Afternoon Delight Explained

Afternoon Delight
Cover:Afternoon Delight by The Starland Vocal Band.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Starland Vocal Band
Album:Starland Vocal Band
B-Side:Starland
Released:April 1976
Recorded:November 1975
Genre:
Length:3:12
Label:
  • Windsong (US)
  • Windlands International (UK & Canada)
Producer:Milt Okun
Next Title:California Day
Next Year:1976

"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,[3] and earned a gold record.

Background and writing

The title came from the happy hour menu at Clyde's restaurant in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.,[3] where Bill Danoff was eating with fellow bandmember Margot Chapman, while his then-wife Taffy Danoff was undergoing surgery for cervical cancer.[4] 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."[3]

Cover versions

Concurrent with the Starland Vocal Band version, country singer Johnny Carver's cover went Top 10 on Billboard Hot Country Singles.

In the 2004 film , the song is sung by the news crew in choir and referenced multiple times and came with a music video in the bonus disc.

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 instead of with the cover of "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" by Gary Glitter (from the same episode).

Critical reaction

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[5] 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.[6]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1976)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] [8] 6
Canada RPM Top Singles[9] 1
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[10] 6
US Easy Listening (Billboard)[11] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (1976)Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] 56
Canada RPM Top Singles[13] 11
New Zealand [14] 28
UK [15] 120
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 12
US Billboard Easy Listening[17] 31
US Cash Box Top 100[18] 7

Johnny Carver version

Chart (1976)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks9
Canadian RPM Country Tracks16

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: VH1's 40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs. May 31, 2007. Stereogum. SpinMedia. July 31, 2016.
  2. Web site: Tom . Breihan . The Number Ones: Starland Vocal Band’s “Afternoon Delight”. . September 6, 2019 . The final product stands out as a kind of throwback to sunshiney ’60s folk-pop, and to countrified early-’70s soft rock.. June 30, 2023.
  3. Book: Bronson, Fred . Fred Bronson . The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits . 5th . 2003 . Billboard Books . 0-8230-7677-6 . 438 . https://books.google.com/books?id=PgGqNrqfrsoC&q=%22Afternoon+Delight%22+0823076776&pg=PT447 . Afternoon Delight.
  4. Web site: Grammy Winner Taffy Nivert Settles In Safety Harbor - Safety Harbor, FL Patch . Patch.com . 2013-02-08 . 2016-10-11.
  5. Web site: The Grammys : Starland Vocal Band : Search . Grammy.com . 2016-10-11.
  6. Web site: The 50 Sexiest Songs Of All Time Page 4 . Billboard . 2016-10-11.
  7. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 291.
  8. Web site: National Top 100 Singles for 1976. . 131 . . December 27, 1976 . January 15, 2022 .
  9. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 1976-08-07 . 2018-06-10.
  10. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 1976-07-10 . 2018-06-11.
  11. https://www.billboard.com/artist/starland-vocal-band/chart-history/asi/ "Starland Vocal Band Chart History (Easy Listening)"
  12. http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=40275 Australian-charts.com
  13. Web site: Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977 . . . December 6, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160319222559/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.5173a&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=u9874ano8k0c5b6bkp4r8qrbp3 . 2016-03-19 . dead .
  14. Web site: The Official New Zealand Music Chart.
  15. Web site: Old-Charts . Old-Charts . 2015-11-12 . 2016-03-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304134919/http://www.old-charts.com/charts70/yearend70/1976yearend_uk.htm . dead .
  16. Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976 . Musicoutfitters.com . 2016-10-11.
  17. http://www.45cat.com/45_list_view_record.php?li=2171 Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1976
  18. Web site: Top 100 Year End Charts: 1976 . . 2016-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120825143147/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/1976YESP.html . 2012-08-25 . dead .
  19. Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart. Billboard. 10 December 2018.

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