William Thomas Danoff (born May 7, 1946) is an American

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates 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 genre and film scoring. ...

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 Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

, including " Take Me Home, Country Roads".

Early life and education

Danoff is a 1964 graduate of Cathedral High School in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, and of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

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 (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

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 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 Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

and producer

Jerry Weintraub Jerome Charles 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 known singer John Denver in ...

on the

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

'', doing research with screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury.

Songwriting

Danoff and his then-wife Taffy Nivert wrote "I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado" and " Take Me Home, Country Roads," both of which were hits for

. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is an official state song of

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. 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. 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 Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

, co-authoring " Boulder to Birmingham" (one of Harris' better-known compositions). This track was recorded by

The Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an American pop group formed in Los Angeles in 1964 by John Walker (musician), John Walker (real name John Maus) and Scott Walker (singer), Scott Walker (real name Noel Scott Engel), with Gary Walker (musician), Gary Wal ...

in 1975 and The Hollies in 1976, and became a Top 10 hit in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. 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. Danoff taught a songwriters course in 2007 and a music industry seminar (with Walter Egan) in 2008 at his alma mater

Personal life

Danoff married Taffy Nivert 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, who auditioned for '' The Voice'' 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 The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside ...

. 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, 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

* 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