Editing Starland Vocal Band

{{short description|American pop band}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
|name            = Starland Vocal Band
|image           = Starland Vocal Band 1977 (cropped).JPG
|caption         = Starland Vocal Band, June 1977, from left to right: Jon Carroll, Margot Chapman, Taffy Nivert, Bill Danoff
|alt = The band standing together
|background      = group_or_band
|origin          = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
|genre           = [[Pop music|Pop]], [[folk rock]], [[Country music|country]], [[soft rock]]
| discography     = {{hlist|[[Starland_Vocal_Band#Studio_albums|Studio albums]], [[Starland_Vocal_Band#Singles|Singles]]}}
|years_active    = 1975<ref name="Formed">{{Cite news |last=Barker|first=Gerry|date=November 21, 1975 |title=Utopia Coming To Texas Hall |work=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/633794527 |via=newspapers.com |access-date=June 7, 2024 }}</ref>–1981, 1998, 2007
|label           = [[RCA Records|RCA]], [[Windstar Records|Windsong Records]]
|website         = 
|current_members = 
|past_members    = [[Bill Danoff]]<br>[[Taffy Nivert]]<br>Jon Carroll<br>Margot Chapman
|associated_acts = [[John Denver]]
}}

'''Starland Vocal Band''' was an American [[pop music|pop]] [[musical ensemble|band]], known for "[[Afternoon Delight]]", one of the biggest-selling [[single (music)|singles]] of 1976.

==Career==
The group began as Fat City, a husband/wife [[Duet (music)|duo]] of [[Bill Danoff]] and [[Taffy Nivert]].<ref name=paste>{{cite magazine|title=Fat City - At Least We're Not Invading China|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2007/11/fat-city-at-least-were-not-invading-china.html|date=August 29, 1972|magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hcr40%20intr.htm&yr=2014&sesstype=rs&i=40&houseorig=h&billtype=cr|title=House Concurrent Resolution No. 40|publisher=West Virginia Legislature|access-date=February 11, 2019}}</ref> 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.<ref name=paste/>

In the mid-1970s, Starland Vocal Band was formed and subsequently signed to Denver's label [[Windstar Records|Windsong Records]]. Starland Vocal Band also included Jon Carroll ([[Keyboard instrument|keyboards]], [[guitar]], [[singing|vocals]]) and Margot Chapman (vocals).<ref name=paste/> Carroll and Chapman also became a couple, marrying in 1978.<ref name=wp>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/07/10/skyrockets-in-flight-afternoon-delight-the-story-behind-starland-vocal-bands-one-big-hit/|title='Skyrockets in flight/Afternoon delight': The story behind Starland Vocal Band's one big hit|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=February 11, 2019}}</ref>

The group's debut album was the self-titled ''[[Starland Vocal Band (album)|Starland Vocal Band]]'' and included "[[Afternoon Delight]]". The song was a US number one hit<ref name=wp/> and the album also [[record chart|charted]]. They were nominated for four [[Grammy Award]]s in 1977 and won two: [[Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices|Best Arrangement for Voices]] and [[Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist]], the latter award over the group [[Boston (band)|Boston]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/starland-vocal-band|title=19th Annual GRAMMY Awards (1976)|access-date=February 11, 2019|website=Grammy.com}}</ref> The song also reached number 18 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="UK"/> The follow-up album, ''Rear View Mirror'', did not fare as well, with 13 weeks on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] and a peak of number 104.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Fuse (TV channel)|Fuse]]|url=https://www.fuse.tv/2013/01/grammys-9-one-hit-wonders-who-won-best-new-artist|title=8 One-Hit Wonders Who Won Best New Artist Grammys|author=Jeff Benjamin|date=January 29, 2013|access-date=February 11, 2019}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://atombash.com/a-look-at-early-david-letterman-on-the-starland-vocal-band-show/|title=A look at early David Letterman on the 'Starland Vocal Band Show'|publisher=Atom Bash|access-date=February 11, 2019}}</ref>

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.<ref name=wp/> All four members went on to pursue solo careers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/whatever-happened-to-grammys-best-new-artists/18/|title=Whatever happened to Grammy's Best New Artists?|publisher=[[CBS News]]|access-date=February 11, 2019}}</ref> They 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|New Jersey Network (NJN)]], singing "Afternoon Delight".

In 2010, ''Billboard'' named "Afternoon Delight" the 20th sexiest song of all time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/959429/the-50-sexiest-songs-of-all-time-page-4|title=The 50 Sexiest Songs Of All Time Page 4|website=Billboard.com|access-date=12 October 2021}}</ref> Due to its success, the song was featured in such films as ''[[PCU (film)|PCU]]'', ''[[Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy|Anchorman]]'', and ''[[Good Will Hunting]]'', and used in episodes of numerous TV shows, including ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and ''[[South Park]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/starland-vocal-band/afternoon-delight/|title=Afternoon Delight by Starland Vocal Band - Songfacts}}</ref> In 2011, it was performed in the musical television series ''[[Glee (TV series)|Glee]]''.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Patch Media]]|url=https://patch.com/florida/safetyharbor/grammy-winner-taffy-nivert-settles-in-safety-harbor|title=Grammy Winner Taffy Nivert Settles In Safety Harbor|author=Jeffrey Rosenfield|date=February 7, 2013|access-date=February 11, 2019}}</ref>

==Discography==
===Studio albums===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
!rowspan=2|Year
!rowspan=2|Album details
!colspan=1|Peak chart<br>positions
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
!width=40|[[Billboard 200|US]]<br><ref name="Awards">{{cite web|title=Starland Vocal Band - Awards|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/starland-vocal-band-mn0000014967/awards|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=November 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324150010/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/starland-vocal-band-mn0000014967/awards|archive-date=March 24, 2016}}</ref>
|-
|1976
|align=left|'''''[[Starland Vocal Band (album)|Starland Vocal Band]]'''''
*Release date: 1976
*Label: Windsong 1351
|20
|-
|1977
|align=left|'''''Rear View Mirror'''''
*Release date: April 15, 1977
*Label: Windsong 2239
|104
|-
|1978
|align=left|'''''Late Nite Radio'''''
*Release date: March 1978
*Label: Windsong 2598
|—
|-
|1980
|align=left|'''''4 X 4'''''
*Release date: March 11, 1980
*Label: Windsong 3536
|—
|-
|1980
|align=left|'''''Christmas at Home'''''
*Release date: November 25, 1980
*Label: Breaker 100
|—
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart.
|}

A CD compilation album, ''Afternoon Delight: The Best of the Starland Vocal Band'', was released in 1995 by [[K-tel]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQw5AQAAIAAJ&q=1995+K-tel+Afternoon+Delight:+The+Best+of+the+Starland|title=Schwann Spectrum|journal=[[Stereophile]]|volume=7|issue=1|year=1995|page=137}}</ref> Also in 1995, [[Collectables Records|Collectables]] released ''Afternoon Delight: A Golden Classics Edition'' which included all tracks from the first two albums.

===Singles===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
!rowspan=2|Year
!rowspan=2|A/B-side songs
!rowspan=2|Catalog #<br>(Windsong)
!colspan=5|Peak chart positions
!rowspan=2|Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
!width=40|[[Billboard Hot 100|US]]<br><ref name="Awards"/>
!width=40|[[Kent Music Report|AUS]]<br>
!width=40|[[RPM (magazine)|CAN]]<br>
!width=40|[[RPM (magazine)|CAN AC]]<br>
!width=40|[[UK Singles Chart|UK]]<br><ref name="UK">{{cite web|title=STARLAND VOCAL BAND - full Official Chart History|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/15812/starland-vocal-band/|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=November 4, 2022}}</ref>
|-
|rowspan=3|1976
|align=left|"[[Afternoon Delight]]" / "Starland"
|10588
|1
|6
|1
|6
|18
|align=left rowspan=4|''[[Starland Vocal Band (album)|Starland Vocal Band]]''
|-
|align=left|"California Day" / "War Surplus Baby"
|10785
|66
|—
|—
|22
|—
|-
|align=left|"Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll!" / "Ain't It the Fall"
|10855
|71
|—
|92
|—
|—
|-
|rowspan=4|1977
|align="left"| "Afternoon Delight" / "California Day"
|10943
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
|align=left|"Liberated Woman" / "Fallin' in a Deep Hole"
|10992
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|align=left rowspan=3|''Rear View Mirror'' 
|-
|align=left|"The Light of My Life" / "Prism"
|11067
|—
|—
|—
|36
|—
|-
|align=left|"Mr. Wrong" / Too Long a Journey"
|11168
|—
|—
|—
|33
|—
|-
|rowspan=1|1978
|align=left|"Late Nite Radio" / "Please Ms. Newslady"
|11261
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|align=left rowspan=1|''Late Nite Radio'' 
|-
|rowspan=2|1980
|align=left|"Loving You with My Eyes" / "Apartment for Rent"
|11899
|71
|—
|—
|26
|—
|align=left rowspan=2|''4 X 4'' 
|-
|align=left|"(Love) Thought I Would Never Find Love" / "Love Stuff"
|12011
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
| colspan="9" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}

==Awards and nominations==

===Grammy Awards===
The [[Grammy Award]]s are awarded annually by the [[National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences]]. The band won two awards from four nominations. 
{{awards table}}
|-
|rowspan=4|[[19th Grammy Awards|1977]]
|Starland Vocal Band
|[[Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist]]
|{{won}}
|-
|rowspan=3|"[[Afternoon Delight (song)|Afternoon Delight]]"
|[[Grammy Award for Record of the Year|Record of the Year]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals|Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices|Best Arrangement for Voices (duo, group or chorus)]]
|{{won}}
{{end}}

==See also==
*[[List of one-hit wonders in the United States#1970s|List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p20732|pure_url=yes}} Starland Vocal Band] at [[AllMusic]]
*{{IMDb name|id=1662260}}
*{{IMDb title|id=0075586}}
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20021121074831/http://www.billdanoff.com/ Bill Danoff]}} official website
*[http://www.joncarroll.org/ Jon Carroll] official website

{{Grammy Award for Best New Artist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1976 establishments in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:1981 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:American pop music groups]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Musical quartets from Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:David Letterman]]
[[Category:RCA Records artists]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1976]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1981]]