William Thomas Danoff (born May 7, 1946) is an American
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
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
"Take Me Home, Country Roads", also known simply as "Country Roads", is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert and John Denver about West Virginia. It was released as a single performed by Denver on April 12, 1971, peaking at number two ...
".
Early life and education
Danoff is a graduate of Cathedral High School in
Springfield, Massachusetts, and of
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
.
Career
Starland Vocal Band
On the strength of their track record as songwriters, Danoff and Taffy Nivert
recorded several
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
s before forming the
Starland Vocal Band with local musicians Jon Carroll and Margot Chapman. The group recorded "
Afternoon Delight" which became a hit in July 1976, reaching #1 on the
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
on July 10. The ''Starland Vocal Band Show'' replaced ''
Rhoda'' as a half-hour weekly series that same summer. Danoff and Nivert also worked with director
Robert Altman and producer
Jerry Weintraub
Jerome Charles "Jerry" Weintraub (September 26, 1937 – July 6, 2015) was an American film producer, talent manager and actor whose television films won him three Emmys.
He began his career as a talent agent, having managed relatively unknown ...
on the
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
''
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
'', doing research with screenwriter
Joan Tewkesbury
Joan Tewkesbury (born April 8, 1936) is an American film and television director, writer, producer, choreographer and actress. She had a long association with the celebrated director Robert Altman, writing the screenplays for '' Thieves Like Us ...
.
Songwriting
Danoff and his then-wife
Taffy Nivert
Mary Catherine "Taffy" Nivert-Danoff (born October 25, 1944) is an American songwriter and singer. She is best known for being a member of the Starland Vocal Band.
Biography
Mary Catherine Nivert was born 25 October 1944 in Washington, D.C. She ...
wrote "I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado" and "
Take Me Home, Country Roads
"Take Me Home, Country Roads", also known simply as "Country Roads", is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert and John Denver about West Virginia. It was released as a single performed by Denver on April 12, 1971, peaking at number two ...
," both of which were
hits for
John Denver. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is an official state song of
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
. Danoff has stated he had never been in West Virginia before co-writing the song, having written it in a house in the Georgetown neighborhood of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
He had even briefly considered using "Massachusetts" rather than "West Virginia", as both four-syllable state names would have fit the song's meter. Denver recorded about a dozen Danoff compositions from 1972 through the end of his career.
Danoff also worked with
Emmylou Harris, co-authoring "
Boulder to Birmingham "Boulder to Birmingham" is a song written by Emmylou Harris and Bill Danoff which first appeared on Harris's 1975 album ''Pieces of the Sky.'' It has served as something of a signature tune for the artist and recounts her feelings of grief in the y ...
" (one of Harris' better-known compositions). This track was recorded by
The Walker Brothers
The Walker Brothers were an American pop group of the 1960s and 1970s which included Noel Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker), John Walker (born John Joseph Maus, but using the name Walker since his teens) and Gary Le ...
in 1975 and
The Hollies
The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band ...
in 1976, and became a
Top 10 hit in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. In 1982, Danoff and fellow Starland Vocal Band member Jon Carroll wrote "Who Knows How To Make Love Stay", a Top 40 Canadian hit for
Doug and the Slugs
Doug and the Slugs are a Canadian pop music group formed in 1977 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The band enjoyed a number of Canadian top 40 hits in the 1980s, most notably "Too Bad" (1980), "Who Knows How To Make Love Stay" (1982), "Making It W ...
.
Danoff taught a songwriters course in 2007 and a music industry seminar (with
Walter Egan
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
) in 2008 at his alma mater
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
.
Personal life
Danoff married
Taffy Nivert
Mary Catherine "Taffy" Nivert-Danoff (born October 25, 1944) is an American songwriter and singer. She is best known for being a member of the Starland Vocal Band.
Biography
Mary Catherine Nivert was born 25 October 1944 in Washington, D.C. She ...
in 1972. Both were part of the Starland Vocal Band; they divorced after the band’s breakup in 1981.
Danoff has three children: two daughters and a son,
Owen
Owen may refer to:
Origin: The name Owen is of Irish and Welsh origin.
Its meanings range from noble, youthful, and well-born.
Gender: Owen is historically the masculine form of the name. Popular feminine variations include Eowyn and Owena. ...
, who auditioned for ''
The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
''
season 10.
Discography
;Albums
Fat City
* ''Reincarnation'' (ABC, 1969)
* ''Welcome To Fat City'' (Paramount, 1971)
John Denver with Bill Danoff - Taffy Nivert
* ''Victory Is Peace'' (Tomorrow Entertainment ER-7209-LP, 1972)
[Theme music for 1972 Winter Olympics. Limited edition (200 copies) one-sided promo LP with six tracks.]
Bill & Taffy
* ''Pass It On'' (RCA, 1973)
* ''Aces'' (RCA, 1974)
Starland Vocal Band
* Five albums; details at
SVB page
Bill Danoff
* ''Souvenir'' (Watch Your Head, 1990)
* ''I Guess He'd Rather Be In Colorado'' (Watch Your Head, 2002)
* ''Blasted In The Basement'' (Oasis, 2007)
;Singles
John Denver with Fat City
* "Take Me Home, Country Roads" / "Poems, Prayers And Promises" (RCA, 1971)
Bill & Taffy
* "Pass It On" / "Didn't I Try" (RCA UK, 1973)
* "
Maybe" / "How Lucky Can You Be" (RCA Germany, 1974)
* "Maybe" (stereo) / "Maybe" (mono) (RCA promo, 1974)
Starland Vocal Band
* Ten singles; details at
SVB page
;Appearances
* ''Capital Acoustics: Contemporary & Traditional Folk Music of the Washington DC Area'' (Institute of Musical Traditions, 1991), "Trying To Live In Time"
* ''The 8th Annual World Folk Music Association Benefit Concert'' (
World Folk Music Association The World Folk Music Association is a non-profit organization formed in 1983 by folk singer/songwriter Tom Paxton and Dick Cerri, a radio host from Washington D. C. The first chairman of the board was Paxton and Cerri served as president.
Paxton ...
, 1993), "Potter's Wheel"
* ''Jon Carroll and Love Returns at the Barns at Wolf Trap'' (FestivaLink, 2007, Internet release), "Blasted In The Basement"
References
External links
Official website*
Billboard biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danoff, Bill
1946 births
Living people
American male singers
Grammy Award winners
Songwriters from Massachusetts
Musicians from Springfield, Massachusetts
American people of Bulgarian descent
Singers from Massachusetts
American male songwriters
Starland Vocal Band members