| "Afternoon Delight" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Starland Vocal Band | ||||
| from the album Starland Vocal Band | ||||
| B-side | "Starland" | |||
| Released | April 1976 | |||
| Recorded | November 1975 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:12 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bill Danoff [3] | |||
| Producer(s) | Milt Okun | |||
| Starland Vocal Band singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Afternoon Delight" on YouTube | ||||
"Afternoon Delight" is a song recorded by Starland Vocal Band. It was written by band member Bill Danoff. In the US, it became a No. 1 single on July 10, 1976, [4] and earned a gold record.
The title came from the happy hour menu at Clyde's restaurant in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., [4] where Bill Danoff was eating with fellow bandmember Margot Chapman, while his then-wife Taffy Danoff was undergoing surgery for cervical cancer. [5] 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." [4]
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 [6] and was also nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Song of the Year. [7]
In 2010, Billboard named "Afternoon Delight" the 20th sexiest song of all time. [8]
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [9] [10] | 6 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles [11] | 1 |
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary [12] | 6 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) [13] | 22 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [14] | 5 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [15] | 18 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 [16] | 1 |
| US Easy Listening ( Billboard ) [17] | 5 |
| US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [18] | 94 |
| Chart (1976) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [10] [19] | 56 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles [20] | |
| New Zealand [21] | 28 |
| UK [22] | 120 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 [23] | 12 |
| US Billboard Easy Listening [24] | 31 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 [25] | 7 |
| Chart (1958–2018) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 [26] | 419 |
| "Afternoon Delight" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Johnny Carver | ||||
| from the album Afternoon Delight | ||||
| B-side | "Double Exposure" | |||
| Released | 1976 | |||
| Recorded | 1976 | |||
| Genre | Country music | |||
| Length | 2:56 | |||
| Label | Dot Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bill Danoff | |||
| Producer(s) | Ron Chancey | |||
| Johnny Carver singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Afternoon Delight" on YouTube | ||||
Concurrent with the Starland Vocal Band version, country singer Johnny Carver's cover entered the Top 10 on Billboard Hot Country Singles. [27]
In the 2004 film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, the song is sung by the news crew in choir and referenced multiple times and came with a music video in the bonus disc. [28] It was also performed in the musical television series Glee . [29]
"Afternoon Delight" has been featured in episodes of numerous TV shows, including The Simpsons , Ugly Betty and NewsRadio . [30] The song is featured in the Arrested Development episode "Afternoon Delight", where it is sung as Karaoke by Michael Bluth and his niece Maeby, before stopping upon realizing what the song is actually about. The characters Lindsay and George Michael later perform the song, before having a similar realization. [31]
"Afternoon Delight" also plays a role in the movie Good Will Hunting , where it is sung by Matt Damon's character Will Hunting while in a therapist's office -- originally as a lark, but the song plays a more significant role later in the film.
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 9 [32] |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 16 |
The final product stands out as a kind of throwback to sunshiney '60s folk-pop, and to countrified early-'70s soft rock.
