Songoftheday 9/1/12 - Girl tell me only this that I have your heart for always...

Lionel Richie - "Truly"
from the album Lionel Richie (1982)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks)
Weeks in the top-40: 13

Today's Song of the Day is by yesterday's SOTD duet partner, Lionel Richie. Richie was in the R&B group the Commodores with his fellow Tuskegee alums until 1982. The year before, he had his first hit outside the band with "Endless Love", a duet with Diana Ross that topped the US pop chart in 1981 for nine weeks.

Richie released his self-titled first solo album in 1982, and the preview single was the "Truly", a simple heartfelt ballad that was quite understated compared to his later work. It was written by Richie as well as co-produced by himself and James Anthony Carmichael, who has worked with Lionel in the Commodores before.

The song hit #1 on the American pop chart in November of 1982, as well as on the adult-contemporary (soft-rock) chart. It also was a top-10 single on the R&B list, as well as in the United Kingdom, and started out his solo career with a bang...

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In 1998 British singer and stage actor Steven Houghton had a top-40 hit in the UK with his version of the song...

In 2009 Filipino band Freestyle did a soft acoustic cover...

..and even though it didn't make his Tuskegee album, country trio Lady Antebellum reprised his song on his television special...

Up Tomorrow: A legendary jazz-rock band procrastinates.