Starbuck was a rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1974 by keyboardist/vocalist/record producer Bruce Blackman and marimba player Bo Wagner. The band is best known for its No. 3 hit single Moonlight Feels Right in 1976.
Background Both Blackman and Wagner, along with guitarist Johnny Walker, had previous success with Mississippi-based "sunshine pop" group Eternity's Children, scoring a Billboard Hot 100 hit with "Mrs. Bluebird" in the summer of 1968. Wagner worked as a studio musician in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show, and played drums for the extravagant pianist Liberace. His mallet teacher was Emil Richards.'His last interview: the late Bo Wagner'. YouTube 'Starbuck: Moonlight Feels Right (1976)', Atuneaday, 26 April, 2014
Starbuck's debut single, "Moonlight Feels Right", reached the No. 3 position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts in 1976. It features a prominent marimba solo by Wagner. Although the band never re-created the success of their debut, several of their songs did chart in the Billboard Top 100, and their 1977 release "Everybody Be Dancin'" reached No. 38.
From 1976 to 1980, the band toured with popular groups of the era, including Electric Light Orchestra, KC and the Sunshine Band, Hall & Oates, England Dan & John Ford Coley and Boston. TV appearances included The Midnight Special, American Bandstand, The Merv Griffin Show, Dinah!, The Mike Douglas Show, and Solid Gold. The band was briefly known as Korona in the early 1980s, getting one Hot 100 hit in 1980, "Let Me Be," which reached No. 43 in April.
In July 2013, a number of former Starbuck members (founders Blackman and Wagner, guitarist Tommy Strain, keyboardists Sloan Hayes and David Shaver, bassist Jimmy Cobb, and drummer Kenny Crysler) performed"YouTube: Starbuck – Moonlight Feels Right, Live Chastain Park, Atlanta, Georgia. July 2013" at Chastain Park in Atlanta. The group also reunited once more for their final performance on August 20, 2016, with the same lineup as their previous reunion concert in 2013.
Bruce Blackman was inducted into the Mississippi Writer's Garden on April 5, 2014. He detailed the story of Starbuck in his 2018 book, The Road to Moonlight Feels Right – the story behind one of the most popular songs of the '70s. In 2022 he released twelve new songs on the album Starbuck 2022, with a single release called "Jones About You". Blackman continues to write and record songs; these are recorded solo in his Atlanta home, but released under the Starbuck moniker.Warren Kurtz. 'Starbuck’s Bruce Blackman discusses 5 songs from new album', Goldmine, 22 September, 2025
After Starbuck Bo 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, using the name "Dr Bo".dr.bo website Wagner died on June 20, 2017, in Santa Monica, California, aged 72.
Discography Albums Year Album Canada (RPM)US Top 200 1976 Moonlight Feels Right 64 78 1977 Rock'n Roll Rocket — 182 1978 Searching for a Thrill — — 2022 Starbuck 2022 — —
Singles Year SongCACAN ACUS BBUS ACUS CBAUSNZ Album 1976 "Moonlight Feels Right" 3 1 3 2 2 25 21 Moonlight Feels Right "I Got to Know" 36 9 43 11 40 — — "Lucky Man" 44 27 73 42 48 — — 1977 "Everybody Be Dancin'" 57 30 38 41 48 — — Rock & Roll Rocket 1978 "Searching for a Thrill" 46 — 58 — 45 — — Searching for a Thrill 1983 "The Full Cleveland" — — — — — — — non-album single2023"I Love Doing Nothing"———————non-album single2024"Spring Break Shake"———————non-album single2024"Jones About You"———————non-album single
References
External links Moonlight Feels Right (Bruce Blackman's official Starbuck site)