Dancing in the Moonlight

For the Thin Lizzy song, see Dancing in the Moonlight (It's Caught Me in Its Spotlight).For other uses, see Dancing in the Moonlight (disambiguation).

"Dancing in the Moonlight"
Promotional 7-inch single
Single by Boffalongo
from the album Beyond Your Head
B-side	"Endless Questions"
Released	1970
Studio	J.T. Sound
Length	3:10
Label	United Artists
Songwriter(s)	Sherman Kelly
Producer(s)	Eric & Steve Nathanson
Boffalongo singles chronology
"Please Stay" (1969) "Dancing in the Moonlight" (1970)

"Dancing in the Moonlight" is a song written by Sherman Kelly, originally recorded in 1970 by Kelly's band Boffalongo, and then a hit single by King Harvest in 1972, reaching no. 5 in Canada and no. 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. Another cover by Swedish EDM duo Jubël, released in 2018, was also a hit in Europe.

History

Sherman Kelly wrote the song in 1969. ^[1] While recovering from a vicious assault 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, and they were active from 1968 to 1971; they included it on their album Beyond Your Head and it was their final single. The song was also recorded by High Broom and released in 1970 on Island Records. It failed to reach the UK Singles Chart.

King Harvest version

"Dancing in the Moonlight"
Single by King Harvest
from the album Dancing in the Moonlight
B-side	"Lady, Come On Home"
Released	1972
Genre	Pop [4] R&B
Length	2:57
Label	Perception
Songwriter(s)	Sherman Kelly
Producer(s)	Jack Robinson
King Harvest singles chronology
"You and I" (1971) "Dancing in the Moonlight" (1972) "A Little Bit Like Magic" (1972)

Sherman Kelly's brother Wells Kelly introduced the song to the Paris-based band King Harvest in which he was drummer and where former Boffalongo member Dave "Doc" Robinson was lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist. King Harvest recorded and released "Dancing in the Moonlight", featuring a prominent keyboard countermelody, as a single with "Lady, Come On Home" on the B-side in 1972. The song was then featured on their album of the same name in 1973. 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 on the weekly charts and number 71 on the year-end chart for 1973. It peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States during the weeks of February 24 and March 3, 1973. ^{[5] [6]}

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1972–1973)	Peak position
Canada RPM Top Singles [7]	5
Canada RPM Top AC [8]	69
US Billboard Hot 100 [9]	13
US Billboard Easy Listening chart [10]	22
US Cash Box Top 100 [11]	10

Year-end charts

Chart (1973)	Rank
Canada [12]	71
US Billboard Hot 100 [13]	36

Toploader version

"Dancing in the Moonlight"
Single by Toploader
from the album Onka's Big Moka
B-side	"Lucy" "Jack" "Man with a Plan" "Times Like These"
Released	February 21, 2000 (2000-02-21)
Length	3:52 3:30 (Stargate radio mix)
Label	Sony Soho Square
Songwriter(s)	Sherman Kelly
Producer(s)	George Drakoulias
Toploader singles chronology
"Let the People Know" (1999) "Dancing in the Moonlight" (2000) "Achilles Heel" (2000)
Music video
"Dancing in the Moonlight" on YouTube

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 4× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams of over 2,400,000 units. Worldwide, the song reached the top 20 in Australia, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. At the Danish Music Awards of 2001, the song was nominated for Foreign Hit of the Year. ^[14]

Track listings

UK CD single (Feb. 2000) ^[15]

1. "Dancing in the Moonlight" – 3:52
2. "Lucy" – 2:55
3. "Jack" – 3:34

UK 7-inch single (Feb. 2000) ^[16]

A1. "Dancing in the Moonlight" – 3:52

B1. "Man with a Plan" – 3:41

B2. "Times Like These" – 4:52

UK cassette single (Feb. 2000); European CD single (2000) ^{[17] [18]}

1. "Dancing in the Moonlight" – 3:52
2. "Lucy" – 2:55

UK CD single (Nov. 2000); Australian CD single ^{[19] [20]}

1. "Dancing in the Moonlight" – 3:52
2. "Dancing in the Moonlight" (Stargate radio mix) – 3:30
3. "Dancing in the Moonlight" (Alliance DC vocal remix) – 6:30
4. "Dancing in the Moonlight" (live) – 4:31

UK cassette single (Nov. 2000); European CD single (2001) ^{[21] [22]}

1. "Dancing in the Moonlight" – 3:52
2. "Dancing in the Moonlight" (Stargate radio mix) – 3:30

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2000–2022) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [23] 12 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders) [24] 3 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia) [25] 10 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [26] 35 Germany (GfK) [27] 15 Hungary (Single Top 40) [28] 35 Ireland (IRMA) [29] 7 Italy (FIMI) [30] 21 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [31] 16 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [32] 52 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [33] 24 Norway (VG-lista) [34] 11 Poland ( Music & Media ) [35] 1 Scotland (OCC) [36] 14 Spain (PROMUSICAE) [37] 7 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [38] 44 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [39] 53 UK Singles (OCC) [40] 7

Year-end charts Chart (2000) Position Denmark (Danish Airplay Chart) [14] 2 Germany (Official German Charts) [41] 84 Chart (2001) Position Australia (ARIA) [42] 70 Ireland (IRMA) [43] 59 UK Singles (OCC) [44] 49

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [45]	Gold	35,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [46]	2× Platinum	180,000‡
Germany (BVMI) [47]	Platinum	500,000‡
Italy (FIMI) [48]	Platinum	100,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ) [49]	5× Platinum	150,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [50]	Platinum	60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [51]	5× Platinum	3,000,000‡
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref(s).
United Kingdom	February 21, 2000	7-inch vinyl CD cassette	Sony Soho Square	[52] [53]
United Kingdom (re-release)	November 13, 2000	CD cassette		[54]
Australia	April 16, 2001	CD	Sony Music	[55]

Jubël version

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"Dancing in the Moonlight"
Single by Jubël featuring Neimy
from the album Strawtown
Released	June 22, 2018
Recorded	2018
Length	2:44
Label	Good Soldier
Songwriter(s)	Sherman Kelly
Producer(s)	Jubël
Jubël singles chronology
"Illusion" (2017) "Dancing in the Moonlight" (2018) "On the Beach" (2019)
Neimysingles chronology
"Dancing in the Moonlight" (2018) "Unforgettable" (2018)

v t e Baha Men
Albums	Who Let the Dogs Out Move It Like This Greatest Movie Hits Holla!
Singles	"Dancing in the Moonlight" "Who Let the Dogs Out" "You All Dat" "Move It Like This"
Filmography	My Father the Hero Stanley
People	Rik Carey Anslem Douglas Steve Greenberg