Commodores

Encyclopedia : C : CO : COM : Commodores

The Commodores were a highly successful soul/funk band in the 1970s and 1980s. They met as freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now called Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed to Motown having first caught the public eye supporting The Jackson 5 on tour.

Contents

1 Original Band Personnel
2 Biography
3 Discography
4 Samples
5 External links

Original Band Personnel

Lionel Richie (vocals, saxophone, piano) - born on 20 June, 1949, in Tuskegee, Alabama.
Thomas McClary (lead guitar) - born on 6 October, 1950, in Eustis, Florida.
Milan Williams (keyboards) - born on 28 March, 1948 in Okolona, Mississippi, died of cancer on July 9, 2006 in Houston, Texas.
William King (trumpet) - born on 30 January, 1949, in Florida.
Ronald La Pread (bass guitar) - born on 4 September, 1946, in Alabama.
Walter Orange (vocals, drums) - born on 10 December, 1946, in Florida.

Biography

The group are perhaps best known for their ballads such as "Easy" & "Three Times a Lady", which are not, however, considered representative of their output. Usually, they recorded funky, driven dance floor hits including "Brick House", "Fancy Dancer", and "Slippery When Wet", amongst others. Lionel Richie's "Oh No" was highlighted in the movie The Last American Virgin. Later, "Machine Gun", the instrumental title track from their debut album, became a staple at American sporting events, and has similarly been featured in many films, including Boogie Nights. Another instrumental, "Cebu" (named after an island in the Philippines) later became a staple in the Quiet Storm format. Band members typically traded lead vocal duties. After Lionel Richie left to persue a solo career, former Heatwave singer J.D. Nicholas assumed co-lead vocal duties with Drummer Walter Orange. However, with the exception of the Grammy winning "Nightshift," the band never achieved the same level of success it enjoyed with Richie. Ironically, "Nightshift" won the Commodores their only Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals.

Over time, founding members began leaving; McClary (1982, shortly after Richie left), LaPread (1986), and Williams, (1989). The group also gradually abandoned their funk roots and moved into the more commercial pop arena.

In 1985, they performed 2 commericals for NBC affiliate WXIA in Atlanta.

Discography

(1973) Machine Gun
(1974) Caught in the Act
(1975) Movin' On
(1976) Hot On The Tracks
(1977) Commodores
(1977) Zoom
(1978) Natural High
(1979) Midnight Magic (album)
(1980) Heroes
(1981) In The Pocket
(1983) Commodores 13
(1985) Nightshift

The group left Motown in 1986 for Polydor, and released several additional albums, primarily compilations.

Samples

[The Commodores - Brick House] ([file info])
*
* Problems listening to the file? See [Media helpmedia help].

External links

[link] Commodores fansite
[link] Vocal Group Hall of Fame page about the Commodores

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.