Dennis Dragon(1947-2017)

Dennis Dragon was one of five children born to noted Hollywood symphony conductor and composer Carmen Dragon and his soprano singer/wife, Eloise Dragon. Dennis started playing drums at age five; his brothers Daryl Dragon and Doug Dragon accompanied him on keyboards. One of the first bands Dragon was a member of was "The Malibu Music Men Plus One"; this particular group also featured a young Natalie Cole as a singer. His first paying gig was performing with his two brothers at a wedding reception at age twelve. In the mid-1970s, Dragon engineered the first Captain & Tennille record at A&M Records, which resulted in the Grammy Award-winning hit song, "Love Will Keep Us Together" (his brother Daryl was the Captain). Among the people Dennis worked as an engineer and/or producer for are Lou Adler, Carole King, Johnny Rivers and Cheech & Chong. Moreover, Dragon worked professionally as a drummer and percussionist for over thirty years, both on the road and in the studio, for such artists as The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Captain & Tennille, Neil Young and Rick Springfield. In addition, Dennis also shot and edited industrial videos, TV commercials, and music videos. In 1976, Dragon and fellow musician Drew Steele formed the zany tongue-in-cheek rock group, the Surf Punks; the band was signed to Epic Records in 1980 and went on to enjoy a wild ten-year run. In 1984, Dennis co-created, produced, and directed the regional California music television variety program "Locals Only". In later years he operated the interactive recording studio complex the Dragon Family Foundation for the Recording Arts and Sciences in southern Oregon. Dragon committed suicide at age 70 on September 25, 2017.