Moonlight Feels Right – Starbuck | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#3); 1976
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
In the world of pop music, each summer brings records that capture seasonal vibes. In 1976 that honor went to Moonlight Feels Right by Starbuck. Starbuck’s singer and keyboardist, Bruce Blackman, got his professional feet wet in 1965 when he formed The Phantoms while attending Delta College in Mississippi.
The band soon changed its name to Eternity’s Children and – in August, 1968 – reached #69 on the Hot 100 with Mrs. Bluebird. In 1972, Blackman resurfaced in Mississippi along with another ex-Children member, drummer Bo Wagner, who’d joined Blackman’s former band after he’d left the lineup.
Fortune eluded Blackman again when Mississippi’s debut-to-be album was not released. 1974 found Blackman and Wagner together again in Starbuck. The band released Moonlight Feels Right in September of 1975 to thundering silence.
Six months later Birmingham, Alabama disc jockey Mike St. John started spinning Starbuck’s sunshine pop single. It reached #3 on July 31st: smack dab in the middle of summer.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Bruce Blackman
Lyrics Written by:
- Bruce Blackman
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).