"Afternoon Delight" is a hit song recorded by Starland Vocal Band, known for its close harmony and sexually suggestive wordplay. It was written by Bill Danoff, one of the members of the band. "Afternoon Delight" charted well in New Zealand, peaking at number five. In Australia it was a number-six hit. In the UK, it reached number 18 and was used as theme to a weekly show of the same title on London's Capital Radio, hosted by Duncan Johnson, and from 1980 on an afternoon show using the same title, broadcast every weekday at Mercia Sound in Coventry, presented by Stuart Linnell. It became a US number-one single on July 10, 1976 and earned a gold record. "Afternoon Delight" also reached number one in Canada.
Background and writing
The title came from the happy hour menu at Clyde'srestaurant in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., where Bill Danoff was eating with fellow bandmember Margot Chapman, while his then-wife Taffy Danoff was undergoing surgery for cervical cancer. Danoff enjoyed writing the song and downplayed the somewhat controversial 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 went Top 10 on Billboard Hot Country Singles. In 1983, the Circle Jerks also covered it as one of the six covers on "Golden Shower of Hits ", which appears on their album Golden Shower of Hits. British experimental folk music band Current 93 used an industrial-style cover as an introduction to performances of their 2009 album. Claude François sang it in French as "Dimanche après-midi". The popular TV showGlee also covered it in their episode "Sexy", with Dianna Agron, Jayma Mays, Mark Salling, Lea Michele, and John Stamos singing.
Since the original song's release, many works have alluded to or even featured "Afternoon Delight" or its suggestive lyrics. Among them have been Cocktail, Glee, Get a Life, Good Will Hunting, PCU, Boogie Nights, Lost, The Rules of Attraction, The Spirit of '76, Starsky & Hutch, ER, Arrested Development, The Simpsons, Rules of Engagement, Sports Night, Complete Savages, Ugly Betty, Family Guy, Malcolm in the Middle, South Park, Murphy Brown, Entourage, Warehouse 13, Teenage Caveman and '. On the December 7, 2013, episode of Saturday Night Live, as part of the opening monologue, comedian and host Paul Rudd performed a portion of the song a cappella with boy bandmusical guestOne Direction, Will Ferrell, David Koechner, and Steve Carell—in a fashion similar to the song in Anchorman—to promote '. It appeared in a 2014TV commercial for Taco Bell. On July 4, 1976 it was featured as the theme song for CBS's all day Bicentennial coverage hosted by Dan Rather.
