Captain & Tennille

Album: Captain & Tennille's Greatest Hits
Composer: Toni Tennille

He drew a circle that shut me out
He was afraid of what lov was all about
Whenever I saw him he'd be there inside him
Locking his heart in a place to hide it
But oh love and I we knew just where to begin

Yes love and I started a circle to spin
Oh love and I
We drew a circle, beautiful circle
A wonderful circle that took him in

He was a quiet and lonely one
He didn't know that his life had just begun
I knew that I'd be the one to unwind him
Then he could put all his fears behind him

And oh love and I, knew just where to begin
Yes, love and I started a circle to spin
Oh love and I
We drew a circle, beautiful circle
A wonderful circle that took him in

Lost in the circle, beautiful circle, wonderful circle of love
(La la la la, lost in, in the circle, the wonderful circle of love)

Lost in the circle, beautiful circle, wonderful circle of love
(La la la la, lost in, in the circle, the wonderful circle of love)

Lost in the circle, beautiful circle, wonderful circle of love
(La la la la, lost in, in the circle, the wonderful circle of love)

Lost in the circle, beautiful circle, wonderful circle of love
(La la la la, lost in, in the circle, the wonderful circle of love)

Oh love and I, knew just where to begin
Yes love and I, started a circle to spin
Oh love and I
We drew a circle, a beautiful circle
A wonderful circle that took him in

In 1972, Toni Tennille was a co-writer of the musical Mother Earth. Daryl “Captain Keyboard” Dragon, who got his nickname while touring with the Beach Boys from his signature skipper’s cap, took a job as the keyboardist for Mother Earth and the two hit it off romantically and musically, forming a nightclub act that charged $70 a night.

When two radio DJs urged the duo to record their cover of the Beach Boys song “Disney Girls” in 1974, they also recorded an original song “The Way I Want to Touch You” which attracted interest from several record labels. A&M Records, home to the platinum-selling male/female duo The Carpenters who had scored ten top 5 hits in the US from 1970-1974, signed them.

Captain & Tennille’s 1975 debut album featured seven originals, three Beach Boys covers and – at the suggestion of A&M’s A&R man – a cover of Neil Sedaka’s “Love Will Keep Us Together”. The latter was released as their first single and found massive success in North America. It reached #1 in the US & Canada, won a Grammy for Record Of The Year, and was the biggest song of of the year in the US. Even their Spanish version of the song “Por Amor Viviremos” reached #49 in the US. A&M followed it up with “The Way I Want to Touch You” and it reached #4 in both the US and Canada. Both songs also found success in New Zealand and the UK. The two married in November 1975.

more tracks from the album

Come in from the Rain

From the album

Come in from the Rain (1977)

Captain & Tennille popular songs

CirclesCaptain & Tennille

Captain & Tennille

Come in from the Rain