Captain & Tennille

Songwriter: Berry Gordy Smokey Robinson

Producer: Captain & Tennille

Just because you've become a young woman now
There's still some things
That you don't understand now
Before you ask some guy for his hand now
Keep your freedom for as long as you can now
My mama told me
You better shop around

There's some things
That I want you to know now
Just as sure as the wind's gonna blow now
The men'll come
And the men are gonna go now
Before you tell 'em that you love 'em so now
My mama told me
You better shop around

Try to get yourself a bargain, girl
Don't be sold on the very first one
Good-looking guys come a dime a dozen
Try to find you one who's gonna give you true loving

Before you take a man and say I do now
Make sure he's in love with you now
Make sure that his love is true now
I hate to see you feeling sad and blue now
My mama told me
You better shop around

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

Song of Joy

From the album

Song of Joy (1976)

Captain & Tennille popular songs

Shop AroundCaptain & Tennille

Captain & Tennille

Song of Joy