John Prine, the Grammy Award-winning, Americana singer/songwriter sadly lost his battle against COVID-19 and passed away from complications on April 7th at the age of seventy-three. He was certainly a brave fighter, having previously battled against throat and lung cancer while also having heart issues. Prine received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Grammys after years of writing wonderful songs filled with humor and thoughtful insights on the human condition. I have to admit I had never heard any of Prine's recordings but I am familiar with his songs. Two of my favorites are Bonnie Raitt's 1974 cover of his "Angel From Montgomery", a song about a married, middle-aged woman looking for an "angel" to help her escape from a life of desolation. The other is "Hello In There", a heartbreaking tune about aging that Bette Midler recorded for her debut album back in 1972.
Here are a few unexpected pairings that provide some wild musical duets I found as I traveled down a YouTube rabbit hole that I would like to share:
And finally here is Finneas, the recent winner of the Grammy Award for Producer of The Year (for his work on his sister, Billie Eilish's album) who is showing off his skills as a performer. The single, "Let's Fall In Love For The Night", from his debut EP, "Blood Harmony" which was released last year, now has a music video that was recently released. This fun and whimsical clip perfectly enhances the song, giving off a vibe that makes it feel like it would fit right in place with the movie, "La La Land":
After the somewhat shocking revelation that Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille, who are better known by their stage moniker, Captain & Tennille, where splitting up after almost forty years of marriage, it made me think back upon their musical career. Their wholesome family act fit perfectly in the mid-seventies and the duo found huge success starting with "Love Will Keep Us Together" which took them to the top of the U.S. pop chart, won the Grammy Award for Record of The Year and became the best selling single in 1975.
Daryl Dragon was a keyboardist for The Beach Boys touring band and first met Toni Tennille when a player was needed for a musical she had co-written in Los Angeles. Later, when The Beach Boys were in search of another keyboardist, Dragon suggested Tennille and she went on tour with the band, becoming the first "beach girl".
The couple became a team personally and professionally as they married in 1974 and became the musical act, Captain and Tennille. After touring the L.A. area, they were signed to A&M Records and began work on their first album. Following their first chart-topping song, Captain and Tennille had many other hit singles including "Lonely Nights (Angel Face)", "Do That To Me One More Time" and the infamous, "Muskrat Love". During the height of their fame, the duo had a short-lived television variety show in 1976.
By the 1980's, the hits dried up for Captain and Tennille but they continued to tour successfully across the globe. Around the same time, Toni Tennille began a solo career singing pop standards and appearing on Broadway. Captain and Tennille had officially retired around 2008 due to Dragon suffering from a neurological disorder that has left him unable to perform.
Enjoy the pure pop sounds of two of my favorite songs from Captain and Tennille:
Finally, here is a performance of the very odd song, "Muskrat Love" from their variety show:
