What year did dancing in the moonlight come out

The writer of this “Dancing in the Moonlight”, Sherman Kelly, apparently did so while he was in the Caribbean. In parts of the world such as that, where there’s less air pollution, the moon can appear to be especially bright. So perhaps that is why he was compelled to use that celestial body as the symbol around which the thesis sentiment revolves.

And what said sentiment, where “everybody’s dancing in the moonlight”, is supposed to allude is, as inferred, a universal feeling of peace and chillin’. And keep in mind that the moon is an object which more or less appears on a daily basis. So the further inference is that the lot of us being inspired to ‘dance’ therein would also be a regular, nightly occurrence.

What must also be pointed out is that initial inspiration for this song came from Kelly being the victim of a crime in St. Croix that was so serious it has its own Wikipedia page. And what nearly losing his life brought out of Sherman was the vision of, as he put it, “an alternate reality” where everyone gets along and joyfully relishes life. 

Such a noble reaction perhaps encapsulates the spirit of this tune more so than the actual wording. And maybe it can be postulated that such is how he envisioned the Caribbean beforehand, as it is often portrayed in movies, as a place where everyone’s in perpetual party mode.

Facts about “Dancing in the Moonlight”

The composition of this song dates back to 1969, as written by Sherman Kelly. It was his brother Wells Kelly (1949-1984) who brought the tune to King Harvest, a rock band based in Paris, who dropped their own rendition in 1972. The said release marked the first notable release of “Dancing in the Moonlight” (though another act called Boffalongo were the first to come out with this song, in 1969). 

Toploader, a rock band from the UK, got around to dropping their cover on 11 November 1999. And they did so as part of their first studio album, “Onka’s Big Moka”, a product of S2 Records.                             

Toploader’s version of this song was produced by George Drakoulias. And it proved to be a pretty substantial international hit, charting in nearly 15 countries overall. But where it did best was in their homeland of the United Kingdom, as “Dancing in the Moonlight” reached number 7 on the UK Single Chart, on top of being certified triple-platinum (as of 2021) by the BPI.

The success of this song in the UK has been attributed to it being featured on a commercial for a brand of British steaks known as Sainsbury’s.

As of this writing and since 2016, the core membership of Toploader consists of vocalist Joseph Washbourn, drummer Rob Green and guitarist Dan Hipgrave. All three of them, being co-founders of the band, participated on “Onka’s Big Moka”. And at the time, they were joined by guitarist Julian Deane and bassist Matt Knight, who have since left the group.