Moonlight Feels Right

"Moonlight Feels Right" is the debut single recorded by the American band Starbuck. Written and produced by Bruce Blackman, the song was released in the first week of April 1976. The song features a prominent marimba solo by co-founding band member Bo Wagner.

"Moonlight Feels Right"
Single by Starbuck
from the album Moonlight Feels Right
B-side"Lash LaRue"
ReleasedDecember 31, 1975[1]
Recorded1975
GenreSoft rock[2]
Length3:38
LabelPrivate Stock
Songwriter(s)Bruce Blackman
Producer(s)Bruce Blackman
Starbuck singles chronology
"Moonlight Feels Right"
(1975)		 "I Got to Know"
(1976)
Music video
"Moonlight Feels Right" (The Midnight Special, 1976) on YouTube

"Moonlight Feels Right" was a major American hit, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100, number two on the Cash Box chart,[3] and number one on Record World. It is ranked as the 34th biggest US hit of the year. On the Canadian chart, the song peaked at number three in early August 1976. It is ranked as the 51st biggest Canadian hit of 1976.

On the American Top 40 radio program of August 14, 1976, Casey Kasem reported the group's difficulties in promoting their single. Over the winter they had hand-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,[4] 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 to do so, because "Moonlight Feels Right" became a hit immediately following its first airing. The song debuted on the U.S. charts the week ending April 17, 1976, with a chart run of over five months.[5]

Television performance

Starbuck performed "Moonlight Feels Right" and their follow-up hit, "I Got to Know" on The Midnight Special television program on July 23, 1976 (season 4, episode 37). The show was hosted by The Spinners.[6]

Use in media

The song was featured in the Farrelly Brothers 2003 comedy film Stuck On You, starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear.

The song was featured in a television commercial for The Maryland State Lottery's Old Bay Scratch-Off tickets in the summer of 2018.

Chart performance

References
  2. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Moonlight Feels Right - Starbuck | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  3. "Cash Box Top Singles - 1976". tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  5. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  6. http://www.tv.com/shows/the-midnight-special/season-4/
  7. Steffen Hung. "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  8. "Top Singles - Volume 25, No. 19, August 07 1976". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  9. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1976-07-10. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  10. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1976-09-13. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  11. "Adult Contemporary Music Chart". Billboard.com. 1976-06-19. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  12. "Cash Box Top Singles - 1976". tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  13. "Top Singles - Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  14. "Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976". musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  15. Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1976
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