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.

Lionel Richie hit #1 with “Say You Say Me”

Say You Say Me Lionel Richie

Writer(s): Lionel Richie (see lyrics here) Released: October 1985 First Charted: November 1, 1985 Peak: 15 US, 15 CB, 16 GR, 14 RR, 15 AC, 12 RB, 8 UK, 14 CN, 3 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 33.6 video, 182.82 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: At the end of November 1985, Phil Collins climbed to the pole position on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Separate Lives,” a duet with Marilyn Martin. Three weeks later, Lionel Richie’s “Say You, Say Me” ascended to the throne. Both songs were featured in Taylor Hackford’s film White Nights, making it only the sixth movie of the rock era to generate more than one #1 song. FB The others were Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Flashdance, Footloose, and Purple Rain. Interestingly, though, the song was not on the soundtrack. Richie was supposed to deliver a new solo album to Motown and they wouldn’t allow the song on the soundtrack. They did, however, agree to have the song released as a single in time to promote the movie. Richie’s new album (Dancing on the Ceiling) wouldn’t surface until August 1986. Hackford had a good track record with #1 songs from his movies. An Officer and a Gentleman produced Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes’ “Up Where We Belong” and Against All Odds generated the title song from Phil Collins. He wanted Richie for this movie, asking if he’d write the title song. Richie’s manager, Ken Kragen, reached out a couple of weeks later to say that Richie couldn’t come up with a song called “White Nights,” but had written another song called “Say You Say Me” which he tought would work. Hackford thought it was perfect. FB The song, which uses many of the same session players as Michael Jackson’s Thriller, SG is “a soft R&B ballad, with an upbeat dance bridge, about the pain of loneliness and the power of friendship.” SF It fit well with the movie’s story about an unlikely friendship which formed between a Russian ballet dancer (Mikhail Baryshnikov) who defects from the Soviet Union, and a tap dancer (Gregory Hines) who defects from America. “Say You Say Me” won an Oscar for the Best Original Song- beating out “Separate Lives.” Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Lionel Richie FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 626. SF Songfacts SG Stereogum (11/16/20). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan WK Wikipedia First posted 5/22/2022; last updated 12/26/2022.