AFTERNOON DELIGHT
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Afternoon Delight (disambiguation).
| “Afternoon Delight” | |
|---|---|
| Single by Starland Vocal Band | |
| from the album Starland Vocal Band | |
| B-side | “Starland” |
| Released | April 1976 |
| Recorded | November 1975 |
| Genre | Soft rock[1]country rock[2]folk-pop[2] |
| Length | 3:12 |
| Label | Windsong (US)Windlands International (UK & Canada) |
| Songwriter(s) | Bill Danoff[3] |
| Producer(s) | Milt Okun |
| Starland Vocal Band singles chronology | |
| “Afternoon Delight“ (1976)”California Day” (1976) | |
| Music video | |
| “Afternoon Delight” on YouTube | |
“Afternoon Delight” is a song recorded by Starland Vocal Band. It was written by band member Bill Danoff. In the US, it became a #1 single on July 10, 1976,[4] and earned a gold record.
Background and writing
[edit]
The title came from the happy hour menu at Clyde’s restaurant in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.,[4] where Bill Danoff was eating with fellow bandmember Margot Chapman, while his then-wife Taffy Danoff was undergoing surgery for cervical cancer.[5] Danoff downplayed the lyrics: “I didn’t want to write an all-out sex song … I just wanted to write something that was fun and hinted at sex.”[4]
Cover versions
[edit]
Concurrent with the Starland Vocal Band version, country singer Johnny Carver‘s cover went Top 10 on Billboard Hot Country Singles.[citation needed]
In the 2004 film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, the song is sung by the news crew in choir and referenced multiple times and came with a music video in the bonus disc.[citation needed]
In 2011, the song was covered by Glee cast and the actor John Stamos for season 2 episode 15 “Sexy” of the musical television series Glee. This version was included in the UK version of the album Glee: The Music, Volume 5 instead of with the cover of “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)” by Gary Glitter (from the same episode).
Critical reaction
[edit]
At the 19th Grammy Awards ceremony in 1977, “Afternoon Delight” received three nominations for recordings from 1976. It won the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement for Voices[6] and was also nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Song of the Year.
In 2010, Billboard named “Afternoon Delight” the 20th sexiest song of all time.[7]
Chart performance
[edit]
| Weekly charts[edit]Chart (1976)Peak positionAustralia (Kent Music Report)[8][9]6Canada RPM Top Singles[10]1Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[11]6Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12]22New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13]5UK Singles (OCC)[14]18US Billboard Hot 100[15]1US Easy Listening (Billboard)[16]5US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[17]94 | Year-end charts[edit]Chart (1976)RankAustralia (Kent Music Report)[9][18]56Canada RPM Top Singles[19]11New Zealand [20]28UK [21]120US Billboard Hot 100[22]12US Billboard Easy Listening[23]31US Cash Box Top 100[24]7All-time charts[edit]Chart (1958-2018)PositionUS Billboard Hot 100[25]419 |
Johnny Carver version
[edit]
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 9 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 16 |
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]
- ^ “VH1’s 40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs”. Stereogum. SpinMedia. May 31, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Breihan, Tom (September 6, 2019). “The Number Ones: Starland Vocal Band’s “Afternoon Delight””. Stereogum. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
The final product stands out as a kind of throwback to sunshiney ’60s folk-pop, and to countrified early-’70s soft rock.
- ^ “secondhandsongs.com”. secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Bronson, Fred (2003). “Afternoon Delight”. The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits (5th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 438. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6.
- ^ “Grammy Winner Taffy Nivert Settles In Safety Harbor – Safety Harbor, FL Patch”. Patch.com. 2013-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
- ^ “The Grammys : Starland Vocal Band : Search”. Grammy.com. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
- ^ “The 50 Sexiest Songs Of All Time Page 4”. Billboard. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 291. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ Jump up to:a b “National Top 100 Singles for 1976”. Kent Music Report. December 27, 1976. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
- ^ “Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada”. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1976-08-07. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
- ^ “Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada”. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1976-07-10. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
- ^ “Starland Vocal Band – Afternoon Delight” (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ “Starland Vocal Band – Afternoon Delight”. Top 40 Singles.
- ^ “Starland Vocal Band: Artist Chart History”. Official Charts Company.
- ^ “Starland Vocal Band Chart History (Hot 100)”. Billboard.
- ^ “Starland Vocal Band Chart History (Easy Listening)”. Billboard.
- ^ “Starland Vocal Band Chart History (Hot Country Songs)”. Billboard.
- ^ Australian-charts.com Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ “Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977”. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 2016-03-19. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ “The Official New Zealand Music Chart”.
- ^ “Old-Charts”. Old-Charts. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ^ “Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976”. Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
- ^ Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1976
- ^ “Top 100 Year End Charts: 1976”. Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-08-25. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
- ^ “Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart”. Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
External links
[edit]
- du Lac, J. Freedom (July 8, 2011). “Starland Vocal Band’s ‘Afternoon Delight’ still being served after 35 years”. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 9, 2016.
- Starland Vocal Band – Afternoon Delight on YouTube
- 1976 debut singles
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Cashbox number-one singles
- RPM Top Singles number-one singles
- Johnny Carver songs
- Starland Vocal Band songs
- Songs written by Bill Danoff
- Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices
- 1976 songs
- RCA Records singles
- Song recordings produced by Milt Okun
- Country pop songs