I have no idea what Billy Joel was talking about, however. But wasn't all that interesting?

Captain Jack is a dance group made up of Francisco Gutierrez, better known as Franky Gee, and a revolving door of female sidekicks.

Franky Gee, strapped for cash, joined the American Army in his youth. He ended his tour of duty with a distaste for the American military. He decided to stay in Germany, where the Army had posted him.

It was around this time that he formed a dance group under EMI (Now part of Toshiba-EMI).

Captain Jack fuses dance music with pop and military influences. Franky Gee has a baritone voice befitting a drill instructor. He puts it to good use in marching-song-style segments. Poppier female voices bookend these segments. In addition to a repertoire of original songs, Captain Jack has covered a number of older songs, including "Hi-Ho," "Centerfold," "Another One Bites the Dust," and "Yellow Submarine."

Many of Captain Jack's older lyrics, in ironic fashion, outwardly express admiration for faceless military leaders while suggesting disdain for military life. Franky Gee always performs in uniform. His trademark hat, an American-style officer's crush cap in Soviet red, embodies the band's pacifist sensibilities.

The band achieved popularity with its first release, The Mission, in Summer 1995. The album included four singles: "Captain Jack," "Drill Instructor," "Little Boy," and "Soldier Soldier."

After the first album, the band's message largely evaporated in favor of more typical "fun" dance lyrics. In spite of this, the group has retained its signature style, although later songs take much more liberties with the "military" format.

Today Captain Jack enjoys popularity in Germany and Japan. A number of Captain Jack songs appear in the Dance Dance Revolution series, viz. "Captain Jack," "Little Boy," "The Race," "Together & Forever," "Drill Instructor," "Dream a Dream," and "Only You." Because of this exposure, Captain Jack enjoys a small but loyal American fanbase.

You can visit Captain Jack's Web site at http://www.captain-jack.de, but it's in German.

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