Afternoon Delight

The Zoo Crew is spinning the groovy vibes of Afternoon Delight by Starland Vocal Band, a track that skyrocketed to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1976, perfectly capturing the laid-back, cheeky spirit of the era. The song’s title was inspired by a happy hour menu at Clyde’s of Georgetown, a Washington, D.C. restaurant, where band member Bill Danoff spotted “Afternoon Delights” listed as a selection of appetizers, like shrimp with Brie and almonds. Danoff, in an interview with The Washington Post, shared that he crafted the song over six months, often while watching Redskins football games, with the iconic “skyrockets in flight” lyric possibly drawn from a comic book. Taffy Nivert, his then-wife, added playful stage banter during live performances, joking that they wrote the song “instead of having a cigarette” after their own afternoon delight, as noted in a Songfacts article. The song’s subtle double entendres about midday romance fooled many, including kids who thought it was about dessert—one fan, Eddie Pelto, told GQ he loved it as a seven-year-old, believing it was about a snack treat.

Despite its massive success, Afternoon Delight has been both celebrated and mocked. It won two Grammys in 1977—Best Arrangement for Voices and Best New Artist, beating out Boston—but Bill Danoff, in a VH1 special, called the Best New Artist win “the kiss of death,” as the band never matched the song’s success. Its kitschy charm made it a pop culture staple, featured in films like Anchorman, where Will Ferrell’s news crew belts it out, and Good Will Hunting. Reddit users on the Todd in the Shadow subreddit have debated its “so-bad-it’s-awesome” status, with one noting its use in Arrested Development for comedic incest gags between relatives singing it unaware of its meaning. A surprising tidbit: avant-garde synthesizer pioneer Suzanne Ciani, who played on the track, told GQ she had no idea it was about “an afternoon romantic encounter” due to the band’s clean-cut image. The song’s legacy endures, with poet Hanif Abdurraqib praising its focused intimacy on X, likening it to Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene.

Starland Vocal Band began as a folk duo called Fat City, formed by husband-and-wife team Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert in the late 1960s Washington, D.C. folk scene. The couple had early success co-writing Take Me Home, Country Roads with John Denver, a 1971 hit that later became an official West Virginia song. As Fat City, they released two albums, Reincarnation and Welcome to Fat City, and often opened for Denver. By 1974, under the name Bill & Taffy, they added Jon Carroll on keyboards and guitar, releasing Aces. The lineup solidified with vocalist Margot Chapman, forming Starland Vocal Band, and they signed to Denver’s Windsong Records. Their self-titled debut album, featuring Afternoon Delight, peaked at #20 on the Billboard 200. The band, consisting of two married couples—Danoff and Nivert, and Carroll and Chapman, who wed in 1978—toured with Denver and even hosted a short-lived CBS variety show in 1977, which introduced a young David Letterman as a writer and performer. After their follow-up albums flopped, the band split in 1981, with both couples divorcing soon after.

Finding official online presence for Starland Vocal Band is tricky since the band dissolved decades ago, and no verified official website exists today. However, fans can explore the band’s history on Wikipedia or check out Discogs for vinyl releases like the 1976 Afternoon Delight single. No active, official social media accounts for the band are currently maintained on Facebook, Instagram, or X. Individual members, like Jon Carroll, have a presence—his Facebook page shares updates on his solo work and performances with Mary Chapin Carpenter. Fan communities are sparse, but the Facebook group 70s Music Lovers occasionally discusses the band among other era artists, and Top One Hit Wonders offers a fan-driven page celebrating the song’s quirky legacy. Zoo Freaks can still vibe to the track’s nostalgic charm, a testament to the band’s fleeting but unforgettable mark on pop history.