Today’s classic song of the day is one of the cheesiest songs of the ’70s and not one of my personal favorites, although lots of other people obviously liked it. The song is “Afternoon Delight” by a quartet known as Starland Vocal Band, and it was released as a single in April of 1976, just in time for that year’s Bicentennial celebrations. The song went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Afternoon Delight” also was a big deal at that year’s Grammy Awards. It was nominated for three Grammys (Song of the Year Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and Best Arrangement for Vocals), winning for Best Arrangement for Vocals. The song also propelled the group to win the Grammy for Best New Artist, beating out competitors Boston, The Brothers Johnson, Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, and Wild Cherry. (I can understand besting those last three, but Boston had one of the best-selling debut albums in history and remained a powerhouse act for several years.)
Starland Vocal Band started out as a husband/wife team named Fat City. Bill Danoff and his wife Taffy were pals with John Denver and, with Mr. Denver, co-wrote his hit, “Take Me Home, Country Roads. The duo added another couple, Jon Carroll and Margot Chapman, changed their name to Starland Vocal Band, and were subsequently signed to Mr. Denver’s Windsong Records.
While the group was essentially a one-hit wonder, they were popular enough to get their own variety show on the CBS network, a summer replacement show called The Starland Vocal Band Show that aired for six weeks during the summer of 1977. The show featured Mark Russell, Jeff Altman, and Proctor and Bergman (of the Firesign Theatre) in the supporting cast, with David Letterman part of the writing team. Really.
“Afternoon Delight” was written by Bill Danoff as a non-so-subtle reference to making whoopie in the afternoon. All those “skyrockets in flight” were not about the Bicentennial, although some people may have mistakenly thought so. He apparently came up with the idea for the tune while eating a restaurant named Clyde’s in Washington, D.C., which had a happy hour menu that they titled “Afternoon Delights.” In his own words:
“I didn’t want to write an all-out sex song… I just wanted to write something that was fun and hinted at sex. It just came out that way. I started having fun writing the song. As soon as I got the title idea… it had obvious connotations.”
Indeed it did.
And for your afternoon (or morning or any time, really) delight, here’s the Starland Vocal Band, introduced by pal John Denver, performing “Afternoon Delight” on February 16, 1976, episode of The Merv Griffin Show. Skyrockets in flight, indeed.
xxx
