Lionel Richie/Commodores: Top 50 Songs

Lionel Richie/Commodores Top 50 Songs

Lionel Richie was born June 20, 1949 in Tuskegee, Alabama. As a freshman at Tuskegee Institute in 1968, he met the other members of what was to become the Commodores. The group signed with Motown in 1972 and became hugely successful on the pop and R&B charts. In 1980, Richie penned “Lady” for Kenny Rogers and it was a huge crossover hit. The following year, “Endless Love,” his duet with Diana Ross, was even bigger. It paved the way for his solo career, which he launched in 1982. Richie became one of chart history’s most successful crossover artists, landing #1 songs on the pop, R&B, adult contemporary charts and even the country chart (if you count “Lady”). His 1983 album, Can’t Slow Down, won the Grammy for Album of the Year. “Endless Love” is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999. Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists. Spotify Podcast: Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast episode The Best of Lionel Richie based on this list. Premiere: May 24, 2022 at 7pm CST. New episodes based on Dave’s Music Database lists are posted every Tuesday at 7pm CST.

Awards (Lionel Richie):

Awards (Commodores):

Top 50 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs are solo hits by Richie unless marked otherwise. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to charts.) DMDB Top 1%: 1. Endless Love (with Diana Ross, 1981) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 RB 2. We Are the World (written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, recorded by U.S.A. for Africa) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 RB 3. Lady (written by Lionel Richie, recorded by Kenny Rogers, 1980) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 CW 4. All Night Long (All Night) (1983) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 RB 5. Three Times a Lady (Commodores, 1978) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 RB 6. Brick House (Commodores, 1977) 7. Say You Say Me (1985) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 RB 8. Hello (1984) #1 US, #1 AC, #1 RB DMDB Top 2%: 9. Truly (1982) #1 US, #1 AC DMDB Top 5%: 10. Easy (Commodores, 1977) #1 RB 11. Still (Commodores, 1979) #1 US, #1 RB 12. Sail On (Commodores, 1979) 13. Stuck on You (1984) #1 AC 14. You Are (1983) #1 AC DMDB Top 10%: 15. Lady (You Bring Me Up) (Commodores, 1981) 16. Dancing on the Ceiling (1986) 17. Running with the Night (1983) 18. Night Shift (Commodores, 1985) 19. Penny Lover (1984) #1 AC 20. My Love (1983) #1 AC 21. Machine Gun (Commodores, 1974) 22. Love Will Conquer All (1986) #1 AC DMDB Top 20%: 23. Oh No (Commodores, 1981) 24. Sweet Love (Commodores, 1975) 25. Just to Be Close to You (Commodores, 1976) #1 RB 26. Ballerina Girl (1986) #1 AC 27. Deep River Woman (with Alabama, 1986) 28. Do It to Me (1992) #1 RB 29. Se La (1986) 30. Don’t Wanna Lose You (1996) 31. Too Hot ta Trot (Commodores, 1977) #1 RB 32. Wonderland (Commodores, 1979) 33. Old-Fashion Love (Commodores, 1980) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 34. Slippery When Wet (Commodores, 1975) #1 RB 35. Heroes (Commodores, 1980) 36. Fancy Dancer (Commodores, 1976) 37. Flying High (Commodores, 1978) 38. Only You (Commodores, 1983) 39. I Call It Love (2006) 40. Why You Wanna Try Me (Commodores, 1981) 41. Angel (2000) 42. My Destiny (1992) 43. I Feel Sanctified (Commodores, 1974) 44. This Is Your Life (Commodores, 1975) 45. Goin’ to the Bank (Commodores, 1986) 46. Animal Instinct (Commodores, 1985) 47. Janet (Commodores, 1985) 48. Painted Picture (Commodores, 1982) 49. Just for You (2004) 50. Zoom (Commodores, 1977) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Lionel Richie DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Commodores Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 6/20/2017; updated 5/24/2022.

Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Song Inductees (January 2021)

Originally posted 1/22/2021. In honor of the 10th anniversary of the DMDB blog on January 22, 2019, Dave’s Music Database launched its own Hall of Fame. This is the ninth set of song inductees. From 1973 to 1982, there were four major charts which tracked U.S. pop songs: Billboard (1898-), Cashbox (1950-1996), Hit Records (1954-1982), and Radio & Records (1973-). 106 songs topped all four charts during that time. (See “USA #1 Pop Songs: 1890-present”). When narrowed down further, there were only 12 songs which combined for 20 or more weeks on top of those four charts.

Bee Gees “Night Fever” (1977) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

“How Deep Is Your Love” was the first single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and “Stayin’ Alive” is the one which endured to become the most iconic, but “Night Fever” was the biggest hit at the time. In the U.S., the first two spent a combined 7 weeks atop the chart, but “Night Fever” stayed there for a whopping 8 weeks. It was the biggest #1 of the year. Read more.

Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (1977) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

For better or worse, there are few songs more associated with disco than “Stayin’ Alive.” BB100 “Confident, cocky, streetwise and upbeat,” LW the song perfectly complements John Travolta’s character in Saturday Night Fever, the movie from which the song came. LW The song was not intended as a single, but after fans saw trailers for the movie, they swamped radio stations and RSO Records with calls for the song. WK Read more.

Blondie “Call Me” (1980) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

Composer and producer Giorgio Moroder, best known for his work with Donna Summer, approached Blondie about writing the theme song for the movie American Gigolo. BB Debbie Harry, the lead singer, said the band jumped at the chance “to work with their hero…‘He was the king of disco…And we were still the anti-establishment invaders.’” RS After seeing a rough cut of the film, BR1 she wrote lyrics in just a few hours from the perspective of a male prostitute – the main character of the film. WK The song’s six weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart earned it the distinction of the magazine’s top song of the year. Read more.

Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life” (1977) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

Director Joe Brooks commissioned Debby Boone, the daughter of legendary singer Pat Boone, to record a new version of his song “You Light Up My Life” initially featured in the 1977 movie of the same name. Her version became the biggest #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit of the 1970s. Its 10 weeks on top of the chart made it the biggest #1 since Elvis Presley topped the charts for 11 weeks in 1956 with his double A-side hit “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Hound Dog.” Read more.

Kim Carnes “Bette Davis Eyes” (1981) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

Songwriter Donna Weiss wrote the lyrics while Jackie DeShannon, whose “What the World Needs Now Is Now” and “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” were both top tens, wrote most of the music. BR1 DeShannon recorded a honky-tonk version of the song for her 1975 album New Arrangement. When Carnes was given the song, she wasn’t convinced it had hit potential. BR1 However, when her synthesizer player, Bill Cuomo, reworked the track into a new-wavish pop song, BB100 Carnes was sold. So was the record buying public – it hit #1 in 31 countries WK and topped 1981’s year-end Hot 100 in the U.S. BB100 Read more.

Chic “Le Freak” (1978) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

“Le Freak” became the best-selling single in the history of Atlantic Records. BR1 It came about when Chic members Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards were invited to New York City’s famed disco club Studio 54 by Grace Jones on New Year’s Eve in 1977. However, she forgot to notify the staff and the pair and the doorman told them to “fuck off” as he slammed the door on them. They used it in a song, changing it to “freak out” after realizing radio would never play it otherwise. WK Read more.

Andy Gibb “Shadow Dancing” (1978) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

The Gibb brothers (Barry, Maurice, Robin, and Andy) dominated the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. Andy’s brothers – the Bee Gees – had three #1 songs from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack while “Shadow Dancing” was Andy’s third #1 song, making him the first solo artist in the U.S. pop chart history to have his first three releases hit #1. WK “Shadow Dancing” was also named the biggest song of the year by Billboard magazine. Read more.

The Knack “My Sharona” (1979) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

The New York Times called “My Sharona” “an emblem of the new wave era in rock.” WK Doug Fieger, the lead singer of the Knack, fell for the real-life Sharona Alperin when she was in a relationship with someone else. He wrote the song in about 15 minutes, saying she “sparked something and I started writing a lot of songs feverishly in a short amount of time.” WK The song “compressed a sense of teenage sexual frustration into its stutter beat built on simple rock and roll.” BR1 They eventually ended up together and even became engaged, but his alcoholism and rock n’ roll lifestyle led to their breakup. Read more.

Lionel Richie & Diana Ross “Endless Love” (1981) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

In 2002, Richie told Billboard magazine, “When I put out ‘Endless Love’…during the days of disco, the reaction was, ‘Are you nuts?’” BB100 However, this unforgettable ballad from the completely forgettable Brooke Shields and Tom Cruise movie of the same name was the biggest hit Motown had up to that time, not to mention the biggest soundtrack single and most successful duet. BR1 Richie and Ross both had numerous #1’s with their groups the Supremes and the Commodores respectively and as solo acts, but this was the biggest hit for both of them. Read more.

Kenny Rogers “Lady” (1980) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

In 1980, Kenny Rogers’ record label wanted a Greatest Hits package to ring in the Christmas season. Rogers turned to the Commodores’ Lionel Richie for new material to add to the collection. Rogers said, “The idea was that Lionel would come from R&B and I’d come from country, and we’d meet somewhere in the middle.” BR1 The resulting “Lady” became Rogers’ fourth million-selling single and his first #1 on the pop charts. BB100 It was also the biggest pop song of 1980 WHC and the first song of the decade to hit Billboard’s pop, country, adult contemporary, and R&B charts, BR1 hitting #1 on the first three. Read more.

Rod Stewart “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” (1976) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

Some radio programmers, the BBC, and Jesse Jackson’s People United to Save Humanity all saw this song as too sexually explicit, but public demand won out in the end and the song became the biggest #1 of 1976 WHC and the best-sellig song in the United States the following year. WK Its eight weeks on top made it the biggest #1 since the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” in November 1968. It was also the biggest hit of Stewart’s career. In 2018, Billboard ranked the song the 19th biggest in the history of the Hot 100. Read more.

Rod Stewart “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” (1978) Inducted January 2021 as “Song with 20+ weeks atop 4 pop charts”

According to Carmine Appice, who had recently joined Stewart’s band and co-wrote the song, Stewart “was always looking at the charts and listening. He was a big fan of the Rolling Stones…so he wanted to do some kind of disco-y song, something like ‘Miss You.’” SF Some fans and critics thought his “defection to disco was unforgivable” BR1 but “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” gave Stewart his third chart-topping hit after “Maggie May” in 1971 and “Tonight’s the Night” in 1976. Read more.

Diana Ross/The Supremes: Top 50 Songs

image from washingtonblade.com

Diana Ross was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 26, 1944. As a member of the Supremes, she topped the Billboard charts twelve times and helped establish them as the top female group of all time. She left the group in 1970, but launched straight into a successful solo career. In celebration of her birthday, here are her top 50 songs of all time, with and without the Supremes. #1 songs are noted as follows: #1 US (Billboard pop chart), #1 AC (Billboard adult contemporary chart), #1 RB (Billboard R&B chart), and #1 UK (the UK charts).

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The Top 50 Diana Ross/Supremes Songs

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Where Did Our Love Go

1. Endless Love (with Lionel Richie, 1981) #1 US, #1 RB, #1 AC
2. Stop! In the Name of Love (The Supremes, 1965) #1 US
3. Where Did Our Love Go (The Supremes, 1964) #1 US, #1 RB
4. Baby Love (The Supremes, 1964) #1 US, #1 RB, #1 UK
5. You Can’t Hurry Love (The Supremes, 1966) #1 US, #1 RB
6. Upside Down (1980) #1 US, #1 RB
7. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (1970) #1 US, #1 RB
8. You Keep Me Hangin’ On (The Supremes, 1966) #1 US, #1 RB
9. Love Child (The Supremes, 1968) #1 US
10. Someday We’ll Be Together (The Supremes, 1969) #1 US, #1 RB

Stop! In the Name of Love

11. Love Hangover (1976) #1 US, #1 RB
12. Touch Me in the Morning (1973) #1 US, #1 AC
13. Do You Know Where You’re Going To (Theme from ‘Mahogany’) (1975) #1 US, #1 AC
14. Come See About Me (The Supremes, 1964) #1 US
15. I’m Gonna Make You Love Me (The Supremes with the Temptations, 1968)
16. I Hear a Symphony (The Supremes, 1965) #1 US
17. I’m Coming Out (1980)
18. Back in My Arms Again (The Supremes, 1965) #1 US, #1 RB
19. Reflections (The Supremes, 1967)
20. Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1981)

21. The Happening (The Supremes, 1967) #1 US
22. The Last Time I Saw Him (1973) #1 AC
23. Muscles (1982)
24. Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone (The Supremes, 1967) #1 US, #1 RB
25. Missing You (1984) #1 RB
26. Mirror, Mirror (1982)
27. All of You (with Julio Iglesias, 1984)
28. Remember Me (1970)
29. Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand (1970)
30. It’s My Turn (1980)

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

31. Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart (The Supremes, 1966)
32. Chain Reaction (1985) #1 UK
33. Ease on Down the Road (with Michael Jackson, 1978)
34. I’m Livin’ in Shame (The Supremes, 1969)
35. In and Out of Love (The Supremes, 1967)
36. When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes (The Supremes, 1974)
37. My Mistake Was to Love You (with Marvin Gaye, 1974)
38. My World Is Empty Without You (The Supremes, 1965)
39. The Boss (1979)
40. Gettin’ Ready for Love (1977)

Upside Down

41. Swept Away (1984)
42. Forever Came Today (The Supremes, 1968)
43. Nothing But Heartaches (The Supremes, 1965)
44. Pieces of Ice (1983)
45. You’re a Special Part of Me (with Marvin Gaye, 1973)
46. Some Things You Never Get Used To (The Supremes, 1968)
47. I’m Still Waiting (1971) #1 UK
48. I’ll Try Something New (The Supremes with the Temptations, 1969)
49. Good Morning Heartache (1973)
50. The Composer (The Supremes, 1969)

Endless Love

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Awards:

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Resources and Related Links:

• Diana Ross’ DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry
• The Supremes’ DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry

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Lionel Richie and Diana Ross hit #1 with “Endless Love” for first of 9 weeks

Endless Love Lionel Richie and Diana Ross

Writer(s): Lionel Richie (see lyrics here) First Charted: July 4, 1981 Peak: 19 US, 19 CB, 13 GR, 19 HR, 15 RR, 13 AC, 17 RB, 7 UK, 16 CN, 14 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.25 UK, 3.25 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 66.8 video, 279.12 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In 2002, Richie told Billboard magazine, “When I put out ‘Endless Love’…during the days of disco, the reaction was, ‘Are you nuts?’” BB However, this unforgettable ballad from the completely forgettable Brooke Shields and Tom Cruise movie of the same name was the biggest hit Motown had up to that time, not to mention the biggest soundtrack single and most successful duet. FB It was also the most successful song of both their careers. This was no small task – between them, they contributed to 54 #1 songs on Billboard magazine’s pop, R&B, and adult contemporary (AC) charts. However, this song found the pair at very different stages of their careers. Ross spent the ‘60s fronting the Supremes, racking up 12 #1 pop hits and 8 #1’s on the R&B chart. When she went solo in the ‘70s, she hit the top of the R&B and AC charts five and three times respectively. However, “Endless Love” was her final Motown single WK and her last of six #1 pop hits. Richie was also a Motown stalwart, but just launching his solo career. With the Commodores, he landed atop the pop charts twice, the R&B charts six times, and the adult contemporary chart once. “Endless Love” was Richie’s first time atop the pop, R&B, and AC charts – charts he’d top five, five, and eleven times respectively. As a songwriter, he had the top song of 1980 with Kenny Rogers’ “Lady.” CPM Recording was no easy task. Richie hadn’t written the song as a duet, but there was a push to get Diana on the song. Since Richie couldn’t sing in her key, he had to make up her part in the studio. SF Their busy schedules meant they finally met up in Reno, Nevada at 3:30 in the morning after Ross had performed at Lake Tahoe. An hour and a half later, they had the song on tape. FB Good thing – it was due to go out the next day for use in the movie. SF Ross also recorded a solo version on her Who Do Fools Fall in Love? album WK and in 1994, it became Luther Vandross’ biggest hit when he and Mariah Carey reached #2 on the pop charts in the U.S. and top 5 in the U.K. Resources: BB Billboard (9/08). “All-Time Hot 100” FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 547. SF Songfacts.com CPM Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Record Research, Inc.: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 109. WK Wikipedia.org Related Links: First posted 7/4/2012; last updated 2/3/2023.