Toni Tennille

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Toni Tennille
Toni Tennille 1976
Toni Tennille in 1976
Background information
Birth name Cathryn Antoinette Tennille
Born (1940-05-08) May 8, 1940 (age 83)
Montgomery, Alabama, United States
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter
Associated acts Captain & Tennille
Pink Floyd

Cathryn Antoinette "Toni" Tennille (born May 8, 1940) is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist, best known as one-half of the 1970s duo Captain & Tennille with her former husband Daryl Dragon; their signature song being "Love Will Keep Us Together".[1][2] Tennille has also done musical work independently of her husband, including solo albums and session work. Tennille has a contralto vocal range.[3]

Life and career

Tennille was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, as part of a family of entertainers. Her father, Frank Tennille, who used the pseudonym Clark Randall, was a big band singer with Bob Crosby and the Bobcats and her mother, Cathryn Tennille, was a local television pioneer, being the hostess of Montgomery’s first daytime TV talk show. Tennille's musical younger sisters, Jane, Louisa, and Melissa, all sang on her variety TV shows, as well as on the Captain & Tennille albums. Louisa and Melissa Tennille sang backup vocals on tour with Captain and Tennille, as Jane lived in Nashville with her own family so couldn't tour.[4] Tennille began her career studying classical piano at Auburn University and singing with the university's big band, the Auburn Knights.

Tennille is credited as singing backup vocals on Pink Floyd's The Wall.[5] She also did backup singing for Art Garfunkel on Breakaway[citation needed] as well as for Elton John on his albums Caribou, Blue Moves, 21 at 33 and most notably on the song, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"[citation needed] .

On July 8, 1980, Tennille sang the national anthem at the Major League Baseball All-Star game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.[6]

Tennille is 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) tall. She married her first husband Kenneth Shearer in June 1962 at the age of 22. They divorced in late 1972. She then married Daryl Dragon on November 11, 1975. Tennille toured with The Beach Boys during the 1970s with Daryl Dragon, both playing keyboards for the group.[citation needed]

In April 2016, Toni Tennille released her memoir, which she co-authored with her niece Caroline Tennille St. Clair since making her move to Florida in 2015, after her divorce from Daryl Dragon.[7][8] She recorded a complete 'audiobook' of the memoir, released on the audiobook service Audible.[9]

Education

Tennille graduated from Sidney Lanier High School then attended Auburn University in Alabama for two years.

Discography

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Main article: Toni Tennille discography

Studio albums

Divorce

The couple moved from Reno, Nevada to Prescott, Arizona in 2007. Toni Tennille filed for divorce after 39 years of marriage on January 16, 2014. Dragon said he was unaware of any discontent until being served with the divorce papers.[10]

The divorce was finalized in July, 2014. In 2015, Tennille moved to Florida at the suggestion of her sister, Jane.[11]

During the promotion of her autobiography, on The Today Show in the spring of 2016, Tennille said the reason for their divorce was Dragon's "inability to be affectionate."[12] However, she later inferred that Daryl reacted positively to her memoir and the reveal; he said "I saw you on the Today Show. I was proud of you".[13]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Blog, Toni Tennille, http://www.tonitennille.net/blog/ Accessed October 7, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Toni Tennille Reveals Personal Reason Why She Divorced Daryl Dragon", 24 April 2016.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Toni_Tennille&oldid=722527622"