Toni Tennille

Biography

With her husband, Daryl Dragon, pop singer Toni Tennille made up the popular '70s duo the Captain & Tennille. Tennille was the vocalist for the group, while Dragon played the keyboard and other instruments. She is known for her pop, rock, jazz and orchestral music and has sold more than a million records with popular hits like "Do That to Me One More Time" and "The Way I Want to Touch You."

Toni Tennille was born into a musical family in Montgomery, Alabama. Her father, Frank Tennille, sang and recorded under the pseudonym Clark Randall. He was with Ben Pollack's band and was still performing with the band when Bob Crosby took over. Toni Tennille attended Auburn University in Alabama, paying her way by singing popular tunes of the '30s and '40s.

In 1975, she married Daryl Dragon. The two combined their musical talents to produce the Captain & Tennille. During the partnership, the duo earned an impressive five gold albums, six gold singles, two platinum albums and one platinum single. In 1976, the two entered the television scene with their own show on ABC, Captain & Tennille Variety Show, and appeared on several other ABC specials. Captain & Tennille's Greatest Hits, released in 1977, included the duo's 1975 Grammy Award-winning Song of the Year "Love Will Keep Us Together."

In 1980, she hosted the syndicated Toni Tennille Variety Talk Show. Two of Tennille's hit albums, All of Me and More Than You Know, were produced herself and then fine-tuned by the Count Basie Orchestra's musical arranger Sammy Nestico. In 1984, when the couple moved to Nevada, Tennille began to work once again on renditions of songs from the '30s and '40s. She is known in the United States and Canada as a frequent symphony guest artists, with eight to ten appearances a year.

In 1992, she broadened her career to include the stage, starring in the Los Angeles production of Stardust. She received rave reviews in all the trade magazines for her musical performance.

The Captain & Tennille made a 20th anniversary album in 1995, featuring some of the group's hit singles and jazz ballads from the last twenty years. The album, Captain & Tennille -- 20 Years of Romance, also marked the couple's 20th wedding anniversary.

Studying classical piano for ten years has allowed Toni Tennille to broaden her career to include songwriting. Through her participation in the Captain & Tennille, her orchestra tours across the United States and Canada, her jazz and pop albums and her television appearances, Toni Tennille has become known as a complete singer and entertainer. Nevada Governor Bob Miller named Tennille an Ambassador for the Arts for her numerous contributions. ~ Kim Summers, All Music Guide