"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 radio program of August 14, 1976, Casey Kasem reported the group's difficulties in promoting their single. Over the previous 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.
Moonlight Feels Right debuted at number 90 on the U.S. charts the week of April 17, 1976,Billboard Hot 100, Week of April 17, 1976 – Billboard.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023. with a chart run of over five months.Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - 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.
The song features a prominent marimba solo by co-founding band member Bo Wagner, whose mallet teacher was Emil Richards.'His last interview: the late Bo Wagner'. YouTube'Starbuck: Moonlight Feels Right (1976)', Atuneaday, 26 April, 2014
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 with Dick Clark 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,Billboard Hot 100, Week of August 7, 1976 – Billboard.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023. number two on the Cash Box chart, and number four on Record World. 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 Chart (1976)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report) 25 Canadian RPM Top Singles3 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary1New Zealand (RIANZ)21US Billboard Hot 1003US Billboard Easy Listening2US Cash Box Top 1002 US Record World 4
Year-end charts Chart (1976) RankCanada51US Billboard Hot 10034US Billboard Easy Listening Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 197612
References
External links Lyrics of this song