Moonlighting by Al Jarreau

Album: Moonlighting (1987)

Charted: 8 23

License This Song

Songfacts®:

This song, about night owls who unexpectedly find love in serendipitous fashion, turned out to be one of Jarreau's biggest hits. It's the theme song to the comedy/mystery series Moonlighting, the show that made Bruce Willis a household name and gave Cybill Shepherd a career resurgence. Inside the entertainment industry, the show is remembered for the bitter on-set feuding between Willis and Shepherd, both of whom vowed to never work with each other again after the show ended. The series ran from 1985-1989. >>
Suggestion credit:
Mike - Santa Barbara, CA
Jarreau wrote the lyric, and the music was written by Lee Holdridge, a composer who scored a number of TV series and movies, including Mr. Mom and Splash. Holdridge had already written the music when he asked Jarreau to write the lyric and sing it.
The version used on the show runs 57 seconds, which was typical of hour-long shows at the time. It wasn't made into a full song until 1987, when Moonlighting had been on the air for two seasons and was a huge hit. Running three minutes, it was produced by Nile Rodgers with the "Some walk by night" section used as the chorus - the only mention of "Moonlighting" is in the last verse.

An extended version, running 4:17, was also released.
When this was released as a single in 1987, it also appeared on a soundtrack album from the show, which included Cybill Shepherd's version of "Blue Moon" and Bruce Willis' rendition of "Good Lovin'." The album was reissued in 2009, with the sax solo in the song "Moonlighting" replaced with a harmonica.
When he recorded this, Jarreau was a well-known R&B singer whose biggest pop hit was "We're In This Love Together," which made #15 on the Hot 100 in 1981. With "Moonlighting," he reached a much wider audience thanks to exposure on the show; the song went to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Jarreau wasn't able to follow it up though. He placed more songs on the R&B chart, but never had another Hot 100 entry.
Did you spot the baseball reference in the lyrics? Jarreau sings:

I'm just a stranger
Love the blues and the Braves

He was a huge fan of the Milwaukee Braves and their slugger, Hank Aaron. The team later moved to Atlanta.

Comments: 2

The Designated Driver (atg) from Cle Nyc CleIt's a shame but not surprising of how the usual excess attention is given to the worst song of an artist's repertoire and then the artist is dismissed somehow for not repeating it's success.
Rodger Mccutcheon from New Zealandwho was the drummer on this track ?

see more comments

More Songfacts:

CruiseFlorida Georgia Line

Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise" spent 24 weeks on top of the Country chart - the most ever until Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road" was #1 for 34 weeks. The record was previously held by Eddy Arnold's "I'll Hold You in My Heart (1947-48), Hank Snow's "I'm Moving On" (1950-51) and Webb Pierce's "In the Jailhouse Now" (1955), which each led for 21 weeks.

Jessie's GirlRick Springfield

"Jessie's Girl" tells the true story of a girl Rick Springfield was crushing on, but her boyfriend's name was really Gary and he was more of an acquaintance than a friend.

Doo Wop (That Thing)Lauryn Hill

"Doo Wop (That Thing)" by Lauryn Hill was the only US #1 hit of the '90s entirely written, produced and performed by a female singer.

The Wind Cries MaryJimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix wrote "The Wind Cries Mary" not about marijuana, but about his girlfriend at the time, Kathy Mary Etchingham.

I Gotta FeelingThe Black Eyed Peas

Will.I.am, literally dreamt up "I Gotta Feelin'." Said the Black Eyed Pea: "Have you ever had a dream where there's a melody in your dream? I'll wake up out of my sleep and record that! 'I Gotta Feelin' was one of those songs."

The BestTina Turner

"The Best" by Tina Turner was originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler; Turner's hit version added a bridge and a saxophone solo by Edgar Winter.