Dancing in the Moonlight - wikipedia Dancing in the Moonlight This article 's lead section does not adequately summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. Please discuss this issue on the article 's talk page. ( August 2017 ) For other uses, see Dancing in the Moonlight ( disambiguation ). `` Dancing in the Moonlight '' Single by King Harvest from the album Dancing in the Moonlight B - side `` Lady, Come On Home '' Released July 9, 1972 ( 1972 - 07 - 09 ) Recorded 1972 Genre Pop rock Length 2 : 57 Label Perception ( P - 515 ) Songwriter ( s ) Sherman Kelly Producer ( s ) Dave Robinson `` Dancing in the Moonlight '' is a song by the French - American rock group King Harvest that was released as a single in 1972 and reached # 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band released other singles, but they were never able to match the success of `` Dancing in the Moonlight ''. The track was unique for using a Wurlitzer electric piano throughout. Decades after its original release, a cover by Toploader became a Platinum hit ( selling over 600,000 copies ). Contents 1 History 2 Charts 2.1 Weekly charts 2.2 Year - end charts 3 Toploader version 3.1 Critical reception 3.2 Track listing 3.3 Charts and certifications 3.3. 1 Weekly charts 3.3. 2 Year - end charts 3.3. 3 Certifications 4 Other versions 5 Usage in other media 6 References History The song was written in 1968 by Sherman Kelly, whose brother, Wells Kelly -- King Harvest 's drummer in the early 1970s -- introduced the song to the band. It was originally recorded in 1969 by the American band Boffalongo, which included Sherman Kelly ( who sang lead on this original recording of his own composition ) and future King Harvest frontman Doc Robinson. Wells Kelly later became the original drummer for Orleans. Meanwhile, King Harvest recorded and released `` Dancing in the Moonlight '' as a single with `` Lady, Come On Home '' on the B - side while the band was based in Paris. 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 with the band in France and the UK. The group disbanded after six months and the single languished for a year, until it was bought and released worldwide by Perception Records. 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 UK Singles Chart. A cover version was released in the UK in 1973 by the singing and dancing act Young Generation, but despite airplay, it failed to chart. The song finally charted in the UK in March 2000, after being covered in 1999 by Toploader, which used the first part of the first verse instead of the second part of the first verse. In 1994, the song was released as a single by the group Baha Men, but failed to chart. Their version was later used in the Fat Albert movie. The song was played as a wake - up call for Daniel M. Tani, an astronaut on board the STS - 120 : Discovery mission headed for the International Space Station, on the early morning of October 24, 2007. In Canada, the song made # 5 in the weekly charts and # 71 in the year end chart for 1973. Charts Weekly charts Chart ( 1972 - 73 ) Peak position Canada RPM Top Singles 5 US Billboard Hot 100 13 US Cash Box Top 100 10 U.S. Billboard Easy Listening chart 22 Year - end charts Chart ( 1973 ) Rank Canada 71 US Billboard Hot 100 36 Toploader version `` Dancing in the Moonlight '' Single by Toploader from the album Onka 's Big Moka Released February 2000 Format CD single Recorded 1999 Genre Post-Britpop Length 3 : 46 Label S2 Songwriter ( s ) Sherman Kelly Producer ( s ) George Drakoulias Toploader singles chronology `` Let the People Know '' ( 1999 ) `` Dancing in the Moonlight '' ( 2000 ) `` Achilles Heel '' ( 2000 ) `` Let the People Know '' ( 1999 ) `` Dancing in the Moonlight '' ( 2000 ) `` Achilles Heel '' ( 2000 ) In 2000, English alternative rock 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 # 19 on the UK Singles Chart. It was re-released in November of the same year and then reached # 7. The song has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 600,000 copies. 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 Sony 669985 2. LC 6140 ( UK ) : Dancing in the Moonlight ( 3 : 52 ) Dancing in the Moonlight / stargate radio mix ( 3 : 30 ) Dancing in the Moonlight / alliance dc vocal remix ( 6 : 30 ) Dancing in the Moonlight / live ( 4 : 31 ) Charts and certifications Weekly charts Chart ( 2000 -- 01 ) Peak position Australia ( ARIA ) 12 Belgium ( Ultratip Flanders ) Belgium ( Ultratip Wallonia ) 10 Germany ( Official German Charts ) 15 Ireland ( IRMA ) 7 Italy ( FIMI ) 21 Norway ( VG - lista ) 11 Netherlands ( Single Top 100 ) 52 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 24 Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 44 Switzerland ( Schweizer Hitparade ) 53 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 7 Year - end charts Chart ( 2001 ) Position UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 49 Certifications Region Certification Certified units / Sales United Kingdom ( BPI ) Platinum 600,000 sales + streaming figures based on certification alone 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, Ai n't Love '' Usage in other media This section indiscriminately collects miscellaneous information. Please compress this material to remove any irrelevant or unimportant information. ( May 2017 ) In the early 90 's, the original version was used in an ad for Hanes Her Way underwear, featuring a young woman performing gymnastics on a trampoline under the full moon wearing a Hanes Her Way bra & panty set under an open blouse. The original version of `` Dancing in the Moonlight '' was licensed by Wal - Mart for their 2008 television commercial season in the United States. The song was also featured in the 2011 British - American comedy film Paul. The Toploader version was featured in the 2002 coming of age film A Walk To Remember, as well as the 2010 British dark comedy film Four Lions, while the main characters are driving down to London. Toploader 's cover is one of the walk up songs of Major League Baseball outfielder Kevin Pillar. The original version was featured in a 2016 2nd - season episode of Better Call Saul ; the song played in the background during a flashback scene where the lead character Jimmy McGill recalls a poignant moment in his childhood. Also used in the TV series, Scorpion ( TV series ) ( Season 2 / Episode 4 ) in the closing minutes of the episode. The original version was also used in `` The Middle ( TV series ) '' episode `` Not Mother 's Day '' ( season 7, episode 22 ), where Mike was dancing with his mom - in - law Pat at the gas station. Used in the official teaser of ' Marvel 's Guardians of the Galaxy : The Telltale Series ' presented in The Game Awards 2016 as a World Premiere Trailer. Used as end credits roll in the 2017 film The Hitman 's Bodyguard References Jump up ^ `` Dancing in the Moonlight -- King Harvest : Listen, Appearances, Song Review ''. AllMusic. Retrieved May 22, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Sherman Kelly ''. Sherman Kelly. Retrieved May 22, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Wells Kelly ''. Orleansforever.com. Retrieved May 22, 2013. Jump up ^ `` High Broom - Dancing In The Moonlight ( Vinyl ) at Discogs ''. Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 25. Jump up ^ `` Images for High Broom - Dancing In The Moonlight ''. Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 25. Jump up ^ Canada, Library and Archives ( July 17, 2013 ). `` Image : RPM Weekly ''. Jump up ^ Joel Whitburn 's Top Pop Singles 1955 - 1990 - ISBN 0 - 89820 - 089 - X Jump up ^ http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19730217.html CASH BOX Top 100 Singles, February 17, 1973 Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2002 ). Top Adult Contemporary : 1961 - 2001. Record Research. p. 137. Jump up ^ Canada, Library and Archives ( July 17, 2013 ). `` Image : RPM Weekly ''. Jump up ^ Musicoutfitters.com Jump up ^ `` Australian-charts.com -- Toploader -- Dancing in the Moonlight ''. ARIA Top 50 Singles. Jump up ^ `` Ultratop.be -- Toploader -- Dancing in the Moonlight '' ( in Dutch ). Ultratip. Jump up ^ `` Ultratop.be -- Toploader -- Dancing in the Moonlight '' ( in French ). Ultratip. Jump up ^ `` Musicline.de -- Toploader Single - Chartverfolgung '' ( in German ). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Jump up ^ `` Irish Singles Chart - Toploader - Dancing in the Moonlight ''. IRMA. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Italiancharts.com -- Toploader -- Dancing in the Moonlight ''. Top Digital Download. Jump up ^ `` Norwegiancharts.com -- Toploader -- Dancing in the Moonlight ''. VG - lista. Jump up ^ `` Dutchcharts.nl -- Toploader -- Dancing in the Moonlight '' ( in Dutch ). Single Top 100. Jump up ^ `` Charts.org.nz -- Toploader -- Dancing in the Moonlight ''. Top 40 Singles. Jump up ^ `` Swedishcharts.com -- Toploader -- Dancing in the Moonlight ''. Singles Top 100. Jump up ^ `` Swisscharts.com -- Toploader -- Dancing in the Moonlight ''. Swiss Singles Chart. Jump up ^ `` Official Singles Chart Top 100 ''. Official Charts Company. Jump up ^ `` 2001 UK Singles Chart '' ( PDF ). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 26 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` British single certifications -- Toploader -- Dancing in the Moonlight ''. British Phonographic Industry. Enter Dancing in the Moonlight in the search field and then press Enter. Jump up ^ `` Paul ( 2011 ) soundtrack ''. IMDb. Retrieved May 22, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Interview with Kevin Pillar -- Arizona Fall League Standout QEW Connection ''. Aaabisonsblog.wordpress.com. November 2, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2013. Baha Men Albums Junkanoo ! Kalik I Like What I Like Doong Spank 2 Zero 0 - 0 Who Let the Dogs Out Move It Like This Holla ! Ride with Me Singles `` Dancing in the Moonlight '' `` Who Let the Dogs Out ? '' `` You All Dat '' `` The Best Years of Our Lives '' `` Move It Like This '' `` We Rubbin ' '' Related articles My Father the Hero Steve Greenberg Stanley Toploader Joseph Washbourn Dan Hipgrave Matt Knight Rob Green Julian Deane Albums Onka 's Big Moka Magic Hotel Only Human Compilations Dancing in the Moonlight -- The Best of Toploader Singles `` Achilles Heel '' `` Let the People Know '' `` Dancing in the Moonlight '' `` Achilles Heel '' ( re-release ) `` Just Hold On '' `` Dancing in the Moonlight '' ( re-release ) `` Only for a While '' `` Time of My Life '' `` Some Kind of Wonderful '' `` Never Stop Wondering '' `` A Balance to All Things '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dancing_in_the_Moonlight&oldid=804780602 '' Categories : 1968 songs 1972 singles 1994 singles 2000 singles Pop ballads Baha Men songs Liza Minnelli songs Songs about dancing Epic Records singles Hidden categories : Wikipedia introduction cleanup from August 2017 All pages needing cleanup Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from August 2017 All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify Use mdy dates from September 2013 Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for Australia Singlechart usages for Flanders Tip Singlechart usages for Wallonia Tip Singlechart usages for Germany Singlechart usages for Italy Singlechart usages for Norway Singlechart usages for Dutch100 Singlechart usages for New Zealand Singlechart usages for Sweden Singlechart usages for Switzerland Singlechart usages for UK Singlechart called without artist Singlechart called without song Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom Articles with trivia sections from May 2017 All articles with trivia sections Talk Contents About Wikipedia Italiano Edit links This page was last edited on 11 October 2017, at 02 : 56. 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Question: who wrote the original dancing in the moonlight
Answer: French-American rock group King Harvest