Captain & Tennille

Songwriter: Willis Alan Ramsey

Producer: Captain & Tennille

Muskrat, muskrat
Candlelight
Doin' the town
And doin' it right in the evening
It's pretty pleasing

Muskrat Suzie
Muskrat Sam
Do the jitterbug at a Muskrat Land
And they shimmy
Sam is so skinny

And they whirl
And they twirl and they tango
Singing and jingling a jangle
Float like the heavens above
Looks like Muskrat Love

Nibbling on bacon
Chewing on cheese
Sam says to Suzie
Honey, would you please be my Mrs
Suzie says yes with her kisses

Now, he's tickling her fancy
Rubbing her toes
Muzzle to muzzle
Now anything goes as they wriggle
Sue starts to giggle

And they whirled
And they twirled and they tango
Singing and jingling a jangle
Floating like the heavens above
Looks like muskrat love

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

Greatest Love Songs of the ’70s: Just to Be Close to You

From the albums

Captain & Tennille popular songs

Muskrat LoveCaptain & Tennille

Captain & Tennille

Greatest Love Songs of the ’70s: Just to Be Close to You