Taffy Nivert | |
|---|---|
 Nivert as she appeared in a Starland Vocal Band promotional photo dated June 1977 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mary Catherine Nivert |
| Born | October 25, 1944 Washington, D.C., [1] U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, singer |
Mary Catherine "Taffy" Nivert [2] (born October 25, 1944) is an American songwriter and singer. She is best known for co-writing "Take Me Home, Country Roads", which was popularized by John Denver, and for being a member of the Starland Vocal Band.
Mary Catherine Nivert was born 25 October 1944 in Washington, D.C. She received her nickname Taffy from her elder brother who, unable to pronounce her middle name as a young child, would call her Mary Tafferine. [3] Nivert began singing along with the radio in high school. She was discovered by a bartender in Georgetown after he heard her singing to a jukebox. The bartender asked if she wanted to join a vocal group, and through this, she met her future husband Bill Danoff. [4]
Nivert began performing with Danoff as Fat City in the late 1960s. Initially a folk duo, the two later married and recorded four albums, the latter two under the name Bill & Taffy. [5]
In 1970, while traveling along Clopper Road to Nivert's family reunion in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Danoff began writing a song that became "Take Me Home, Country Roads". [6] The couple planned to complete the song and sell it to Johnny Cash. When Fat City opened for John Denver at The Cellar Door in December 1970, they decided to show the not yet completed song to him. Denver, who had injured his thumb in a car crash hours before, arrived at Danoff and Nivert's apartment in the early hours of the morning, where the trio finished the song. The next night, all three performed the completed song, with Nivert holding the lyric sheet, and instead of being offered to Johnny Cash it became a hit song for Denver on RCA Victor in early 1971. It was included on his album Poems, Prayers, and Promises along with "I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado," also written by Danoff and Nivert. Danoff and Nivert sang backup on four of the album's tracks. [4]
Danoff and Nivert married in 1972. [3] In 1976, the couple paired with Jon Carroll and Margot Chapman to form the Starland Vocal Band. Signed to John Denver's record label Windsong Records, they were most famous for the hit song "Afternoon Delight". [7] The group released several albums before breaking up in 1981. Danoff and Nivert later divorced.
Until 2011, Nivert lived in the Washington, D. C. area, where she occasionally performed with Danoff and the rest of the Starland Vocal Band. She later settled in Safety Harbor, Florida. [8]
Fat City
John Denver with Bill Danoff - Taffy Nivert
Bill & Taffy
Starland Vocal Band
John Denver with Fat City
Bill & Taffy
Starland Vocal Band
Starland Vocal Band was an American pop band, known for "Afternoon Delight", one of the biggest-selling singles of 1976.
"Take Me Home, Country Roads", also known simply as "Country Roads", is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert and John Denver. It was released as a single performed by Denver on April 12, 1971, peaking at number two on Billboard's US Hot 100 singles for the week ending August 28, 1971. The song was a success on its initial release and was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 18, 1971, and Platinum on April 10, 2017. The song became one of John Denver's most popular songs. It has continued to sell, with over 1.8 million digital copies sold in the United States.
"Afternoon Delight" is a song recorded by Starland Vocal Band. It was written by band member Bill Danoff. In the US, it became a #1 single on July 10, 1976, and earned a gold record.
Sings America is the tenth studio album by American actor and singer David Hasselhoff. It was released on February 2, 2004, by Edel Records. It became his first studio project in seven years since Hooked on a Feeling (1997).
William Thomas Danoff is an American songwriter and singer. He is known for "Afternoon Delight", which he wrote and performed as a member of the Starland Vocal Band, and for writing multiple hits for John Denver, including "Take Me Home, Country Roads".
Windstar Records is a record label based in Snowmass, Colorado, founded by John Denver in 1976.
Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album released by Olivia Newton-John in 1977. In Australasia, it was released as Greatest Hits Vol. 2 as an extension of the 1974 compilation First Impressions, while in other regions, it fully spanned Newton-John's career up to the point of release.
The Cellar Door was a 163-seat music club located at 34th & M Street NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. from 1964 through January 7, 1982. It occupied the location of a former music club called The Shadows.
Poems, Prayers & Promises is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Denver, released on April 6, 1971 by RCA Records. The album was recorded in New York City, and produced by Milton Okun and Susan Ruskin. Poems, Prayers & Promises was Denver's commercial breakthrough, and contains several of his most popular songs, such as "Poems, Prayers, and Promises", "My Sweet Lady", "I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado", "Sunshine on My Shoulders", and "Take Me Home, Country Roads", which would become one of Denver's signature songs. "The Box", which concludes the album, is a poem by Kendrew Lascelles illustrating the futility of war.
How Can I Unlove You is an album by country music singer Lynn Anderson, released in 1971.
Maryland Route 117 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs 12.40 miles (19.96 km) from MD 28 near Dawsonville east to West Diamond Avenue next to MD 355 in Gaithersburg. MD 117 is an L-shaped highway that connects the rural western Montgomery County communities of Dawsonville and Boyds with Germantown, Gaithersburg, and Interstate 270 (I-270) in the suburban central part of the county. The highway also provides access to Seneca Creek State Park, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and several commuter rail stations along MARC's Brunswick Line, which the highway parallels. MD 117 was the inspiration for the 1971 hit song "Take Me Home, Country Roads".
Rocky Mountain High is the sixth studio album released by American singer-songwriter John Denver in September 1972. It was his first US Top 10 album, propelled by the title single, and in addition reached no. 11 in the UK and no. 1 in Canada. The album's cover photograph was taken at Slaughterhouse Falls, Rio Grande Trail, Aspen, Colorado.
Spirit is the eleventh studio album by John Denver. It was released in August, 1976. After the full-blown success of Windsong and its accompanying hit singles, this album began a downward chart trend for the singer, although he continued to have hits on the adult contemporary charts. "Baby, You Look Good to Me Tonight" reached #65 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, as well as reaching the Top 40 on the U.S. and Canadian Country and AC charts.
Mary is the debut solo album by Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary. It was the most successful of the five solo albums she recorded between 1971 and 1978.
Rockin' in the Country is the sixth studio album by American country music singer Daryle Singletary. It was released June 9, 2009 via E1 Music. The album includes the non-charting single "Love You with the Lights On", as well as two cover versions: "How Can I Believe in You", previously recorded by Vern Gosdin on his 1984 album There Is a Season, and "Take Me Home, Country Roads", originally recorded by John Denver.
In the Dark is the second international album release by the reggae singing group Toots and the Maytals, issued in Jamaica and in the United Kingdom on Dragon Records, DRLS 5004, a subsidiary label owned by Chris Blackwell. It was released in September 1974.
The Award Winning Country Gentlemen is an album by the progressive bluegrass band Country Gentlemen, recorded in 1972. This album features the 2nd classic lineup of the band with Charlie Waller, Doyle Lawson, Bill Emerson and Bill Yates on bass.
Live In Japan is a live album by the progressive bluegrass band Country Gentlemen, recorded in 1970 during their concert in Japan.
Early Rebel Recordings: 1962–1971 is a compilation album by the progressive bluegrass band Country Gentlemen. A collection of 110 songs, 5 of them previously unreleased, divided on 4 CD's, the album includes various lineups of the early Country Gentlemen. It includes the first and second classic lineup, while adding Dobro of Mike Auldridge or second guitar by Pete Kuykendall.
A Little Bit of Country is the ninth studio album by Australian group the Seekers. The album was released in April 1980 and features vocals by Cheryl Webb. The album peaked at number 84 in Australia.
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