March 1985: Al Jarreau Releases MOONLIGHTING
It was on a Sunday night, March 3, 1985, when a new kind of TV show debuted on ABC. Moonlighting, starring the volatile team of Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis, was a wild mashup of comedy, action, drama, and the constant threat of romance, due to the combustible sexual tension between the show's stars. Moonlighting also arrived with one corker of a theme song, courtesy of vocal legend Al Jarreau.
The quiet storm of a tune showcased Jarreau's honey-smooth voice, over a gently driving disco-fusion groove that today is known as essential Yacht Rock. As the show became a ratings smash over the next couple of seasons, Jarreau saw the writing on the wall. Teaming up with hit-making producer Nile Rodgers, the theme was transformed into a full-blown song. Released as a single in 1987 as part of the show's soundtrack, "Moonlighting (Theme)" took a leisurely cruise up the Billboard charts, parking at #23 on the Hot 100 for the week of July 18, 1987. The #1 song in America that week: Heart, with "Alone." The tune sped all the way to the top of the Adult Contemporary chart seven days later, hitting #1 for the week of July 25, 1987.
FUN FACT: The late Jarreau was a huge baseball fan, and had major league dreams as a kid. A Milwaukee native, he admired the home run king, Henry Aaron, who played for the Milwaukee Braves when the singer was a kid. Jarreau wrote his baseball fandom into the song with the lyric, "I'm just a stranger/Love the blues and the Braves."
