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In 1998 the Starland Vocal Band reunited for a few concerts, often featuring the children of the four original members as vocalists. In 2007, they appeared on a 1970s special on the [[New Jersey Network|New Jersey Network (NJN)]], singing "Afternoon Delight".
In 1998 the Starland Vocal Band reunited for a few concerts, often featuring the children of the four original members as vocalists. In 2007, they appeared on a 1970s special on the [[New Jersey Network|New Jersey Network (NJN)]], singing "Afternoon Delight".


Danoff and Nivert co-wrote the hit song "[[Take Me Home, Country Roads]]" with [[John Denver]]. Denver subsequently signed them to his label [[Windtar Records|Windsong Records]].
Danoff and Nivert co-wrote the hit song "[[Take Me Home, Country Roads]]" with [[John Denver]]. Denver subsequently signed them to his label [[Windstar Records|Windsong Records]].


==Discography==
==Discography==

Revision as of 18:36, 21 October 2010

Starland Vocal Band

Starland Vocal Band was an American pop band, known primarily for "Afternoon Delight", one of the biggest-selling singles in 1976.

Career

The group began as 'Fat City', a husband/wife duo of Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert. The band was also composed of Jon Carroll (keyboards and vocals) and Margot Chapman (vocals). Carroll and Chapman were also married after meeting as members of the group, but later divorced. Their son Ben Carroll is also a musician.

The group's debut album was the self-titled Starland Vocal Band and included “Afternoon Delight”. The song was a #1 hit and the album also charted. The group was nominated for five Grammy Awards and won two — Best arrangement (voices) and Best New Act. The follow-up album Rear View Mirror was a failure in comparison, although it was a minor chart entry, spending 13 weeks on the Billboard 200 (reaching a peak of #104). In 2010 Billboard named "Afternoon Delight" the 20th sexiest of all time.[1]

The band hosted a self-titled variety show that ran on CBS for six weeks in the summer of 1977. David Letterman, then still unknown, also participated in the show, as did Mark Russell, Jeff Altman, and Proctor and Bergman.

The band broke up in 1981, unable to match their previous success. Danoff and Nivert divorced shortly afterwards. Each of the band members went on to a solo career.

In 1998 the Starland Vocal Band reunited for a few concerts, often featuring the children of the four original members as vocalists. In 2007, they appeared on a 1970s special on the New Jersey Network (NJN), singing "Afternoon Delight".

Danoff and Nivert co-wrote the hit song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" with John Denver. Denver subsequently signed them to his label Windsong Records.

Discography

Albums

  • 1976 Starland Vocal Band
  • 1977 Rear View Mirror
  • 1978 Late Night Radio
  • 1979 4 X 4
  • 1980 Christmas At Home

Singles

  • 1975 "Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll!" / "Ain't It the Fall" (Windsong Records GB-10855)
  • 1976 "Afternoon Delight" / "California Day" (Windsong Records GB-10943) Windsong 10588

Windsong Records was succeeded by Windstar Records.

Cultural references

  • In The Simpsons episode "'Round Springfield", Homer Simpson suggests that Lisa get a tattoo of Bleeding Gums Murphy (who died after Lisa performed "Stars and Stripes Forever" at school) just like he did with Starland Vocal Band (to which Homer realizes his mistake and says that the band sucked). Another Simpsons episode (The Fat and the Furriest) had Lenny, Carl, and Bart dance to and sing Afternoon Delight as Homer gets attacked by a bear.
  • In the Adult Swim airing of the Family Guy episode Stewie Kills Lois, Meg is on her bed in her pajamas, listening to Afternoon Delight while stroking a pack of hot dogs and declaring that the hot dogs would be the New York Knicks (The FOX airing has Meg in her normal clothes outside her room with the hot dogs in hand).
  • Taffy Danoff has been heard on the Washington, DC morning radio show, Elliot in the Morning on DC101. She has said that the members of Starland Vocal Band received a one-time payment for recording "Afternoon Delight", and receive no royalties for the song.
  • In the motion picture Good Will Hunting, the main character Will Hunting is forced to visit a hypnotherapist. At first he pretends to be under hypnosis by telling a youthly trauma, but soon he converts his story into the lyrics of Afternoon Delight and finishes by singing it, showing he was pretending to be hypnotised. The song is played again over the closing credits.
  • In the movie PCU, Jeremy Piven's character selects the Starland Vocal Band's CD from a group and puts it into the player on repeat and then locks the entertainment center forcing the party goers to hear it over and over again.
  • Afternoon Delight has been played in Frat Pack films such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Starsky & Hutch.
  • An episode of Arrested Development involves two different references to "Afternoon Delight." One involving a mixup between a playful term for sex (like in the song) and marijuana, the other was an awkward rendition of the song between relatives Maeby and Michael Bluth and afterwards a duet by George Michael Bluth and Lindsay Bluth. Later George Michael sheepishly states "you wouldn't think it was so dirty."
  • A Sports Night episode refers to Starland Vocal Band winning a Best New Artist award for 1978, beating out Elvis Costello. However, the year was wrong (they won in 1977), and they did not compete against Costello -- the other nominees were Boston, The Brothers Johnson, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, and Wild Cherry.
  • A Murphy Brown episode has Murphy relating a story of her young life in which she was the touring manager for the Starland Vocal Band.
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