Sunday, December 29, 2013

Starland Vocal Band: Afternoon Delight



My mom was not even eleven years old when Starland Vocal band released its signature song. It instantly became her favorite song. Its lyrics were questionable for a not-yet-eleven-year-old to sing, but my mother was never one to let arguably sexual lyrics get in the way of her enjoyment of a song.

My brother and I grew up hearing the LP  on which the song was recorded playinh on vinyl. I think it was the first song we could actually sing in 4-part harmony. Matthew couldn't sing a harmony part until he was something like fourteen years old. He always had to sing the melody, and couldn't even sing that independently against harmony parts or a non-melody accompaniment until he was maybe thirteen-and-a-half. He'd heard this song  many, many times. When the ability to hold a part finally came to him, we must have been traveling in the car. We would have been singing along with a home-burned CD. My mom realized Matthew wasn't singing the melody and he was actually on key. When we got home, my dad got out his guitar, and we sang the song with just our voices and guitar accompaniment. It was the first and last time my family ever sang that song. If you listen to the lyrics, it's quite a sick song to be singing with your immediate family. In retrospect, I'm a little surprised that CPS only showed up on our doorstep the one time.

My mother is a difficult person to buy gifts for, as she has most stuff that she needs, but I came accross a CD version of "Starland Vocal Band" by Starland Vocal Band. my mother loved it.  It's as if she discovered it all over again. It's been playing continuously in our house. My door has been closed. I can only take so much.

My mom supposedly had a major thing going for the young guy in the group. I'm glad her taste in men changed;  I otherwise might have been even homelier than I am.




5 comments:

  1. I love that song! Yes, it's about nooners, but the harmonies really are beautiful. Sounds like they're playing it in a higher key in that video. I like it lower… and lusty!

    I think I like your mom, Alexis.

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  2. The song does have really great harmonies. On the album, they do Paul Simon's "American Tune" in 4-part harmony a capella. It's reminiscent of the Bach chorale [English words: O Sacred Head, Now Wounded] from which much of the melody and the chord structure are lifted] and it's very nice. The key of "Afternoon Delight" is the same as on my mom's CD and LP, but I really don't know if that's the version that received air time.

    My mom and my dad are both pieces of work. I hate to think of the short duration of marriage either she or my dad would have had with anyone else. They're both too bizarre to be married to anyone normal.

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  3. It sounds like it's about a half step higher in this version than the one on my computer. But it could be because of the quality of the recording.



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