Captain and Tennille Daryl Dragon Dead at 76

The Captain and Tennille’s “Captain” Daryl Dragon has died. He was 76 years old

Spokesman Harlan Boll stated that Dragon died early Wednesday in an Arizona hospice from renal failure. His ex-wife who was at his bedside when he died.

The Captain and Tennille had multiple hits in the 1970s. Their biggest song was the smash hit “Love Will Keep Us Together.” Other songs were “Do That To Me One More Time”, “Shop Around,” and “Muskrat Love.”

The couple was married for 309 years and separated  2013. A year later, they divorced.  Despite the divorce, they remained friends and close.  Tennille moved to Arizona to help Dragon when he became sick.

The Captain’s stage name was said to have been given to him by Mike Love of the Beach Boys during the 1960s. In the 1970’s he was a keyboard player for the Beach Boys. This is when he started wearing his trademark captain’s hat.

The Captain and Tennille variety show ran on ABC for one season. It was followed up by multiple specials. The gimmick was that the Captain very rarely spoke. It was said that he felt uncomfortable with being on T.V. which was part of the reason even though they got very high ratings in 1977.

In a 2016 autobiography and she told People magazine in an interview about the Captain’s medical condition. At the time he stated he was also writing an autobiography and said that he was hoping he would be as successful as Tennille.

The spokesperson of Tennille state that they were close friends even after their divorce and were always in contact. Tennille asked the fans to remember him with love and be thankful for all the music the created.

The Captain “Daryl Dragon” is survived by his brother Doug Dragon. He also had two nieces Renee Henn and Kelly Arbout

It was requested that there would be no services.

It was requested that if people are interested they should make donations in the Captain’s name to any name to any organizations doing research into post-traumatic stress disorder or brain diseases and conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease.

Written By Barbara Sobel

Sources:

Variety: Daryl Dragon, the ‘Captain’ of ’70s Duo Captain & Tennille, Dies at 76
Pix 11: Daryl Dragon, of 1970s music duo ‘The Captain and Tennille,’ dead at 76
CNN: ‘Captain’Daryl Dragon Dies With Tennille By His Side

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