"Afternoon Delight" is a song recorded by Starland Vocal Band. It was written by band member Bill Danoff. In the US, it became a No. 1 single on July 10, 1976, and earned a

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Background and writing

The title came from the

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menu at Clyde's

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in Georgetown,

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where Bill Danoff was eating with fellow bandmember Margot Chapman, while his then-wife Taffy Danoff was undergoing surgery for

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. 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 entered the Top 10 on ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

. 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. "Afternoon Delight" has been featured in episodes of numerous TV shows, including ''

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'' and ''

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''. The song is featured in the

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episode " Afternoon Delight", where it is sung as

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by Michael Bluth and his niece Maeby, before stopping upon realizing what the song is actually about. The characters Lindsay and George Michael later perform the song, before having a similar realization.

Critical reaction

At the 19th Grammy Awards 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. 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 advertis ...

'' 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 Songs about casual sex