"Dancing in the Moonlight" is a song by French-American rock group King Harvest. The song was written by Sherman Kelly, produced by Jack Robinson, originally recorded in 1970 by Kelly's band Boffalongo, and then successfully released as a single by King Harvest in 1972, reaching number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2000, a cover by English band Toploader became a worldwide hit and achieved multi-platinum status in the United Kingdom.
Sherman Kelly wrote the song in 1969.[1] While recovering from a vicious attack by a gang, he "envisioned an alternate reality, the dream of a peaceful and joyful celebration of life".[2] Kelly wrote:
On a trip to St. Croix in 1969, I was the first victim of a vicious St. Croix gang who eventually murdered 8 American tourists. At that time, I suffered multiple facial fractures and wounds and was left for dead. While I was recovering, I wrote "Dancin In The Moonlight" in which I envisioned an alternate reality, the dream of a peaceful and joyful celebration of life. The song became a huge hit and was recorded by many musicians worldwide. "Dancin In The Moonlight" continues to be popular to this day.[3]
He recorded it singing lead with his band Boffalongo, who were active from 1968 to 1971, being the band's final single. The song was also recorded by High Broom and released in 1970 on Island Records.[4][5] It failed to reach the UK Singles Chart.
Sherman Kelly's brother Wells Kelly introduced the song to the Paris-based band King Harvest in which he was drummer, and former Boffalongo member Dave "Doc" Robinson was lead vocalist, bassist and keyboardist. King Harvest recorded and released "Dancing in the Moonlight" as a single with "Lady, Come On Home" on the B-side in 1972. Steve Cutler, a jazz drummer from New York City (standing on the base of the pole in the cover picture), played drums on the tracks and toured France and the UK with the band. The group disbanded after six months and the single languished for a year until it was bought and released worldwide by Perception Records. In Canada, the song reached number 5 in the weekly charts and number 71 in the year-end chart for 1973.
In 2000, English band Toploader released a cover of "Dancing in the Moonlight". It was originally released on February 21, 2000, as the third single from their debut studio album, Onka's Big Moka (1999), and peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. It was then re-released in November of the same year with new production from Stargate and reached number seven on the same chart. The song has been certified 3× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 1,800,000 copies. Worldwide, the song reached the top 20 in Australia, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain.
Swedish record producer duo Jubël released a dance cover in 2018 featuring Neimy.[41] It peaked at number 9 on Sverigetopplistan, the official Swedish Singles Chart. It also charted in Belgium's Ultratip Bubbling Under chart in both Flanders and Wallon francophone markets.
The song garnered the attention of British radio DJs in 2020 and as a result the Jubël version gained more popularity two years after its initial release in Sweden. The song was rereleased for the British market giving it a much bigger international audience. It peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart,[42] and the Irish and Scottish singles charts as well.[43] The song was used in series 6 of the reality show Love Island in 2020 and spread to TikTok,[44] while reaching the top of the British radio list. The song also charted on the ARIA Australian Official Singles Chart, also in 2020.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 202044 into search. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
