During the 1990s the Commodores shrank to a trio of Orange, King, and Nicholas. Motown, which owned the song, released it later that year as part of an album of the same name. In 1988 the group made a surprise appearance on UK charts with “Easy” after the song was used in a commercial. In 1986 they released their last Top Ten hit, “Goin’ to the Bank” on the Polydor Label. Nicholas, previously of the group Heatwave, became their new lead vocalist and in 1985 the group released their Grammy Award-winning Nightshift. In 1985 he co-wrote the charity hit “We Are The World” with Michael Jackson. Richie rose to superstardom as one of the most successful male soloists of the 1980s. In 1981 Richie recorded the number one single, “Endless Love” with Diana Ross, and left the Commodores by year’s end to pursue a solo career. By that point the Commodores were the best-selling Motown act of the 1970s. In 1979 the Commodores released “Still,” their last number one hit with Richie in the band. Ritchie, for example, wrote and produced Kenny Rogers’s number one hit “Lady” in 1980. In 1979 the Commodores released the country-style Top 5 hit “Sail On,” that led to other artists to request that Richie write music for them. That single earned the group an American Music Award and became the biggest-selling record produced by Motown. tour and in 1976 they released two more number one hits, “Just To Be Close To You” and “Easy,” followed by the Top Ten hit “Brickhouse” and “Too Hot ta Trot” (1977), and “Three Times a Lady” (1978).
In 1974 they released their first three hits, “Machine Gun,” “I Feel Sanctified,” and the number-one hit “Slippery When Wet.” In 1975 they joined the Rolling Stones on their U.S. Performing before a standing room-only audience (which they later admitted was made up mostly of friends and family) led the owner to book them for two more weeks.īy 1971 the Commodores were the openers for the Jackson 5 which brought them a record deal with Motown Records the following year. Initially turned away by the owner, they were called back to play after a cancellation. Upon achieving popularity throughout Alabama, the Commodores traveled to New York in 1969 to play at Small’s Paradise nightclub. They chose their name by selecting a word randomly in a dictionary.
The original lineup was Milan Williams (keyboards), William King (trumpet), Walter “Clyde” Orange (drums), Ronald LaPread (bass), Thomas McClary (guitar), and Richie (saxophone, keyboards, vocals). In 1967, Richie and several other Tuskegee Institute freshmen formed the Commodores. There Ritchie joined Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
the first lead singer for the Commodores, was raised on the campus of Tuskegee University where two preceding generations of his family had worked. Lionel Richie, their lead vocalist, attained superstardom after leaving to pursue a solo career.īorn Jin Tuskegee, Alabama, Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. They produced numerous chart-topping and award-winning records. The Commodores were a rhythm and blues/ funk group popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s and one of the most successful acts signed to Motown records.
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