Fans Rediscovered This 1972 Hit Song Thanks to Netflix's Wildly Successful 2019 Series
Fans Rediscovered This 1972 Hit Song Thanks to Netflix's Wildly Successful 2019 Series
Sheri ReedSun, May 3, 2026 at 2:24 PM UTC
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The 1972 hit song "Dancing in the Moonlight" by King Harvest is instantly joyful, invoking a vibe that has listeners swaying and swooning right from the start. For this reason, it makes perfect sense that the decades-old hit came roaring back onto the music scene in 2019, after a cover of the song appeared in an unforgettable scene in the popular television show The Umbrella Academy.
The Umbrella Academy is a Netflix show about a dysfunctional, crime-fighting family of superpowered siblings, all adopted by their billionaire father in an attempt to save the world. The show ran for five years, from February 2019, to August 2024. In Season 1, Episode 6, titled "The Day That Wasn't," The Umbrella Academy siblings Allison Hargreeves (played by Emmy Raver-Lampman) and Luther Hargreeves (played by Tom Hopper) indulge in fantasy dance scene, choreographed to the Toploader cover of "Dancing in the Moonlight."
While the Allison and Luther are not biologically related, they were raised as sister and brother. However, they clearly have romantic feelings for each other they can't shake, a fact fans simultaneously loved and were upset by. So the intimate dance scene, in which the two characters play out their love for one another, signifies the "what is but can't be" between them.
The original song "Dancing in the Moonlight" was written back in 1968 by Sherman Kelly and recorded in 1970 by his band Boffalongo. However, the song truly took off when the French-American rock band King Harvest released their single of the song in July 1972. This hit version of the song peaked at No. 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Now, fast forward to February 2000, and the English band Toploader released a cover of "Dancing in the Moonlight," as the third single on their debut studio album, Onka's Big Moka. The song became a huge hit in the UK at the time.
But when Toploader's version of the song aired on the memorable episode The Umbrella Academy in 2019, the song got a second life and a major streaming revival. For perspective, currently on the Spotify streaming service, the generation-crossing 2000 cover by Toploader has over 1.2 billion streams, and the 1972 King Harvest version has around 4.8 million streams.
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Related: 1976 Classic Hit Became a Feel-Good Anthem That Defined a Generation
Toploader's version of "Dancing in the Moonlight" worked perfectly in the emotional scene of The Umbrella Academy. The combination of the song's nostalgic, feel-good vibe, carefree lyrics, and the old Hollywood style choreography by Emma Portner helped fans escape into the dreamy but short-lived romantic moment between these two characters.
After the airing, the song was given new life and a whole new generation of fans, and now it's widely recognized for its cross-generational appeal. Even more than five decades after its origination, the song keeps finding its way back to listeners.
Watch the Luther and Allison scene from The Umbrella Academy below:
Listen to the original recording of "Dancing in the Moonlight" by King Harvest:
Watch the offical video for Toploader's cover of "Dancing in the Moonlight":
The Umbrella Academy is currently available for streaming via Netflix. Subscription fees apply.
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This story was originally published by Parade on May 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
