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MOONLIGHT STILL FEELS RIGHT

Atlanta, Georgia’s Bruce Blackman, the man behind Starbuck, won’t be slowing down any time soon. With plenty of chart-climbing tracks under his belt — some of which date back nearly 50 years, others released just months ago — he’s still doing what he was always meant to do: making music from the soul.

It all started in the ‘70s when Blackman was in college and met the woman who would inspire the iconic “Moonlight Feels Right.” “I asked her out twice, and she said no,” Blackman explains. “The third time, we were coming back from a pep rally at the stadium. The wind blew slightly, and I walked beside her and asked her out. She said yes.”

Fast-forward five years later, Bruce was sitting on his apartment floor playing some notes on a Minimoog when he laid out the refrain of “Moonlight Feels Right.”  He remembered the gust of the wind on that evening, the moonlight shining above, and recalled the story through the lyrics. Little did he know the song would change his life.

Their record company released it in September 1975, but it got no traction. Bruce and marimba player Bo Wagner decided to take matters into their own hands — they had a dream to chase. “Bo and I bought 500 of our records. He went east, and I went west, and we took them to radio stations,” says Blackman. After hitting the pavement across the country, their hard work paid off. By April 1976, the song was a hit. It would reach #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #2 on Cash Box Top 100. 

Starbuck’s mellow yet infectious “yacht rock” sound caught fire. They soon toured with artists like Electric Light Orchestra, KC and The Sunshine Band, Boston, Hall & Oates, and countless others. This led to television appearances, where they performed on American Bandstand, The Midnight Special, Solid Gold, Don Kershner’s In Concert, Merv Griffin, Dinah Shore, Mike Douglas, and more.

“Moonlight Feels Right” wasn’t the only tune that saw the light for Starbuck, though—throughout the years, they had several other charting tracks, such as “I Got to Know,” “Lucky Man,” “Everybody Be Dancin’,” and “Searching for a Thrill.” Blackman even did a stint under the name Korona, seeing success with a number called “Let Me Be.” 

But it wasn’t just about hits for Blackman — he was chasing a feeling with his music. “We wanted to do what no one else was doing,” he says. “We based our sound around the marimba and Minimoog synthesizer. It wasn’t disco, and it wasn’t Southern rock. Those were the two things going on at the time. Now, they call our music “yacht rock,” but back then, we were just doing our own thing.”

The band reunited for concerts at Chastain Park and Piedmont Park in Atlanta, keeping the spark alive all these years later. Blackman is still making music with no signs of stopping. “That’s what I do every single day,” he says.  “I write, record, or arrange for five hours every day. I would still be doing this if it was for free, you know?”

Bruce released albums in 2014 and 2018, and 5 songs charted in the Adult Contemporary genre: “Jim’s Café,” (#21), “Doing Nothing” (#11), “Walking in the Park” (#12), “Luz de Luna,” (#14), and “Is That Your Yacht,” (#9).

His next album was Starbuck 2022. The 12-track collection keeps the ‘70s spirit of Starbuck alive while homing in on his smooth, laid-back grooves. “You’re the Reason,” reached #1 on the Beach Music Chart and was (nominated for “Best Dance Record of the Year 2023” by the Carolina Beach Music Association).

Six more songs from the album charted top 5 in the Yacht Rock and Beach Music genres – “I Love Doing Nothing,” “Coldest Night of the Year,” “On the Sand,” “Spring Break Shake,” Beach A Go Go,” and “Jones About You.”  His music has seen consistent, growing success globally, garnering airplay in 177 countries.

His latest album is “Moonlight Feels Right—The Collection 1975-2023.” It’s a triple vinyl set, or Boxed CD set and features all six Billboard Top 100 hits from 1975-1980 plus 10 Yacht Rock, Beach Music, and Adult Contemporary hits from 2015-2023, plus rare cuts (35 songs with lyrics). It’s available at all online retailers and from Renaissance Records.

Bruce Blackman is a true representation of passion that persists through the decades — from 1975 to 2023 and beyond. No doubt. Moonlight still feels right.