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Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Daryl Dragon of the musical duo Captain and Tennille died Wednesday at the age of 76, his publicist said. Dragon, known widely as "Captain," died of renal failure while in hospice in Precott, Ariz., where his former wife and musical partner, Toni Tennille, was by his side, the Arizona Republic reported.
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Dragon and Tennille formed Captain and Tennille in 1974 and topped the Billboard Hot 100 with their single "Love Will Keep Us Together."
"He was a brilliant musician with many friends who loved him greatly. I was at my most creative in my life, when I was with him," Tennille told The Hollywood Reporter.
Dragon was born in Los Angeles in 1942 to a musical household. His father was an Academy Award-winning composer and conductor and his mother worked as a singer on Bing Crosby recordings as well as others.
He played keyboard for the Beach Boys from 1967 to 1972 and during that time lead singer Mike Love gave him the nickname "Captain" because he often war a captain's hat on stage.
In 1971, Dragon met Tennille when she hired him to play piano for a musical called Mother Earth. The two formed a romantic relationship after he asked her to tour with The Beach Boys as an acoustic pianist.
They performed together in smaller venues while not with The Beach Boys and went on to form the duo Captain and Tennille, eventually signing with A&M Records.
Their hits included "The Way I Want to Touch You," "Lonely Night (Angel Face)," "Shop Around," "Muskrat Love," "You Never Done it Like That" and "Do That To Me One More Time."
Dragon and Tennille were married in in 1975 and moved to Prescott in 2008. They divorced in 2014, but remained friends.
Dragon is survived by his older brother Doug and two nieces, Kelly Arbout and Renee Henn.
No services have been planned at Dragon's request.
