Ticket 2 Ride

In recognition of Lionel Richie’s new memoir, I have picked him for this week’s Friday Five.

Between his Commodores discography, his solo work, and songs written for others, this is a tough process.

Here goes:

“Easy” from the 1977 album Commodores. A top ten hit on both the pop and R&B charts. A slow ballad about a relationship ending. The muddled section of the song is exquisite and soaring. This was Richie’s first big hit recorded by the Commodores.

“Sail On” from the 1979 Commodores’ album Midnight Magic. Described as a country-infused ballad, which I never understood that reference. It’s a song with several distinct sections and styles of music. It turned out to chart higher on the pop charts than the R&B

“Lady” was a worldwide hit for Kenny Rogers. The Commodores were a little tired of Richie’s ballads, so when the call came that Rogers wanted a Richie song, “Lady” was what he got. Rogers started their meeting with a loving story about his new wife Marianne, who he referred to as a lady. That gave Richie the idea to call his idea “Lady”, which pleased Rogers. Richie played the melody of the first line of the verse, singing lady with a few other words – because that’s all that Richie had written. He played that for Rogers, who asked about the rest of the song. Richie excused himself for a trip to the men’s room, where he wrote the next verse. The finished song was added to Rogers’ greatest hits album, which would sell 12 million copies.

“All Night Long” (1983) from Richie’s second solo album Can’t Slow Down. An uptempo song that’s easy to sing along to. It’s got a great arrangement and it’s easy to see how it topped the pop chart. Richie was asked to perform at the closing ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where he performed this song.

“Runnin’ With the Night” also from Can’t Slow Down. Richie was unfairly labeled as just a ballad writer, it just that his ballads struck a chord with a large crossover audience. Steve Lukather of Toto goes a great guitar solo. Can’t Slow Down won the Album of the Year Grammy.

More…

What about “Truly” or “Three Times a Lady” or “Still” or Endless Love” or “Stuck on You” or “You Are” or “Say You, Say Me” or “Dancing On the Ceiling” or “Hello” or…

The man knows how to write a romantic song. Those hits paid for a lot of mansions, and a lot of divorces.