Captain & Tennille hit #1 with “Love Will Keep Us Together”

Love Will Keep Us Together Captain & Tennille

Writer(s): Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield (see lyrics here) First Charted: Arpil 5, 1975 Peak: 14 US, 12 CB, 13 HR, 16 RR, 11 AC, 32 UK, 11 CN, 14 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 17.20 video, 98.34 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Daryl Dragon (aka “The Captain”) and Toni Tennille married in 1974 after meeting in 1971 when she needed a pianist for the musical Mother Earth, which she co-wrote. They They both backed the Beach Boys on tour and then performed together at the Smoke House restaurant in Encino, California. They paid to record their first single, “The Way I Want to Touch You,” spent $250 to have 500 copies of the song pressed, and then drove through 22 states promoting it. A&M then signed them, re-released the song and it went top ten. RC They were almost done recording their debut album when they decided they needed one more uptempo song to show off Dragon’s keyboard playing. The problem was solved when Kip Cohen from the A&R department had them listen to Neil Sedaka’s “Love Will Keep Us Together.” They knew it was the right song and spent two weeks arranging it. When they played it for label heads Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, everyone knew they had a hit. FB Sedaka wrote the song not about romantic love, but his songwriting collaboration with high school buddy Howard Greenfield. SJ Sedaka first recorded the song in 1973 and released it as a single in France. It was released in the United States on his 1974 Sedaka’s Back release. He said the main chord progression was lifted from the Beach Boys’ “Do It Again” with some augmented chords inspired by Al Green. In addition, the melody was written with Diana Ross in mind. WK When the song became a hit, the duo recorded a Spanish version. “Por Amor Viviremos” charted on August 16, 1975, giving the Captain & Tennille the distinction of being the only act to have two versions of a #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously that were recorded by the same act in two different languages. FB Interestingly, Dragon wanted the first single to be “I Write the Songs,” which was written by Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys. The Captain & Tennille did record the song for the album, but it wasn’t released as a single. However, Barry Manilow’s rendition became a #1 song in early 1976. SF Things turned out okay for the duo, though. Their version of “Love Will Keep Us Together” topped the year-end chart, was the best seller of 1975, WK and was certified by BMI as the most performed song of 1975. SF It also won a Grammy for Record of the Year. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Captain & Tennille FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 408. RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Pages 351-2. SJ Bob Shannon and John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. Warner Books, Inc.: New York, NY. Page 105. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 3/11/2021; last updated 4/16/2024.