"Moonlight Feels Right" is the debut single recorded by the American band Starbuck. Written and produced by Bruce Blackman, the song was released in December 1975 but did not chart until April 1976.

Background

On the ''

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally radio syndication, syndicated, independent song countdown radio programming, radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs (broadcaster), Ron Jaco ...

'' radio program of August 14, 1976,

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio presenter who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40'', as well as the weekly syndicated televi ...

reported the group's difficulties in promoting their single. Over the winter they had delivered the record to 400 radio stations, 95 percent of which had told them they would play it, but did not. One of those stations, WERC in Birmingham, Alabama, told them that it sounded like a spring song to them, so they would play it but would wait until spring to do so. Discouraged, the group re-entered the recording studio. However, WERC kept their promise and became the first station to play the song. "Moonlight Feels Right" subsequently became a hit. The song debuted at number 90 on the U.S. charts the week of April 17, 1976, with a chart run of over five months. Blackman detailed the story of the song in his 2018 book, ''The Road to Moonlight Feels Right – The story behind one of the most popular songs of the '70s''.

Marimba solo

The song features a prominent

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

solo by co-founding band member Bo Wagner, who in the early 1970s worked as a studio musician in Los Angeles, appeared on ''

The Lawrence Welk Show ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 t ...

'' for three years and toured with

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American vocal group. Their music encompasses sunshine pop, pop soul, and psychedelic soul. They were an important crossover music act of the 1960s and 1970s, although both praised and derided for their particular music ...

Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...

and

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer and actor. He was born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish Americans, Polish origin and enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, ...

. His mallet teacher was

Emil Richards Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist. Biography Musician Richards began playing the xylophone aged six. In High School, he performed with the ...

. Wagner claimed the performance that ended up on the record was his first attempt, really just a rehearsal. But everyone seems to have realized they wouldn’t get it any better. Wagner went on to set up a performing arts school and taught music and dance. He then shifted careers into health care for the entertainment industry, where he established himself over the course of thirty years as “Dr Bo”. Wagner was one of the first players to use an amplified marimba, making it more feasible to balance its sound against guitars and electronic keyboards. At a 2013 revival performance in

Chastain Park Chastain Memorial Park (originally known as the North Fulton Park, commonly known as Chastain Park) is the second largest city park in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a park near the northern edge of the city. Included in the park are jogging paths, ...

, Atlanta he used an electronic instrument (a MalletKAT Pro). Wagner died on June 20, 2017, in Santa Monica, California, aged 72.

Television performances

Starbuck performed "Moonlight Feels Right" on '' The Midnight Special'' television program on July 23, 1976 (season 4, episode 37). The show was hosted by The Spinners. They also performed it on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' with

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

on August 28, 1976.

Chart performance

"Moonlight Feels Right" was a major American hit, peaking at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the weeks of July 31 and August 7, 1976, number two on the ''Cash Box'' chart, and number four on ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

''. It is ranked as the 34th biggest US hit of the year. On the Canadian chart, the song reached number three in early August 1976. It is ranked as the 51st biggest Canadian hit of 1976.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{authority control 1975 songs 1976 debut singles Starbuck (band) songs American soft rock songs Private Stock Records singles