Starland Vocal Band

Career[edit]

The group began as Fat City, a husband/wife duo of Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert.^[1]


Danoff and Nivert co-wrote the song "I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado" and then, with John Denver, "Take Me Home, Country Roads", which became a hit single in 1971 and became an official song of West Virginia in 2014.^[2] The duo recorded two albums as Fat City (Reincarnation, Welcome to Fat City), and two more as Bill & Taffy (Pass It On, Aces), all released from 1969 to 1974.^[1]


In the mid-1970s, Starland Vocal Band was formed and subsequently signed to Denver's label Windsong Records. Starland Vocal Band also included Jon Carroll (keyboards, guitar, vocals) and Margot Chapman (vocals).^[1] Carroll and Chapman also became a couple, marrying in 1978.^[3]


The group's debut album was the self-titled Starland Vocal Band and included "Afternoon Delight". The song was a US number one hit^[3] and the album also charted. They were nominated for four Grammy Awards in 1977 and won two: Best Arrangement for Voices and Best New Artist, the latter award over the group Boston.^[4] The song also reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart.^[5] The follow-up album, Rear View Mirror, did not fare as well, with 13 weeks on the Billboard 200 and a peak of number 104.^[6]


The band hosted a variety show, The Starland Vocal Band Show, that ran on CBS for six weeks in the summer of 1977. David Letterman was a writer and regular on the show, which also featured Mark Russell, Jeff Altman, and Proctor and Bergman. April Kelly was a writer for the series.^[7]


Unable to match their previous success, the band broke up in 1981. Carroll and Chapman divorced later that year followed by Danoff and Nivert in 1982.^[3] All four members went on to pursue solo careers.^[8] All four members have remained on friendly terms, and in 1998 the group reunited for a few concerts, often featuring the children of the four original members as additional vocalists. In 2007, they appeared on a 1970s special on the New Jersey Network (NJN), singing "Afternoon Delight".


In 2010, Billboard named "Afternoon Delight" the 20th sexiest song of all time.^[9] Due to its success, the song was featured in such films as PCU, Anchorman, and Good Will Hunting, and TV show Glee.^[10]