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King Harvest was a 1970s French-American rock music band who was formed initially in Ithaca, New York, U.S., but broke up and reformed in Paris where they began recording their first songs. They are known for their 1972 hit single "Dancing in the Moonlight". They took their name after the 1969 song "King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" by the Band, one of their musical influences.
However, one by one, each of the four former bandmates would migrate to Paris that same year, where they reformed King Harvest, now as expatriates. Although the band's membership fluctuated constantly over the next five years, it always included its four core co-founders. French musician Didier Alexandre was among the first to join the quartet, becoming a member of the group in the early 1970s. At one point, the band consisted of three , with fellow Cornell alumnus Sherman Kelly (who wrote "Dancing in the Moonlight") joining Altbach and Robinson on the instrument. Sherman Kelly had previously performed together with Robinson in the band Boffalongo, who first recorded "Dancing in the Moonlight" in 1970. Sherman Kelly's brother, drummer Wells Kelly, who went on to form the band Orleans, also served for a brief time in the group both in Paris and in the US.
Also in 1971, King Harvest was invited to write and perform songs for the French film, Le Feu Sacré, which represented France at that year's Cannes Film Festival. Throughout these early days in Paris, King Harvest also performed and recorded under pseudonyms, such as E. Rodney Jones and the Prairie Dogs.
However, in 1972, "Dancing in the Moonlight" began to generate interest back home in America, where the original four members signed with the Perception label. Perception promptly leased the tune from France's Musidisc Records and prepared the group, now re-established in Olcott, New York, to record a full-length album titled after the single. Meanwhile, the single went on to reach No. 13 in the US in early 1973 and No. 5 in Canada, and the band embarked on a lengthy U.S. tour. drummer David Montgomery and bassist Tony Cahill, both of Python Lee Jackson (and the latter also of The Easybeats) officially joined King Harvest after the album's release and toured with them during the spring of 1973. "Dancing in the Moonlight" composer Sherman Kelly, who had not participated in King Harvest's recording of the single, also officially joined the band for the first time for this tour.
Following the band's dissolution, King Harvest's members continued their association with the Beach Boys. Novak, Altbach, Tuleja, and Figueroa toured with the group at one point. Tuleja and Novak played on Dennis Wilson's 1977 solo Pacific Ocean Blue, while Altbach and Robinson performed with Mike Love in his band, Celebration.
King Harvest released their The Lost Tapes album in August 2007, and performed on TJ Lubinsky's My Music DVD entitled The 70s Experience Live produced for PBS.
On July 14, 2012, the four co-founders reunited in Olcott Beach as part of a 40th anniversary reunion of the band. Robinson died December 11, 2012, leaving behind his wife, daughter and grandchildren. He was buried in Cleveland, Ohio, his birthplace. The other three members reunited again on July 19, 2013, in Olcott Beach with a song titled "Doc" in memory of him.
The King Harvest album Old Friends was released on April 6, 2015.
The three surviving founding members released their new King Harvest single "Our Old Songs" on August 16, 2016.
| 1971 ! scope="row" | I Can Tell (Europe release only) |
| x | x | |
| 1973 ! scope="row" | Dancing in the Moonlight | 136 | 50 | — | |
| 1975 ! scope="row" | King Harvest |
| — | — | |
| 1980 ! scope="row" | Young Love |
| — | — | |
| 1993 ! scope="row" | Dancing in the Moonlight (Compact disc re-issue) |
| — | — | |
| 2007 ! scope="row" | The Lost Tapes |
| — | — | |
| 2010 ! scope="row" | The Prairie Dogs - Country Classics |
| — | — | |
| 2013 ! scope="row" | Caribbean (Extended play) |
| — | — | |
| 2014 ! scope="row" | Young Love (possible re-release) |
| — | — | |
| 2015 ! scope="row" | Old Friends |
| — | — | |
| "—" and "x" denote recordings that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||
| 1971 ! scope="row" | "A Train" | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1972 ! scope="row" | "Dancing in the Moonlight" | 13 | 22 | 10 | 15 | 5 | 69 |
| 1973 ! scope="row" | "A Little Bit Like Magic" | 91 | — | 87 | 73 | — | — |
| 1974 ! scope="row" | "Celestial Navigator" | — | — | — | 118 | — | — |
| 1975 ! scope="row" | "Hickory" | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016 ! scope="row" | "Our Old Songs" | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||
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