"Afternoon Delight" is a song recorded by

Starland Vocal Band Starland Vocal Band was an American pop band, known for " Afternoon Delight", one of the biggest-selling singles of 1976. Career The group began as Fat City, a husband/wife duo of Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert. Danoff and Nivert co-wrote the s ...

. 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.

Background and writing

The title came from the happy hour menu at Clyde's

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., where Bill Danoff was eating with fellow bandmember Margot Chapman, while his then-wife Taffy Danoff was undergoing surgery for

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

. 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."

Cover versions

Concurrent with the Starland Vocal Band version, country singer Johnny Carver's cover went Top 10 on ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles. 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. In 2011, the song was covered by Glee cast and the actor

John Stamos John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the Da ...

for season 2 episode 15 " Sexy" of the musical television series '' Glee''. This version was included in the UK version of the album '' Glee: The Music, Volume 5'' instead of with the cover of "

Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) "Do You Wanna Touch Me", also referred to as "Do You Wanna Touch Me? (Oh Yeah)" is a song by English glam rock singer Gary Glitter, written by Glitter with Mike Leander and produced by Leander. It was released as the lead single from his second s ...

" by

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...

(from the same episode).

Critical reaction

At the

19th Grammy Awards The 19th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 19, 1977, and were broadcast live on American television (CBS). It was the seventh and final year Andy Williams hosted the telecast. The ceremony recognized accomplishments by musicians from the ...

ceremony in 1977, "Afternoon Delight" received three nominations for recordings from 1976. It won the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement for Voices and was also nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and

Song of the Year Song of the Year may refer to: * Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year * Dove Award for Song of the Year * Golden Melody Award for Song of the Year * Grammis Song of the Year * Grammy Award for Song of the Year * Latin Grammy Awa ...

. In 2010, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' named "Afternoon Delight" the 20th sexiest song of all time.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Johnny Carver version

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Afternoon Delight (Song) 1976 debut singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Johnny Carver songs Starland Vocal Band songs Songs written by Bill Danoff Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices 1976 songs RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Milt Okun Country pop songs