"Moonlight on Water", also known as "Moonlight on Water (Sex on the Beach)", is a popular song written and composed by

Steve Kipner Stephen Alan Kipner (born 1950) is an American-born Australian songwriter and record producer, with hits spanning a 40-year period, including chart-topping songs such as Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", Natasha Bedingfield's "These Words", an ...

, best known for writing

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

's "

Physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...

", and Andy Goldmark. The song was originally recorded by

Kevin Raleigh Kevin Raleigh is an American singer and keyboardist best known for his tenure with the Michael Stanley Band. History Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on February 27, 1952, Raleigh came to local prominence in 1969 with the band Paper Sun, later known as ...

for his 1989 album ''Delusions of Grandeur'' and was released as a single. It reached No. 60 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart on 24 June 1989.

Charts

Laura Branigan version

The song was covered by

Laura Branigan Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single " Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for ...

and was the first single taken from the self-titled album that she released in 1990. Her version was produced by

Richard Perry Richard Van Perry (born June 18, 1942) is an American record producer. He began as a performer in his adolescence while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late 1960s and early 1970 ...

. However, it was only a minor hit in the United States (reaching No. 59, one spot higher than Kevin Raleigh's version), where a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song received little airplay. Branigan can be seen performing the song on her second

videocassette Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassette ...

and

laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

concert release, '' Laura Branigan in Concert,'' which was filmed in 1990 at a tour stop in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

and initially televised as part of the syndicated TV series ''SRO: In Concert.''

Critical reception

Bill Coleman from ''

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 ...

'' wrote, "Previewing the booming-voiced diva's new self-titled album is a sinfully fun popper reminiscent of earlier chart glories. Can't wait for the club remixes."

Track listings

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moonlight on Water Laura Branigan songs 1990 singles Songs written by Steve Kipner Songs written by Andy Goldmark 1989 singles 1989 songs Atlantic Records singles