Commodores “Brick House” charted

Brick House Commodores

Writer(s): Lionel Richie, Milan Williams, Walter Orange, Ronald LaPread, Thomas McClary, William King (see lyrics here) First Charted: Auugst 26, 1977 Peak: 5 BB, 6 CB, 5 GR, 9 HR, 10 RR, 4 RB, 32 UK, 24 CN, 4 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 48.16 video, 138.88 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Commodores were a horn-driven funk collective that formed at Tuskegee University (then Tuskegee Institute) in 1968. They won a freshman talent contest and went on to play fraternity parties and weekend gigs while in college. In 1972, they signed to Motown. The group’s debut album, Machine Gun, was released in 1974. The album’s instrumental title track became their first chart hit, reaching #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the R&B chart. The group, however, would come to be known more for slower fare like “Sweet Love,” “Just to Be Close to You,” and “Easy” – all of which hit the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. These Lionel Richie-helmed ballads came to define the band. He was also the voice behind future hits such as “Three Times a Lady,” “Sail On,” and “Still.” However, the group never abandoned their funk sound. The fifth studio album, Commodores, showed both sides of the band with “Easy” as the lead single and “Brick House” as the follow-up. Drummer Walter Orange tended to handle the more upbeat, funk numbers. “Brick House” was the most successful of these. Songfacts.com said it “epitomizes the funky side of the Commodores.” SF Richie said the phrase is a play on the expression “built like a brick shithouse,” a reference to a strongly built woman. WK The band’s guitarist and trumpeter William King was tasked to write a song and fell asleep at home before completing the task. His wife Shirley, however, was also a songwriter and wrote the words while he was sleeping. The band then put a groove to the words at a jam session. SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Commodores SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 4/16/2024.