Biography
Starland Vocal Band seized control of U.S. radio during the summer marking America’s bicentennial in 1976, propelled by the soft-rock staple “Afternoon Delight.” The ensemble traced its origins to the folk circuit around Washington, D.C., in the closing years of the 1960s, when future spouses Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert first performed as the acoustic duo Fat City. The pair composed “I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado,” later cut by John Denver and Mary Travers, and also joined Denver in writing the hit “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Fat City released its first album, Reincarnation, in 1969; after issuing Welcome to Fat City two years later, the duo shortened its name to Bill & Taffy and frequently supported Denver on the road.
During sessions for Bill & Taffy’s 1974 follow-up Aces, the couple recruited 18-year-old pianist and vocalist Jon Carroll; so struck were they by his playing that they decided to expand into a quartet, bringing aboard singer Margot Chapman and adopting the name Starland Vocal Band. The new act secured a contract with Denver’s Windsong imprint and delivered its self-titled debut in 1976; the opening track “Afternoon Delight” ascended to number one, generating five Grammy nominations for the group, two of which they claimed, among them Best New Artist. The single’s massive reach even secured the quartet its own short-lived CBS variety program, The Starland Vocal Band Show, which introduced audiences to an unknown David Letterman.
Their 1977 sophomore effort, Rear View Mirror, could not duplicate that earlier momentum, and the 1978 release Late Nite Radio likewise underperformed; one modest hit, “Loving You with My Eyes,” appeared before the foursome dissolved after completing its fourth and last album, 4 x 4, in 1980. Bill and Taffy Danoff ended their marriage following the band’s breakup, while Jon Carroll and Margot Chapman—who had wed during the group’s commercial peak—also parted ways. Each member eventually pursued an individual career, yet none again approached the commercial heights attained by “Afternoon Delight.”
During sessions for Bill & Taffy’s 1974 follow-up Aces, the couple recruited 18-year-old pianist and vocalist Jon Carroll; so struck were they by his playing that they decided to expand into a quartet, bringing aboard singer Margot Chapman and adopting the name Starland Vocal Band. The new act secured a contract with Denver’s Windsong imprint and delivered its self-titled debut in 1976; the opening track “Afternoon Delight” ascended to number one, generating five Grammy nominations for the group, two of which they claimed, among them Best New Artist. The single’s massive reach even secured the quartet its own short-lived CBS variety program, The Starland Vocal Band Show, which introduced audiences to an unknown David Letterman.
Their 1977 sophomore effort, Rear View Mirror, could not duplicate that earlier momentum, and the 1978 release Late Nite Radio likewise underperformed; one modest hit, “Loving You with My Eyes,” appeared before the foursome dissolved after completing its fourth and last album, 4 x 4, in 1980. Bill and Taffy Danoff ended their marriage following the band’s breakup, while Jon Carroll and Margot Chapman—who had wed during the group’s commercial peak—also parted ways. Each member eventually pursued an individual career, yet none again approached the commercial heights attained by “Afternoon Delight.”