Cathryn Antoinette "Toni" Tennille (1940- ) is a popular American singer and songwriter who, accompanied by husband Daryl Dragon on keyboard, performed as the Captain and Tennille. One of the most successful duos in recording history, between 1975 and 1979 they amassed six gold singles, five gold albums, one platinum single, and two platinum albums. Their recordings were listed on the pop singles chart 14 times, with half of them in the top ten. In 1976, their rendition of Neil Sedaka's "Love Will Keep Us Together" topped the charts and won Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards. Tennille also starred in a variety show with Dragon, hosted her own talk show, and performed as a back-up singer for such top artists as Pink Floyd, Elton John, and Art Garfunkel.Cathryn "Toni"
Tennille was born on May 8, 1940, in
Montgomery,
Montgomery County, Alabama the eldest of four daughters of Frank and Cathryn Wright Tennille. She had a strong musical background. Her father was a founding member of the
Auburn Knights swing and jazz band that formed in 1930 at Alabama Polytechnic Institute (API, present-day
Auburn University) in
Auburn,
Lee County. He also was a big band singer who performed with the nationally known Bob Crosby Orchestra under the pseudonym Clark Randall, and her mother hosted the first televised interview show on television station WSFA in Montgomery. At age seven, Tennille started taking piano lessons and began performing publicly in the 1950s on the "Shaping Your Future" exercise programs hosted by Idelle Brooks on WSFA. Upon graduating from Montgomery's Sidney Lanier High School in 1958, she entered API as an English major and music minor. On off-hours, Tennille sang with the Auburn Knights and gained valuable performing and songwriting skills.
In Alabama the family name was pronounced Ten-il