The Commodores | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

The Lionel Richie-led soul band the Commodores, whose career peaked in the late 1970s before Richie left for solo fame, is a prime example of an R & B crossover success. Beginning as an opening act during the early 1970s for The Jackson Five, the southern-based Commodores released a handful of gritty funk albums before slowly phasing into ballad-oriented material, which gained them the most commercial success. As their audience transformed from being largely black to largely white, the Commodores' sound changed as well, moving toward the smooth lightness of songs like "Still," "Three Times a Lady," and "Easy."

Formed in 1968 in Tuskegee, Alabama, the group—Lionel Richie on vocals and piano, Walter "Clyde" Orange on drums, Milan Williams on keyboards and guitar, Ronald LaPread on bass and trumpet, Thomas McClary on guitar, and William King Jr. playing a variety of brass instruments—was signed to Motown in the early 1970s. Avoiding Motown's assembly-line mode of music production—which included in-house songwriters, musicians, and producers to help create "the Motown sound"—this self-contained group oftalented musicians and songwriters remained relatively autonomous. They maintained their gritty southern-fried funk sound over the course of three albums: their 1974 debut, Machine Gun; 1975's Caught in the Act; and 1975's Movin' On. These three albums built the group a strong base of R & B fans with their consistently good uptempo funk jams such as "Machine Gun" and "The Zoo (Human Zoo)," but they had not yet made the crossover move. Hot on the Tracks (1976) showed signs of this move with its slower cuts ("Just to Be Close to You" and "Sweet Love" are notable examples). Their big crossover move came with 1977's self-titled breakthrough album, which contained such party favorites as "Brick House" and "Slippery When Wet," as well as the adult-and urban-contemporary radio staple "Easy."

It was the massive success of "Easy" that signaled a new direction for the group and prompted a solo attempt by Richie (who, nonetheless, remained in the band for another four years). Next came the Top 40 hit "Three Times a Lady" from the 1978 album Natural High and the Billboard number one single, "Still," from 1979's Midnight Magic album—both of which continued the Commodores' transformation from a chitlin' circuit southern funk party band to background music for board meetings, housecleaning, and candle-lit dinners. In the Pocket, from 1981, was Richie's last album with the Commodores, and within a year he left to pursue a solo career.Without Richie's songwriting (his songs would always be the Commodores' strength) and charisma, the group floundered through most of the 1980s, with the sole exception of their 1985 Top 40 hit single "Nightshift," for which album J. D. Nicholas assumed lead singing duties. The Commodores suffered another blow when producer/arranger James Anthony Carmichael, the man responsible for shaping the majority of the group's hits, followed Richie's departure in the early 1980s.

Richie went on to have a hugely successful solo career before virtually disappearing from the commercial landscape in the 1990s. Between 1981-87, he had thirteen Top Ten hits, which included a staggering five number one singles—"Endless Love," "Truly," "All Night Long," "Hello," and "Say You, Say Me."

Koenig, Teresa. Lionel Richie. Mankato, Crestwood House,1986.

Nathan, David. Lionel Richie: An Illustrated Biography. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1985.

Plutzik, Roberta. Lionel Richie. New York, Dell, 1985.

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