In 1975, emerging Los Angeles soft-rock duo Captain & Tennille released their second-ever single, a rendition of Neil Sedaka's "Love Will Keep Us Together," the lead single to their debut album of the same name. The song, co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield in 1973, would rise to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earn them a GRAMMY.
For the latest episode of GRAMMY Rewind, we celebrate Toni Tennille's birthday (May 8) with a look back at the yacht rock power couple's big win at the 18th GRAMMY Awards in 1976.
Above, watch Tennille and the late "Captain" Daryl Dragon, the captain-hat-capped yacht rock forefather, accept their Record Of The Year win from a stylish, young Stevie Wonder, for their classic hit "Love Will Keep Us Together."
"First of all, I want to thank Howard Greenfield and Neil Sedaka for writing such a wonderful song for us. Bless you both," Tennille says, wearing a glamorous, billowy sleeve yellow gown. "And I want to thank our engineer, Dennis Dragon, for giving us a good, clean, fabulous recording. And I want to thank A&M Records for giving us a creative place to do our thing."
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That year, the song was also nominated for two other GRAMMYs—Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus and Song Of The Year, a songwriter's award. Sedaka was up for another award as well, For Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus for "Bad Blood," his 1975 No. 1 hit.
Sedaka, who rose to fame in the late '50s and '60s, saw a return to the spotlight in the U.S. after Captain & Tennille covered "Love Will Keep Us Together," which he had only released as a single in Europe; in the U.S. it was part of his 1974 compilation album, Sedaka's Back. "Bad Blood" was one of the singles he did release in the U.S. from the LP, and just four months after Captain & Tennille got their No. 1 spot, he earned one as well.
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