Commodores

Formed in the late 1960s on the campus of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, the Commodores originally brought together Lionel Richie, Thomas McClary, William King, Ronald LaPread, Milan Williams, and Walter Orange around a blend of funk, soul, and rhythm and blues. Noticed after tours on the college circuit and then as an opening act for Motown groups, the Commodores signed with the Detroit label Motown in the early 1970s and released Machine Gun in 1974, driven by energetic instrumental funk, followed by Caught in the Act (1975) and Hot on the Tracks (1976). In the late 1970s, the band broadened its palette with soul and pop ballads on albums such as Commodores (1977), Natural High (1978), and Midnight Magic (1979), while retaining funk elements in the rhythmic arrangements and horn sections. The departures of Lionel Richie in 1982 and Thomas McClary altered the Commodores’ internal balance, but the group nevertheless continued its discography with Heroes (1980), In the Pocket (1981), Commodores 13 (1983), and Nightshift (1985), whose title track received accolades in the United States. Still closely associated with the American soul and funk scene of the 1970s and 1980s, the Commodores remain active on stage in various lineups, performing a repertoire centered on that era.