We all know about “guilty pleasure” songs — tunes that catch your attention (and sometimes make you smile) the first time you hear them. They’re tunes that might not be melodies for the ages, but they have a quality that’s impossible to ignore. But here’s something funny — in rare cases, both the song and its subject matter can be a guilty pleasure.
In the bicentennial year of 1976, such a song appeared and became a huge hit for a previously unknown singing group. Bill Danoff was the guiding force behind the Starland Vocal Band, which also included his wife, Taffy Nivert, and another couple, Jon Carroll and Margot Chapman. The song, which reached number one on the pop charts, was “Afternoon Delight”.
The members of the group had already kicked around for a while, and Bill and Taffy had recorded and toured as Fat CIty or just as Bill and Taffy. They also caught the attention of John Denver and co-wrote his hit song, “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, eventually signing with his record label. Joining with Jon and Margot, they began appearing as Starland Vocal Band and were on their way.
After the huge record sales and Grammy wins that accompanied their big hit, the group became pretty successful for a while and even had their own TV show on CBS. (Which also featured David Letterman, relatively unknown at that time.) They had some further successes, but none to match that first mega-hit.
Danoff maintains a nice website about the group and its history, and their delightful song remains behind, a true dual-purpose guilty pleasure.
Starland Vocal Band – “Afternoon Delight”
Geezer Music Club 
Thank you for that trip down memory lane. It was the summer between my Jr and Sr year of High School when “Afternoon Delight” was released. It was one of those songs that you hated to admit that you loved.
I’ll be honest–I’ve not heard this song in years (save, for the acapela, four part harmony version from “Ron Burgundy: Anchorman”) and I downloaded it from your site. I remembered all the words and even the subtle little nuances of the song.
Wow. Brought back some good memories.
Then I started jonesin’ for more 70’s music and came across some old stuff I had stored in my memory bouquet of LPs and 8 tracks. Wrap your head around these numebrs:
The Addrissi Brothers, “We’ve Got To Get It On Again”
The Sugar Bears “You Are The One”
Hurricane Smith “Oh Babem What Would You Say”
Mouth and McNeal “How Do You Do”
Daniel Boone “Beautiful Sunday”
I must thank you for improving my mood today, Friend. Music calms me down. Sometimes it’s almost like Xanax.
I said “sometimes”.
Best,
Laurie Kendrick
lauriekendrick.com
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Appreciate the comment, Laurie. Be sure to come back and see us again!
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Although Afternoon Delight was the big hit, my favorite cut from that album has always been the a capella American Tune.
Now I gotta go home after work today, and dig the album out and listen to it again. 🙂
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