Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert began writing songs together while students at Georgetown University and played on the local Washington D.C. folk scene in the late 1960s as a duo called Fat City. They struck up a friendship with John Denver when they supported him in small clubs in the area, and gave him a song they had originally written with Johnny Cash in mind. With a few finishing touches, Denver took Take Me Home, Country Roads to number two in the US charts and established it as a classic country ballad of the era that went on to become the official state anthem of West Virginia. Danoff and Nivert continued to write for Denver, perform together and marry, before recruiting John Carroll and Margot Chapman to form Starland Vocal Band in 1976. They found instant success with their first single Afternoon Delight, a risqué song which was soft in tempo and delivery but, full of innuendo, went on to top the US charts and win a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement For Voices. Their self-titled debut album made the top 20 and also produced singles California Day and Hail! Hail! Rock And Roll! However, follow-up records Rear View Mirror and Late Nite Radio failed to have the same impact and they disbanded in 1981.
