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You know the song Dancing In The Moonlight? The one that was originally written by Sherman Kelly and later covered by Toploader?
That song is not what it seems. If you think it’s the perfect nonsense song that’s ideal for family parties and work functions, you may want to read on to find out the real history of the song.
You’ll never hear it the same way again…
The story behind Dancing In The Moonlight
Speaking to the music journalist Mike Morsch, Sherman Kelly revealed that the song was written after he and his girlfriend had been attacked and left for dead by the notorious Fountain Gang in St. Croix.
Once they had finally crawled their way to hospital and received treatment, Sherman recalled overhearing doctors talking: “I woke up to the sound of my hospital roommate screaming in pain. Finally the screaming stopped and I heard two doctors talking about him. ‘That’s it, he’s gone,’ said one doctor about the other patient.
″‘What about him, you think he’s gonna make it?’ And the other doctor said, ‘No, I doubt it.’ I realised they were talking about me.”
Of course, Sherman did make it and quite literally lived to tell the tale.
Once he was home, he started writing the verses that would soon become Dancing In The Moonlight.
“I envisioned an alternate reality, the dream of a peaceful and joyous celebration of life. It was just me imagining a better world than the one I had just experienced in St. Croix.
“It was amazing. People liked the song right from the start. I liked it, but I wouldn’t have predicted that it would become a big hit.”
And that it did.
Since being written in 1969, the song has been covered 16 times and is a firm favourite among pop music fans.
As Morsch said: “An unspeakably traumatic experience that almost cost him his life had turned into a beautiful song.”
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