Hey Eldergays - Tell me about The Captain and Tennille

Do I have to?

Let's put it this way, they managed to put me off muskrats, and I love animals.

They were everywhere in the 70’s, and they were really, really, embarrassing.

I like Toni Tenneile’s voice.

R3 I hate her god damn hair.

How’d they get by with this in the 70s? She may as well be singing “more dick”.

Apparently, a white, male-female middle of the road pop duo that was closely related and where the female was the singer out front, and the male was the musical "genius" on the keys and behind the scenes, was a thing America was unwilling to go without in the 70's.

When Karen and Richard faded commercially mid-decade, Toni and Daryl came along to take their place in the top 10, and all was right with the world.

They were a poor man's Sonny and Cher.

But Toni did have a nice voice.

she did quite a bit with very little. i believe they had to divorce so he could qualify for AZ state medical insurance?

I loved the Captain & Tennille. I also liked her solo stuff, though I haven't listened to any of it in years. She must be in her late 70s, early 80s by now.

I just checked. She turned 80 this year (the linked pic is from 5 years ago).

Her stylish haircut in OP's post is just gorgeous!

I can't getchoo outta my mind!

R10 Still with the hair. Lord let it go. These celebs that stick to a signifying physical trait to try to remain recognizable is sad.

Ugh - in the '70's, my bus driver played their 8-track tape on never-ending replay.

I read her memoir that was published a few years ago. Seems like she and the Captain had a sad, empty 39-year marriage. They divorced in 2014, 5 years before Daryl Dragon (Captain) died.

Although he was a musical prodigy, Dragon suffered from severe autism and hypochondria. He seldom spoke during their performances, and made interaction with other people impossible. Toni said they rarely were physical in the early years and later were not romantic at all for most of the marriage. She said she had pursued him without realizing the extent of his illness, then stayed as his caregiver even after their divorce.

They had one of the worst variety shows of the 70s, making the Brady Bunch Hour look good in comparison. Although she had her share of pop hits, she couldn't get arrested as a solo performer after their popularity faded.

For example, Toni was rejected as the replacement on Broadway for Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria, even though she made an elaborate and expensive audition tape. Raquel Welch got the role instead.

IIRC, she also did a couple of acting stints on "The Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island."

That haircut was the worst but so popular at that time. It's the ubiquitous "Hollywood" bowl cut.

That hairstyle was designed by some queen to make women’s heads look like penises

I loved their 70's songs. They I've said it. They had great sing-a-longs for many gaylings. So they ran out is steam? So did the Beach Boys and the Beatles. I still like their pop classics.

Would you say the hair is a relative of the Short and Sassy?

They were awful. The 70s were a nadir of popular music. Comparing them to the Beatles or even the Beach Boys (whose close harmonies sounded better than Toni Tennille) is just ludicrous. Their material lacked any distinction. Queen Elizabeth was quite puzzled why she had to listen to a song about muskrats when they played for her in England (why they were invited seems like a bigger mystery). Sad that "The captain" was a such a mess.

My grandma had two emus, The Captain and Tennille.

It was the power of LA media. This critic on LA NBC named John Barbour reviewed their show at the Greek Theater and said that Toni had a warm, natural presence and would be good on a TV variety show. Fred Silverman saw that and ordered a pilot.

On one of those Rona Barrett interview shows, Toni said that while she had no opinion on abortion, she would never have one, even though she was convinced having children was not for them.

She got a daily, daytime talk show circa 1979. I guess it was to fill the void Dinah Shore left. It was short lived, to put it politely.

Being in a marriage without intimacy is soul destroying. She is brave to be honest about it. No wonder she didn't want kids.

The only one who successfully rocked that bowl cut in the seventies was Miss Katie Jackson!

Toni has all the talent in the world and Daryl held her back.

Toni is one of the great disappointments of the 20th century: she could’ve had an incredible solo career with that voice but for some reason, after C&T ended in the early 80s, she did next to nothing with her career.

lmao at r18

[quote]Comparing them to the Beatles or even the Beach Boys (whose close harmonies sounded better than Toni Tennille) is just ludicrous.

No one was comparing them musically. Yes, the Beatles and Beach Boys had great songs. But guess what? They had more stinkers and tripe than hits. They ran out of creative steam. Especially the Beach Boys. Glorious harmonies mean nothing on a treacly tune. C&T had some great songs. Then they stopped having them. Just like those 2 other bands mentioned.

Nobody in their right mind liked, let alone loved, Muskrat Love. The 70's did have some weird music.

R30 The Beatles, who were putting out albums for seven years, never stopped making hits. It was one brilliant album after another. Every single album they ever released went to number one, and had at least two number one singles, and most had even more than that.

I have no beef with your assessment with C&T at all, but The Beatles had an amazing, unique track record.

She was lucky to have the career she did---her most popular songs were either camp (Muskrat Love) or dates (Love Will Keep Us Together). Having a great voice didn't save Karen Carpenter and her material pretty much guaranteed that her fame would be time limited. This was the music that put the final nail into Top 40 AM radio.

TT had a great voice that had to fight through all the schlock (music, orchestrations, shticky costuming, etc.) to make an effect.

DD was her anchor, in every conceivable meaning of the metaphor.

The "Muskrat Love" incident with Her Majesty actually happened at the White House, not in England, if my memory serves me correctly.

President Ford invited them to play for the visiting royals. They included their latest hit, "Muskrat Love" in their set.

The next day, or a few days later, a royal spokesperson issued some statement about how a song about muskrats fucking was inappropriate for The Queen's virgin ears.

Toni retorted that anybody who thought that song was offensive must have a "dirty mind".

From their variety show. This will explain why their career did't last.

Toni Tennille is no Karen Carpenter, not by a long shot. While Toni will soon be forgotten, Miss Karen's voice will live for eternity.

All the awful camp aside, Toni Tennille was a terrific musician. For one thing, she was an excellent pianist--not immediately evident in the shadow of El Capitan, who was also a good pianist, but not any better than she, in spite of getting all the credit for the keyboard work. I remember seeing her accompany herself doing solos on her ill-fated talk-show and elsewhere, and she was as good as any pop pianist. In spite of the sometimes treacly songs, Toni knew how to put a song across vocally. I agree, she was no Karen Carpenter, but she delivered the goods on a whole lot of not-bad album tracks that most people aren't familiar with. For what it's worth, her voice was distinctive and pleasing enough that no less than Sir Elton had her singing background on the rapturous chorus that frames the refrain of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." Listen carefully, and you can pick out her voice, especially in the rising cadences.

One needs to do heavy quantities of hallucinogens to truly appreciate Muskrat Love at R36

I have their albums in my Apple library.

Her big band record was very well reviewed.

I have a soft spot for them, being a 70s child and hearing them on the radio a lot.

The Captain is spooky af.

I wonder if she had boyfriends/girlfriends on the side.

Toni also was the sole composer of two of their biggest hits, "The Way I Want to Touch You" and "Do That To Me One More Time".

It's interesting that both songs are about physical passion, considering she was married to a man who barely ever fucked her.

The first time I ever heard of Toni Tennille was when she did the backing vocals on Elton John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me". She seems like a very nice woman, who has had a few tough breaks along the way. Still, I think the Captain and Tennille will always be thought of as second-rate Carpenters.

I saw her backstage at a Neil Sedaka show.

She was eating food. In PUBLIC!

What a FAT PIG!!!

I hated Muskrat Love.

As gayling in the seventies I could sing LWKUT all day long and sometimes did. No was shocked when I came out.

I remember watching an interview with them on Merv or Mike in the 80's. The host said Toni was a great "uncredited" backup singer in her early days and sang with the people said up thread but also with 70's rock bands. She told a story of her getting a back up gig with Pink Floyd and the week she was to go into the studio the Rolling Stones called her for a gig that same week. Two of their back up's canceled. She was dying because she said she knew of the RS. She had a great reputation of being a singer's singer because she had the ability to blend in anywhere anytime and she technically knew how to sing properly. Bands and producers loved that about her. She also said she would sing with the Carpenter harmonizing with them for hours just to warm them up. I guess they were on the same label? She said she got along very well with them. She also said she did back up for The Brothers Johnson uncredited and if you listen to the song "I'll be good to you" you can hear her. Just like you can clearly hear her sing back up on Elton's "Don't let the sun go down on me." She's one of the greats, IMO. She doesn't get enough credit for what she did for music.

COULD NOT STAND THEM. The only thing I liked was a one-time rumor that Toni was gay.

The hairstyle was a variation that came from 1976 Olympic metal winning ice skater Dorothy Hamill.

Any child growing up in the 1970s remembers Love Will Keep Us Together. My local radio station played it on what seemed like a non-stop loop when it was a big hit in 1975. R48's post shows what a respected backup singer she was. I didn't really know that before. On her Wikipedia page, it shows she did backup vocals for Pink Floyd's The Wall in 1979 when C&T were still putting out hit singles (Do That to Me One More Time went to #1 in 1979).

As a kid, I liked Love Will Keep Us Together. It was a catchy tune and a huge hit. It was the top single of 1975. But I never really cared for any of their other songs. Muskrat Love was terrible. I also remember the dreck that was their variety hour. Horrible show. Still, they had a good 4-5 years of making hit records, not to mention TV appearances and their own shows. Not bad for an ok duo and much better than most pop singers/duos/bands do.

..........

They seemed to be on tv all the time and I couldn't stand them.

My lockdown hair is starting to make me look like Toni Tennille.

Someone mentioned the Beach Boys. Daryl and Toni met backing the Beach Boys

𝕪𝕦𝕞-𝕠𝕠𝕠𝕠𝕠𝕠𝕠

Muskrat Love is a lovely song. A very pretty melody.

Imagine it as a musical number accompanying a Walt Disney animation.

They were the bargain basement version of the Carpenters.

[quote]She may as well be singing “more dick”.

That was me.

[quote]Toni has all the talent in the world and Daryl held her back.

Sounds familiar.

............

Unfortunately, divorce and death do come between love keeping us together.

I think the late career hit Do That To Me One More Time was a credit to Toni as a vocalist. No one would’ve expected them to pull out a No. 1 that late in their career.

That bowl haircut was one of the ugliest hairstyles of all time, but is was so popular back then.

Toni and Dionne sing Hall and Oates' "She's Gone" (changed to "He's Gone"). It's really good, they got a standing ovation.

I just heard her a few weeks ago, playing a Southern belle on a radio drama from 1980 on Sirius's Radio Classics channel.

She was as obnoxious playing a Southern Bell as she was singing.

I laughed the entire hour.

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Charlize could play Toni in the biopic.

SEX-OOOOOO

You used to call me Angel face

The opening track on their 1978 album, the one with Toni running on the album cover, is such a great song. The production, vocals, etc.

Though that was little Andy Lawrence in OP's pic.

I thought she basically said it was a lavender marriage. They always had separate hotel rooms.

Well, he had a lil boating cap and she had a 70s woman's bowl cut.

Didn’t the Captain have Marty Feldman bulgy eye syndrome or something

She was a background singer on Pink Floyd's The Wall.

I was a kid when they became popular. I liked their show....but I was 7 so what did I know? She has a nice voice.

,,,,,

delish!

They made some great songs. I remember my Ma complaining that Tennille never wore a bra. LOL I didn't care about that. People didn't wear underwear in the 1970s. Truthfully, they were big when I was very young. I was born in 73. "Do That to Me One More Time" and "Loe Will Keep Us Together" are wonderful. I was sad when I heard about them splitting up due to him cheating. "Muskrat Love" is good, too. It took me longer to appreciate that song. I don't know why.

They're easy to make fun of, but Toni Tennille had a great voice. Try out some of her solo work.

Of all the performers that recorded "Standards" albums, she really had the best "Big Band Singer" voice. She knew how to interpret and perform those songs. I saw her perform a few times with Symphonies and twice at a failed supper club in DC - she was great. (Her fashion choices were always questionable, though.)

As much as I love her. however, I saw her in the national tour of Victor/Victoria and she was cringe-worthy. It was disappointing, but she's a singer,, not an actress.

If you like musical Standards or the Great American Songbook, you owe it to yourself to give her versions a try.

[quote] There biggest hit

Oh dear.

One song Toni never sang was “Stand By Your Man.”

I was in high school 1969-73. Most of us thought the C&T were gooey schlock .The Beatles had many brilliant moments. This is one of them....Side 2 the Abby Road medley

[quote]People didn't wear underwear in the 1970s.

????

they live right around the block from me here in Prescott, AZ (although Darryl just died a short while ago).......they were divorced, but good friends........very "normal" house seemingly........

R45 = Agnes Carpenter

[Quote] I was in high school 1969-73. Most of us thought the C&T were gooey schlock

The C&T weren't around those years. There first hit was in 1975.

Beautiful version…

I enjoyed their music overall. They did a great live concert too. Toni had a lot of charisma. But they were so strongly branded as a couple that when all the dirt about their marriage and divorce came out, I could no longer enjoy their music. Love will keep us together? Ha! Daryl was quite bitter and said some unpleasant things about her.

Toni has a beautiful voice that blends so nicely. Same with Marilyn McCoo.

Here’s Toni and Karen.

This is wonderful too. She is feeling it.

I like their version of Neil Sedaka’s “You Never Done It Like That” and Melissa Manchester/Carole Bayer Sager’s “Come in From the Rain” (posted upthread).

Her autobiography, published a few years ago, was a good read.

Toni had a thick and rich voice coupled with her Alabama accent. It's surprisingly soulful coming from her. You wouldn't expect a six foot tall blonde with a hideous bowl cut to sound like that but she naturally did. She also studied classical piano for years and can truly play the piano and keyboards and the keyboards and synthesizers back then were quite rough huned.

The Captain had that weird eyeball disease. He always wore dark glasses as a result. He knew his stuff and was actually quite talented but very eccentric. Toni was patient with him and I hope she committed adultery at some point because she has spoken of how they basically had a sexless marriage. Toni was actually sexy back in her day.

They were weird. I dig them shamelessly. The Carpenters predated them a bit over at A&M Records. Herb Albert liked Karen Carpenter over Richard you know. They both liked jazz and he loved her voice. The Captain and Tennille he dug because they were older but self contained- you could just let them be in the studio and The Captain didn't need additional support like Richard Carpenter. I read all that somewhere ages ago.

She’s gonna be in Hello Dolly this fall! Per other DL thread.

I loved "Lonely Nights" and "The Way That I Want To Touch You". She had a great voice. And of course I was one who fell in love with "Love Will Keep Us Together". The Greatest Hits album was one that got played a lot. ("Muskrat Love" - meh, no, got skipped a lot).

Didn't she come out a few years before the Captain died? Did Toni's lesbianism not take?