Commodores

Commodores were formed from two former student groups, the Mystics and the Jays. Richie described some members of the Mystics as “jazz buffs”. The new six-man band featured Lionel Richie, Thomas McClary, and William King from the Mystics, and Andre Callahan, Michael Gilbert, and Milan Williams from the Jays. To choose their name, William King opened a dictionary and randomly picked a word. “We lucked in,” he remarked with a laugh when telling this story to People magazine. “We almost became ‘The Commodes.’

They signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 1968 for one record before moving on to Motown Records initially as a support act to The Jackson 5. The Commodores then became established as a popular soul group. Their first several albums had a danceable, funky sound, as in such tracks as “Machine Gun”, ”Brick House”, “Fancy Dancer”, “Lady (You Bring Me Up)”, and “Too Hot ta Trot”. Over time, Richie wrote and sang more romantic, easy-listening ballads such as “Easy”, “Three Times a Lady”, “Still”, and the breakup ballad “Sail On”.

Lionel left The Commodores in 1982 to pursue a solo career.