeared on a joint album in 1971 titled Me and My Brother (aided by another brother, Doug, who sang the vocals), which was released on CD in 2005.

On the double LP "The Visit" by Bob Smith, released in 1970, Dragon is credited as Captain Keyboard. Dragon also made significant contributions with keyboarding and musical scoring on the Beach Boys' 1972 release Carl and the Passions – "So Tough", co-writing the track "Cuddle Up" with Dennis Wilson; also, Dragon's orchestrations on the tracks "Make It Good" and "Cuddle Up" translated the melodic ideas that Dennis Wilson was seeking. Dragon also arranged the coda on "Don't Go Near The Water" from The Beach Boys' 1971 release Surf's Up.

Dragon contributed vibes and melodica in the song "Wind ’n’ Sea" by the band Farm, a group put together by Dennis and Doug for the soundtrack to The Innermost Limits of Pure Fun, a surf film directed by George Greenough. He also did session work with Dennis for the Go for It soundtrack and, in the early 1980s, with the rock band Survivor. In 1981, Dragon contributed to Carpenters' Made In America album, programming synthesizers on "(Want You) Back In My Life Again".[2] In 1996, Dragon played keyboard on a number of tracks on the self-titled album by pop punk band Size 14.

Personal life

Neurological condition

In late 2009, Toni Tennille announced her husband had developed familial tremor. According to Tennille, his condition was neither debilitating nor terminal.[3] Rather, his noticeable tremor was exacerbated by stress and anxiety. Subsequently, the tremor condition limited most of Dragon's public appearances. As of November 2009, Dragon was under a physician's care to determine the best method of treatment.[4]

In September 2010, Tennille publicly clarified her husband's condition as "a neurological condition (later confirmed to be Essential tremor), which causes him to have tremors".[5][6] Tennille indicated the condition was debilitating to Dragon's abilities as a musician.

Divorce

Tennille filed for divorce from Dragon in the State of Arizona on January 16, 2014, after 39 years of marriage. Dragon stated he was unaware of this until he was served with the divorce papers.[7]

Dragon, contacted by TMZ on January 22, 2014, stated "I don't know why Toni filed for divorce."[8]

On January 23, 2014, The Washington Post reported health insurance related to health issues might be the reason for the divorce, as both issues had been referenced in divorce documents filed with the courts. Tennille had reported on her blog in 2010 her husband's neurological condition was characterized by such extreme tremors he could no longer play keyboards.[9]

The divorce was finalized in July 2014. Regarding his ex-wife's new memoirs, Dragon stated "No, I haven't read it." In an exclusive interview with Radar in his Arizona home on March 17, 2016, Dragon, responding to the book by his ex-wife, would comment only "I was drugged (at the time of his divorce), that's all I can tell you."[10]

On a segment on the April 12, 2016 broadcast of the American television program Today, Tennille confirmed her divorce from Dragon was finalized, and stated that the reason for the divorce was Dragon's "inability to be affectionate".[11] Tennille later said that Dragon had reacted positively to the Today segment and told her; "I saw you on The Today Show. I was proud of you."[12]

In an interview published in a February 2017 issue of People, Dragon stated he was making great progress and feeling like himself again, after corrections were made in the dosage of medications he was taking, which were causing side effects. Dragon stated his ex-wife had flown to Arizona and had been a help in his improvement.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Profile, Music-enthusiast.com; accessed August 24, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Made In America The Carpenters Complete Recording Resource". amcorner.com. Retrieved May 19, 2016. Synthesizer Programming: Daryl Dragon, Ian Underwood
  3. ↑ ""The Captain & Tennille" Home Page". Captainandtennille.net. 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  4. ↑ Dahms, Heidi. "Tennille, 'Smoky' bring new smiles; hospital patients get visits from pop music icon, her dog". Dcourier.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-23. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  5. ↑ "TONI'S TAKE". Captainandtennille.net. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  6. ↑ Tennille, Toni (19 April 2011). "Parker & Parker: April 19, 2011". YouTube.com. Retrieved 8 May 2016. Daryl has a condition called Essential tremor, which has really wrecked his keyboard playing...
  7. ↑ Ramisetti, Kirthana (January 22, 2014). "The Captain & Tennille to divorce: Powerhouse '70s duo split after 39 years of marriage". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  8. ↑ Lovece, Frank (January 22, 2014). "Daryl Dragon, Toni Tennille of Captain & Tennille to divorce after 39 years". Long Island Newsday. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Captain and Tennille, musical duo of the '70s, divorcing after 39 years of marriage". Washington Post. January 23, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Captain & Tenille Singers In Vicious Post-Divorce Battle Over Explosive Tell-All Book". Radaronline.com. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  11. ↑ Dawn, Randee. "Toni Tennille reveals the personal reason why she divorced Daryl Dragon". Today.
  12. ↑ Tennille, Toni (7 May 2016). "TONI TENNILLE! Love Will Keep Us Together! Creative Arts Emmys 2016". YouTube.com. LGBT Hollywood. Retrieved 11 May 2016. But I do know this... He said 'I saw you on The Today Show. I was proud of you.' And Caroline was with me in the back of the car and we both kinda teared up a bit. He is proud of me, and he's proud of the music.
  13. ↑ Chiu, Melody (11 February 2017). "Daryl Dragon of Captain and Tennille Clears Up Rumors About His Health: 'I Am Not Under Hospice Care'". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
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