Caption Me

Rub-a-dub-dub ...

Song of the Day: 'Disney Girls'

I first fell in love with this song when it appeared on the debut album by the Captain and Tennille, "Love Will Keep Us Together," which I bought at Korvettes in Madison Heights when I waas 8 years old and would bring to listen to during lunch hour and parties at Hiller Elementary. (I used my trusty labelmaker to put my name in the upper-right corner to ward off potential ownership mishaps or police involvement.) I had to have been the only kid in Ms. Schnabel's fourth-grade class who was already prone to nostalgia -- which I'll blame on a father who vanished when I was 5 and the popularity of "Happy Days," a series you couldn't show your face in school on Wednesdays if you had missed the night before. 

Although I still adore Toni Tennille's gender-flipped rendition, Art Garfunkel's version a couple years later on his "Watermark" LP quickly replaced it as my definitive version. I don't even think I realized just how wistful it was until I paid closer attention to the lyrics in my adulthood -- and stumbled upon the Beach Boys original, having not even realized it was a Bruce Johnston composition. 

But not a lot has changed in the 47 years since I first heard this corny song: I've still got my love to give, and a place to live. And you can be sure I'm gonna stay.

Song of the Day: 'The Way I Want to Touch You' by Captain & Tennille

Sad to hear about the passing of Daryl Dragon of Captain and Tennille fame, who suffered renal failure yesterday at age 76 in Prescott, Ariz. I successfully lobbied to get his obituary in tomorrow's print edition of the newspaper where I work, after being told it was "a bit obscure"(!). "Love Will Keep Us Together" was one of the first albums I bought as a kid -- I got it at Korvettes on John R, and I used to take it to Hiller Elementary to play in the gymnasium slash cafeteria during lunch hour with my label-makered name stuck to the upper-right corner to ensure security -- so it was the least I could do.

 “He was a brilliant musician with many friends who loved him greatly,” said Toni Tennille, who left Dragon and moved to Florida in 2015 but had since moved back to Prescott and was by his side when he died. “I was at my most creative in my life when I was with him.”

The tabloids suggested Tennille had left Dragon for another woman, but she says this is untrue.Was Dragon perhaps the one living in the closet? “I can say without exaggeration that he showed no physical affection for me during our very long marriage,” Tennille wrote in her 2016 memoir.

RIP, Captain.

Song of the Day: 'Love Will Keep Us Together' by Kim Wilde

Not every song works on "'80s Re: Covered" -- a new compilation of '80s artists covering classic hits in full-on '80s style. But Kim Wilde doing one of my all-time favorites -- I used to bring this album to Hiller Elementary to play during lunch, with my label-makered name in the upper-right corner so it wouldn't get stolen -- definitely hits all the right notes! (I wonder how the Captain is doing these days after the split. Toni is reportedly writing a tell-all about their marriage that I'm sure dozens of fans will be dying to read!)

Order HERE.

Toni Tennille Dumped the Captain for Another Woman -- Report

Well, that's what the homosexuality-obsessed National Enquirer is saying. Wonder if that's what she meant by "muskrat" love?

Song of the Day: 'Do That to Me One More Time' by Captain and Tennille

This one's on heavy rotation at the new coffee place I frequent here in Chelsea. I'm not sure if it's the hipsters working there trying to be ironic or what. but one thing's for certain: I can't get enough Captain and Tennille. I had their bulldog-friendly debut album, "Love Will Keep Us Together," when I was in third grade and I've been a fan ever since, even when Toni ditched her signature hair and opted for the frosted floozy look -- which put them on top of the charts for a second time!