The Story Behind Afternoon Delight 

I was 10 in the 6th grade and I vividly remember hearing this song played on a radio during recess by my elementary school teacher when it first came out. When you're younger and hear a specific song that somehow resonates with you, it becomes part of your life so that anytime you hear it you're suddenly transported to that exact place and time when you first heard it. This is one of those songs.

I don't care what others think, I was in a band & those vocal gymnasts in this song are superb

2024, still love this song ❤, i was a teen as well. This song brings back so many memories, good memories. an innocent time. Every time I hear this song I go right back 2 that time, things i was doing, first crush, everything, wow the memories .... :-)

The 70s were great!!!! Best time to be a kid!!!!

I remember singing along to this in the car with my mom, at probably 15 or 16 years old..... she asked me, "what does this song mean to you"? Being the total innocent I was, I stammered and said, I don't know, that they went on a picnic and stayed for the fireworks show..... I had to ask my older sister why mom would ask me about the song. Once I found out, I never sang along to anything when my mom was around!

Its the tight vocals that really makes the song pop.

Such incredible harmony. Beautiful song and it takes me back to sweeter times. I could listen forever

Wow agree 💯 the summer of 1976 was the best ever as a young teen. Great times and that song does flood my head with great memories.

When I hear that song every sensation from the summer of 1976 floods into my being. That song was America on our bi-centenial. When you heard that song on the radio back then, you looked around, and you released the 60s were over, the hangover was gone and wow, what a time it was to be alive. Most people don't think of the 70s as such a good time, but when you look back, when you hear this song, man, the 70s were some of the best times we've had in this country. I for one miss those days and am grateful for this song because it holds like a time capsule everything magical that was the mid to late 70s.

I was 10 when this song came out. I had no idea of the double entendre until many years later. As a young kid, I just thought it was a really good song and loved to hear it. As a kid, the lyrics made me think of fireworks.

2023 STILL LOVE THIS SONG ❤

"Worst song?????" What's wrong with those people? I've loved it from the first time I heard it in the 70s. It has great harmony, a great feel, and a slightly different chord progression :)

June of 1976, visiting an attractive girl at her sister's in Provo.Utah. One afternoon we all were in a car driving some canyon and "Afternoon Delight" came on the radio. She and her sister.harmonized to the music and my socks melted, I was gone in love with her. She just had to be singing to me. Years later, after college, our marriage, a daughter, and a divorce, I hear that song and I am in that car and still in love with her.

At 18 years old my girlfriend and I were cruising around Meman Shelby Forest north of Memphis, Tennessee in my mustang. We wound up down an old dirt road I knew of and we did what young people in love did. When I started the Mustang up to leave, Afternoon Delight was playing on the radio and we had a great laugh about it. I'm 67 now and still smile when I hear this song. ✌

Afternoon Delight has held a special place in my ... um ... soul since Clark Air Base, Philippines, Club 1986.

My wife and I will be married 45 years this year. This is still our song from when we first went together that wonderful summer of 1976!

In 1976-77 I was six years old. I had a great love of music and a great ear for lyrics (still do). I used to sing "Afternoon Delight" out loud outside, which embarrassed my mother to no end. Of course, I had no idea what the song was about. It was just this cool song about fireworks!

It’s very sad how little they earned from this classic song. I always enjoyed the song and played it side by side with Moonlight Feels Right.

It's been well over 40 years so I'm guessing on the date but, I remember going to a John Denver concert about 1976 and Starland Vocal Band opened for Denver. It was in the Capitol Center in Maryland right outside Washington DC, we lived in Virginia but it was only about a 30 minute drive to get to the Capitol Center that had all the great concerts back then. I say we being me and a girl I was interested in, that never got past platonic. But it was a night I will never forget. We had 2nd row seats, and after a nice dinner at a restaurant I can't remember, I can still remember a few of the visions in my head. The singer for Starland was full of energy and personality and just plain sassy performance. And then of course John Denver who's music I loved, what a night to this day is one of my favorite concerts I've been to. Being that close to the live performers, I think everyone should do that at least once in their lives. There really is no comparison to the average seat.

When I hear this song, I have a flashback to 1976, sitting in a Minuteman restaurant in Arkadelphia, Arkansas while we visited my brothers who were in college there. There was a pool table and a foosball table. And SVB was playing on the jukebox!

Shortly before it hit I turned 17 in March, and like the song life was delightful and light and breezy. Then, I had a horrible car accident on July 3rd, the fay before the Bicentennial , having had my license for just 4 months. It wen to number 1 while I was still hospitalized. When I hear it now, it reminds me deeply of that brief care-free time before reality struck. Its a good memory, and a good song.

I am completely grateful to those four for giving us such an amazing gift, which only keeps giving.

No way! This song is a masterpiece!!! The music, the voices !! I was 4 when this came out, I loved it right away.❤

One of the most beautiful songs of the 70's. I remember it very well and it is still one of my favorites today.

Thank you for all the research. What hit me the most is how Mr. Denver's publishing company, if what you say is true, took all the rights to the song after Danoff and Nivert, arguably, STARTED, John's megastardom with Country Roads.

I’m an old guy still teaching maths to 14 and 15 year olds. As the kids drift into the class, I greet them with hits from my youth. They don’t like all my choices but they did love “Afternoon Delight” when I played it recently. I must have an enduring quality for them - and it makes the maths more palatable, too.😅

The song Afternoon Delight is a masterpiece! The guitars and vocal harmonies are perfect!

From Somerset, England, thank you so much for posting this back-story to one of my favourite songs. Now aged 70, to hear it shoots me right back to my twenties. It's just gorgeous.

It was always a good song and still is,and those where much better days in so many ways.

Thanks for this. I am an Australian who lived in the USA from 1977 to 1980. This was an important song in my education

Afternoon Delight was a fantastic song. One of the most memorable from the 1970s. I didn't know they beat Boston. Wow

They should be getting royalties every time the song is played. Original or cover. It’s called, in Australia “Performing Rights”.

I played this song on repeat more times than I can say. Once was never enough. It’s a happy song. You can’t listen to it and be sad.

To me, it was the song everyone on my US Navy ship listened to during the Bicentennial Weekend. Brings back cheerful memories to this day!

"Goodwill hunting" also featured this masterpiece. The film introduced it to a whole new generation of listeners. I reckon even to this day, younger people are discovering this song because of Matt Damon.

Omg this song absolutely defined the 70’s as you said. Every time I hear it, the happy memories of my family’s 1976 summer vacation come flooding back . It’s on all of my playlists and I just love the song!

WOW, always loved the song - and still today

I remember the year, 1976. Silly Love Songs, You're Going to Miss My Lovin', and Turn the Beat Around. It was a fun summer. One of my favorites as a 7 going on 8 years old

The song connected because people want a groove or mood or vibe . This song provided just that

I fell in love with "Afternoon Delight" when it came out. Since I was only 11 I didn't get the double entendre, but I loved the harmonies and sound of the acoustic guitars playing. A classic sound of a lot of my favorite music from the 70's. I still love the song today for the guitars and harmonies... but now I can also smile at the alternative meaning. ;-)

Wow, interesting story! I’ve always liked this song. Remember laying out in the sun by my sister’s little molded pool, while the radio played out the window.

I was 13 when this song came out and I caught the dual meaning. I still sing that song to my husband…..it tickles him so much! I love this song.

Always been one of my all time favorite songs

Saw them in concert many years ago. Fantastic!

I am 64. I was in high school when this song came out. Loved it then, love it now. It's a timeless classic! Thank you for making this video, and rekindling fond memories that were merely smoldering, and nearly forgotten. Cheers!

THAT SONG WAS MY FAV WHEN I WAS 6/YEARS OLD AND AT 52YEARS OLD I GOGGLES IT TO HEAR THE SONG AGAIN.

I've loved this song since I was a child.. It's just one of those breezy, feel-good songs that takes you to a happy-place.😊

Thanks for the history of the song and the band. It’s a shame they didn’t get continued royalties. What a ripoff! That song always puts a smile on my face. The harmonies, the slide guitar, it’s just a great feel good song! ❤

It's a beautiful, and unique song; this is why people still recognize it. It's unfortunate that they reached their peak, never to really chart again. . Thanks for the informative video.

I remember the song very well. It takes me back to when it was playing on the radio several times daily. I went off to the Marine corps back then. Wish I could return to 1976. There was much more patriotism back then. Less corruption in the news and the world was a safer place it seemed. Great memories from long ago. Thanks great video.......

The slide guitar solo is as if golden sunshine on a wheat field... I love to see the camaraderie between the musicians as they pause between notes.

Thank you for putting this tribute together! Afternoon Delight remains in my memories.

Most recently…In the late 90s, circa 1998, Bill Danhoff had a restaurant called the Starland Cafe on MacArthur Blvd. in the Palisades neighborhood of Washington where Bill was then living. The Cafe lasted a few years and then went dark.

Love this song an always will.

Was a teen growing up in the DC area early 70's ...fond memories..Clyde's of Georgetown was where I first saw Emmylou Harris perform..1971

I loved this song! I was a kid but I do remember it well. I loved it so much that I got the 45 and played it all the time.

thanks for doing a bit of story on us

I was about 16 years old. My Dad was a big boss at the matches trace Parkway. This song reminds me of my teen years and my Dad.

A UK radio station (Capital radio in London if my memory does not fail me) in the late 70s early 80s used the last “afternoon delight” sound as the punch line for one of their afternoon programs… one of my favourite songs of all time…

Such a fun memory from the 1970s. Love to be able to listen again now & again on youTube

Interesting! I learned a lot! I still h as ve a “Clyde’s” shirt and a can of “Clyde’s Chilli”. I had a “Going Away” party there when I left Maryland to attend grad school. I had no idea that’s where the song originated!

I remember Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert as FAT CITY at the "Cellar Door" in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Their voices will always be in my memories with their harmonies on Take Me Home, Country Roads. I was in the Navy, stationed at the Pentagon when John Denver and Fat City made history.

John Denver man... what a class act! You don't find many people like that in music any more.

I still believe this is one of the greatest songs of all time thank you for sharing I still owe it on 45 & DVD

Wow. When this group broke, I was 12. Eventually. I worked at a music store that dealt with used records, and I NEVER saw their other albums. This was news to me. Thanks.

Thank you for a great rundown of what happened to these folks. It is super song with all the fizz and pizzazz we like from that innocent era. Phil Ramone's involvement was unexpected, yet explains a lot. Consider yourself subscribed.

What a fun song! I remember it well from high school ! Great back story, thanks.

Excellent song : Excellent video - thanks. As soon as I heard John Caroll I thought of Mary . I've seen her several times with John at the piano. A live version of I feel lucky ( live at Wolftrap) is well worth checking out where all the musicians are having a blast.

Quite simply my favourite #1 song of all time.

The first time I herd the song was on short Wave radio station Voice of Germany "West" in 1976 and I feel in Love with the song. Today I still get goose bumps when ever I here the song!😀

Loved that song! It doesn't matter where they were on the charts or how much stardom they received. Just a great melody and wonderful vocally arranged tune! Thank you SVB for the song that will forever stay in our minds and hearts!

I was thirteen years old when Afternoon Delight was released. I loved the song back then, and forty-seven years later I still do, plus I really like the music video which shows the genuine love and chemistry of the two couples, and the band as a whole. Their voices individually, and in unison with one another, are pleasing to my ears, and the lyrics resonated with me as a young teen who longed to have some afternoon delight with female classmates that I found attractive.

Sorry to hear they got such a raw seal on their hit single.

The kind of person who calls this a terrible song isn't an actual music lover. I can enjoy this superb song, and Abba, and Metallica, and AC/DC and Snoop Dog, and Bach, and Dolly Parton. The list goes on. Because I love music rather than using certain types of music to shore up a weak ego.

I love that song ! It's so sad that they couldn't have more hits and success. Aarre Peltomaa

Loved the song when it debuted. Still have great memories every time I hear it.

This song always takes me back to 4th grade summer school on the bus. It seemed the song played at the same time every day while going home each afternoon on the school bus.

Love this song. Always will.

The Voice of Peace, a radio station broadcasting from a ship in the mediteranion in the 70's and the 80's, had a music show named after this song.

as a testimony to the song, i haven't heard it for years, maybe decades, but when you said the title "afternoon delight", i immediately remembered the song. that is the ultimate goal of any songwriter, to write unique, memorable music. it's all about the music and the sound.

One of the all time great songs. Impeccable vocals, I still love watching the video as it looks like they were having so much fun.

Having heard “Take Me Home…” all through my childhood, and seeing them perform on TV, I think Taffy might have been my first ever boyhood crush. And I didn’t even know her name until a few years ago! And then I saw Starland, and Margot quickly became my second! I was 8 when Afternoon Delight came out. Edit: then I saw the movie Logan’s Run and it was all Jenny Agutter from there! Must have been the accent.

Thank you for the research and information. It added to my understanding. I have loved Afternoon Delight since I was 10. Amazing harmonies and vocals. Just a truly great song!

Thanks for this. Interesting and nostalgic. Always loved that song. Pretty sure Capital Radio in London had a show with the song as a jingle, probably late seventies. Im sure also I heard it at the end of good Will hunting during the credits as the car drives along the freeway. Seen that film many times but only heard the song once.

Great song- i was there when it was released. Great fun!

Damn I'm old.

Thanks for this history of the band and the song Afternoon Delight. It is not the worst song as the dum critics say. It is still a timeless masterpiece. The guitars, steel petal guitar and vocal harmonies are perfect. I am still in love with Margaret Chapman, she is a beauty!

Takes me back to when I was at school, sitting exams, and I loved it then, and I love it still. Nice one guys. Xxxxx

Brilliant takes me back to those happy times of the 70s and my youth, one of my all time top ten, probably No. 1. Oh for those times and songs and music again 😢

Great wonderful music that puts a smile , All four of them had unbelievable vocals. You all deserve a piece of the pie. I'm a fan of the band

"I Guess He'd Rather Be in Colorado" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads" are my two favorite songs ever, absolutely ever.

This song reminds me of drivers training. As it was always on the radio at the time. I’m into rock, but I always liked this song.

I didn't want people to know this but,I really have a soft spot for this song,O.K,I admit it,I really love the song AFTERNOON DELIGHT.I can't help it,everything I hear it,I gotta turn it up,I mean,TURN IT UP!!!

The song was also in Good Will Hunting, when Will is pretending to be hypnotized and recites the lyrics. Then they play the song at the end when he is driving west to California.

Love this song . Always think of Good Will Hunting when I hear it .

I was a teanager when this song came out. It was great and still it is. Beautiful voices merci beaucoup.

I was only 6 years old when this song came out and didn't have a clue what it was about but I have always liked the song. It reminds me of happier carefree days.

It's a song from my youth and I will always love it and I don't care how much other people bag it, it's from a different time and a different world...😊

I loved this song. I played the til the vinyl grooves wore off. ❤it!!! Takes me back to great memories.

The year of the Bi-Centennial was unique in the generations alive then. It was the peak of the '70s, at least for me, and was also the best 4th of the July celebration I can remember. "Sky rockets in flight", fit so well that year and I think added that extra umph this song needed at just the right moment in time to make it stand out from all of the other great 70s era songs and made it stick in our heads at/of the time. It just happened to be the right song at the right time that was new enough and good enough to propel it. For me, there was much better music and bands out there, but this song ended up being iconic in '76 and worthy. Also, this happened just before the decline of music (in my opinion). The 1980's, the death of disco, and dying live music entertainment on TV, and the decline of unique/new music, meant that songs like this and many others didn't stand a chance. Not that I liked disco that much, or that there wasn't great music that came out in the '80s... Just that since the '70s, music was never the same for many reasons beyond what I cite here. So, in conclusion, this was another 1-hit wonder of the time that makes me feel so glad to have been alive and able to have enjoyed that era of music. Hopefully the pendulum swings around so that we again hear new and iconic music again. We sure need more artists like this, Linda Ronstadt, the Doobie Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Stones, The Beatles, and and and and.