Moonlight Feels Right - Starbuck (1976) 5/18/21

There are two old proverbs that apply to today's "Great Song of 1976."

#1: It's always darkest before dawn. #2: Persistence pays off. (Note: The story below was originally told by Casey Kasem on American Top 40. Only the words have been changed to protect the copyright. LOL) The group Starbuck (from Atlanta, Georgia) was absolutely certain they had a hit on their hands, but because they were complete unknowns and not signed by any major label, they had to self-produce "Moonlight Feels Right" and then had to figure out a way to distribute it to radio stations.

They did it the old fashioned way, by spending the winter of '75-'76 driving around the Southern US, HAND-DELIVERING the single to over 400 stations!

Most of the stations said they'd play it...but didn't.

WERC in Birmingham, Alabama, was different. The music director told them "Moonlight Feels Right" sounded like a "SPRING" song...and they would play it once the weather got warmer.

0-for-400, and completely disheartened, Starbuck returned to Atlanta to figure what to do next.

But then, Spring arrived, and true to their word, WERC began to play the song! It was an instant hit in Birmingham, and then it spread like wildfire throughout the South...and then the rest of the country, and beyond.

In the end, the song became a HUGE hit in the US and Canada.

Up north, the song hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary Chart and #3 on the Top 40. In the US, the matching numbers were #2 and #3.

One of the most distinctive parts of the song is the excellent marimba solo by group member Bo Wagner, but overall, WERC was right: "Moonlight Feels Right" was a "SPRING" song---the kind of tune that would make you roll down your car windows on a sunny day, and enjoy the ride.

It just "feels right" to call "Moonlight Feels Right" a "Great Song of the '70s!"