Mary catherine taffy nivert danoff fidelity

American singer-songwriter

Taffy Nivert
Nivert as she appeared in a Starland Vocal Band promotional photo dated June
Birth name	Mary Catherine Nivert
Born	() October 25, (age&#;80) Washington, D.C.,[1] U.S.
Occupation(s)	Songwriter, singer

Musical artist

Mary Catherine "Taffy" Nivert^[2] (born October 25, ) is an American songwriter and singer.

She is top known for co-writing "Take Me Home, Country Roads", which was popularized by John Denver, and for being a member of the Starland Vocal Band.

Biography

Mary Catherine Nivert was born 25 October in Washington, D.C.

She received her nickname Taffy from her elder brother who, unable to pronounce her middle call as a young child, would call her Mary Tafferine.^[3] Nivert began singing along with the radio in high school.

Danoff was a doorman at the tiny Cellar Door nightclub in Washington, D. Taffy got her nickname because her older brother as a young child mispronounced her name as Mary Tafferine. Then Danoff and Denver, with Taffy holding the sheet melody, altered it to its introduce form. They stayed up all night polishing the song.

She was discovered by a bartender in Georgetown after he heard her singing to a jukebox. The bartender asked if she wanted to join a vocal group, and through this, she met her future husband Bill Danoff.^[4]

Nivert began performing with Danoff as Fat City in the late s.

Initially a folk duo, the two later married and recorded four albums, the latter two under the call Bill & Taffy.^[5]

In , while traveling along Clopper Road to Nivert's family reunion in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Danoff began writing a song that became "Take Me Home, Country Roads".^[6] The couple planned to complete the lyric and sell it to Johnny Cash.

When Fat City opened for John Denver at The Cellar Door in December , they decided to show the not yet completed song to him.

She received her nickname Taffy from her elder brother who, unable to pronounce her middle name as a new child, would call her Mary Tafferine. She was discovered by a bartender in Georgetown after he heard her singing to a jukebox. The bartender asked if she wanted to combine a vocal group, and through this, she met her future husband Bill Danoff. Nivert began performing with Danoff as Obese City in the late s.

Denver, who had injured his thumb in a car slam hours before, arrived at Danoff and Nivert's apartment in the early hours of the morning, where the trio finished the song. The next night, all three performed the completed tune, with Nivert holding the lyric sheet, and instead of organism offered to Johnny Cash it became a hit song for Denver on RCA Victor in early It was included on his album Poems, Prayers, and Promises along with "I Surmise He'd Rather Be in Colorado," also written by Danoff and Nivert.

Danoff and Nivert sang backup on four of the album's tracks.^[4]

Danoff and Nivert married in ^[3] In , the couple paired with Jon Carroll and Margot Chapman to shape the Starland Vocal Band.

Signed to John Denver's record label Windsong Records, they were most famous for the hit ballad "Afternoon Delight".^[7] The group released several albums before breaking up in Danoff and Nivert later divorced.

Until , Nivert lived in the Washington, D. C. area, where she occasionally performed with Danoff and the remain of the Starland Vocal Band.

The very first post in the history of this blog mentioned the Starland Vocal Band. And apparently it is. It was, against all odds, pitched at a hip young urban audience, with political commentary by Mark Russell and a juvenile comic in the cast named David Letterman. But they were never built for the lengthy run, not really, not professionally or personally.

She later settled in Safety Harbor, Florida.^[8]

Discography

Albums

Fat Capital

• Reincarnation (ABC, )
• Welcome to Heavy City (Paramount, )

John Denver with Bill Danoff - Taffy Nivert

• Victory Is Peace (Tomorrow Show ERLP, )^[9]

Bill & Taffy

• Pass It On (RCA, )
• Aces (RCA, )

Starland Vocal Band

Singles

John Denver with Fat City

• "Take Me Home, Country Roads" / "Poems, Prayers And Promises" (RCA, )

Bill & Taffy

• "Pass It On" / "Didn't I Try" (RCA UK, )
• "Maybe" / "How Blessed Can You Be" (RCA Germany, )
• "Maybe" (stereo) / "Maybe" (mono) (RCA promo, )

Starland Vocal Band

References