How did this boy band not become one of the biggest things in the history of music?
I’m talking most recognizable bands of all time… it should have been The Beatles, The Rollings Stones, The Highwaymen and The Moffatts on the Mount Rushmore of Bands. Maybe this boy band out of Canada that specialized in pop, rock and country was just ahead of it’s time. That’s the only reason I can think of as to why they never hit it big.
The group of four brothers – one older brother named Scott and triplets named Bob, Clint, and Dave – formed the band (with help from their father) in 1987 while living in British Columbia, Canada. They then got to making music, and had put together and released three country albums by 1996. The Moffatts signed with the record label Polydor Nashville, and they were believed to be the youngest boy band to sign with a major record label at the time.
After they signed their record deal, the brother band got to work putting together country albums. In a matter of three years, they released It’s a Wonderful World in 1993, their self-titled album The Moffatts in 1995, and a holiday special called A Moffatt Christmas in 1996. Once they got later into the 1990’s, they switched over more to the pop genre before disbanding in 2001.
It might’ve been a bit of a flash in the pan for The Moffatts, but it was a pretty bright flash. In their heyday, they relocated from Canada to Branson, Missouri – and then Nashville, Tennessee. After they moved to the Music City in 1993, they became regulars on the show Nashville Now with Ralph Emery. They were also a part of the Country Tonite Show both in Las Vegas and Branson.
So why are we talking about them in 2024?
Well the blast-from-the-past boy band has made a little bit of a resurgence as of late in the form of memes. Everyone loves a good meme, right? For those that don’t understand what a meme is (hey dad! thanks for reading), it’s basically just a picture or video that presents a joke of some sort that you can use to relate to situations or simply share with your friends.
Here’s one that takes a performance from The Moffatts and hilariously suggests that this is what a group of fishermen would look like – or at least feel like – if they microdosed while casting lines:
That right there is the Moffatts big hit “A Little Bit of Magic.” And to be frank, I love the creativity of the verse that goes “Hocus Pocus, Hootchie-Coo.” That’s simply lyrical gold.
And funny enough, the band’s lead singer, Scott Moffatt (who’s actually wearing white and singing backup in this meme video), is actually a producer who worked on two Luke Combs records. Scott Moffatt produced Luke Combs’ first two albums This One’s for You, and What You See Is What You Get.
He’s seen in this studio video for “Beautiful Crazy.”
We were actually able to track down the full performance of that one, so if you enjoyed the meme but liked the music even better, you can take a couple of minutes to check that one out.
You can also check out their 1993 performance of “Do Wa Diddy Diddy.” They evidently liked to roll with words in their songs that acted more as a sound… but hey, just like their mullets, it was working for them back in the 90’s.
“Do Wa Diddy Diddy”
“A Little Bit Of Magic”