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"Dancing in the Moonlight" is a song by French-American rock group King Harvest. The song was written by Sherman Kelly, produced by Jack Robinson, originally recorded in 1970 by Kelly's band Boffalongo, and then released as a single by King Harvest in 1972, reaching number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2000, a cover by English band Toploader became a worldwide hit and achieved multi-Platinum status in the United Kingdom.

History
The song was written in 1969 by Sherman Kelly. While recovering from a vicious attack by a gang he “envisioned an alternate reality, the dream of a peaceful and joyful celebration of life”. He recorded it with his band Boffalongo, singing lead.

The song was also recorded by High Broom and released in 1970 on Island Records (catalog no. WIP 6088; vinyl 7"). It failed to reach the UK Singles Chart.

Sherman Kelly's brother Wells Kelly introduced the song to the Paris-based band King Harvest in which he was drummer and former Boffalongo member Dave "Doc" Robinson was lead vocalist, bassist and keyboardist. King Harvest recorded and released "Dancing in the Moonlight" as a single with "Lady, Come On Home" on the B-side. Steve Cutler, a jazz drummer from New York City (standing on the base of the pole in the cover picture), played drums on the tracks and toured France and the UK with the band. The group disbanded after six months and the single languished for a year until it was bought and released worldwide by Perception Records.

In Canada, the song made number 5 in the weekly charts and number 71 in the year-end chart for 1973.

Cover versions
In 1973 the singing and dancing act Young Generation released a cover version; despite airplay, it failed to chart. In 1980, King Harvest themselves recorded a cover known as the "Olcott Version", featuring improved background vocals and a Rhodes piano. It was officially released in 2015 on their album Old Fiends. In 1994 the Baha Men released the song as a single, but it also failed to chart. Their version was later used in the film Fat Albert. The song finally charted in the UK in March 2000, after being covered the previous year by Toploader. Goose began covering the song in December 2014. The Yonder Mountain String Band made a cover version on their album “Love Ain’t Love.” Jubel and Neimy released a dance cover in 2020, which has so far reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart.

In popular culture
The song was featured on The Middle season 7 episode "Not Mother's Day" when Mike finally dances with his mother-in-law, under the moonlight at a gas station, to fulfill a promise he made on his wedding day. The song was also used in the final scene of the 2017 film The Hitman's Bodyguard. The song was also featured during the closing credits of the 2019 film Annabelle Comes Home. The Toploader rendition of the song was featured on the soundtrack of the 2002 film A Walk to Remember, in the film Four Lions, as well as on the soundtrack of the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy in the episode "The Day That Wasn't".

The song was also featured in the 2017 video game Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, and serves as the opening song for the second episode.

Toploader version
In 2000, English band Toploader released a cover of "Dancing in the Moonlight". It was originally released in February 2000 as the third single from their debut studio album Onka's Big Moka (1999) and peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. It was then re-released in November of the same year with new production from Stargate and reached number seven on the same chart. The song has been certified 2× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 1,200,000 copies. Worldwide, the song reached the top 20 in Australia, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.

Critical reception
In 2007, the song was placed at number 17 on BBC Three's list of "The 100 Most Annoying Pop Songs...We Hate to Love".

Track listing
UK CD single reissue
 * 1) "Dancing in the Moonlight" – 3:52
 * 2) "Dancing in the Moonlight" (Stargate Radio Mix) – 3:30
 * 3) "Dancing in the Moonlight" (Alliance DC Vocal Remix) – 6:30
 * 4) "Dancing in the Moonlight" (Live) – 4:31

Other versions

 * Liza Minnelli on her 1973 album The Singer
 * Johnny Rivers on his 1975 New Lovers and Old Friends album
 * Joe "Bean" Esposito on his 1996 album Treated and Released
 * Baha Men on 1994's Kalik
 * Masters of the Obvious
 * The Keane Brothers — who created a disco version in 1979
 * Aswad on their 2002 album Cool Summer Reggae
 * Orleans
 * My Morning Jacket
 * Jack Wagner
 * Ted Raimi (in the Xena: Warrior Princess musical episode "Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire")
 * Alyson Stoner for the 2009 Disney movie Space Buddies.
 * Jumping Jacks (named "Jumping in the Moonlight")
 * Japanese singer ohashiTrio on his 2010 album Fake Book
 * Yonder Mountain String Band on their 2017 album Love, Ain't Love.
 * Jubël (feat. NEIMY) - Over 100 million plays on Spotify