Daryl Dragon

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 in the early 1970s. Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love gave him the nickname "Captain", and it stuck; Dragon began the tradition of 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 of Captain & Tennille

In 1962, Dragon became a member of the band Charles Wright & the Wright Sounds, a group which included future Watts Band member John Raynford. On 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". He co-wrote the track "Cuddle Up" with Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson. Dragon's orchestrations on the tracks "Make It Good" and "Cuddle Up" translated the melodic ideas that Dennis Wilson was seeking. He 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 brothers Dennis Dragon and Doug Dragon for the soundtrack to The Innermost Limits of Pure Fun, a surf film directed by George Greenough. He also did session work with Dennis Dragon 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 synthesisers on "(Want You) Back In My Life Again". In 1996, Dragon played keyboard on a number of tracks on the self-titled album by pop punk band Size 14.

Neurological condition

In late 2009, Toni Tennille announced her husband had developed familial tremor. According to Tennille, his condition was neither debilitating nor terminal. 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.

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". 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.

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

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.

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."

On 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". 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."

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.