Midnight Star, Wet My Whistle | Throwback Vibez

In the 55th edition of Throwback Vibez (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Wet My Whistle” by R&B collective, Midnight Star.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez ! Throwback Vibez is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils ! All genres of music are welcome. In the 55^th edition of Throwback Vibez ️ (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Wet My Whistle” performed by Midnight Star.

“Wet my whistle / Wet my whistle / Wet my whistle.” Whistle sufficiently wetted. In 1976, in Frankfort, Kentucky, at HBCU Kentucky State University, the R&B collective Midnight Star was formed! The band would impact both the pop and R&B charts, further enriching R&B’s illustrious history.  The song at hand, “Wet My Whistle”, appears as the fifth track from their 1983 album, No Parking on the Dance Floor. Notably, “Whistle” was written and produced by Reggie Calloway.   

“Wet My Whistle” cooks from the get-go.  Calloway’s production is well-rounded.  The keys and synths are sleek, while the percussive groove is sickening and funky to the nth degree.  Midnight Star is locked in with their marvelous, harmonized vocals.  The melodies are tuneful, drawing you in.  As for the songwriting, the lyrics are relatable, encompassing matters of the heart. “Just like sweet wine, baby / Your love’s intoxicatin’,” Midnight Star sings in the first verse, continuing, “Why’d I have to taste it? Mmm / ‘Cause I’’s much too good to waste it.” Ooh-wee! The second verse is equally enticing:  “Love was never on my mind / I thought I’d better take my time / But girl, you drive me crazy.”  As awesome as the verses are, the section to beat is the infectious, whistle-wetting chorus:

“I just had to wet my whistle

When I kissed your lips, girl

I couldn’t get enough

I had to wet my whistle

Just a little bit, baby

Was much too much

Wet my whistle.”

Midnight Heat excels on “Wet My Whistle”.  No, it didn’t ignite the pop charts on fire (number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100), but this love-oriented joint is sweet, sweet, sweet!  

Midnight Star // No Parking on the Dance Floor // Unidisc Music, Inc. // 1983

Midnight Star, Wet My Whistle: Throwback Vibez ️ No. 55 (2025) [: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Unidisc Music, Inc.; AcatXlo, OpenClipart-Vectors, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]