Songoftheday 3/24/15 - Sometimes I've wondered if you'd ever come my way, now that I've finally found you this is where my heart will stay...

"Ballerina Girl" - Lionel Richie
from the album Dancing On The Ceiling (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 10

Today's song of the day comes from "outrageously" popular singer/songwriter Lionel Richie, whose third solo album Dancing On The Ceiling had spun off a #1 hit with "Say You, Say Me", and two top-10 follow-ups in the title track and "Love Will Conquer All". The fourth single from the project was the gentle ballad "Ballerina Girl", written for his daughter Nicole while she was a sweet and innocent child, years away from the Hilton-adjacent tabloid fodder she'd grow up to be....

"Ballerina Girl" became the fourth top-ten pop hit from the Dancing On The Ceiling album in February of 1987. The single went all the way to #1 on the adult contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart in Billboard, and topped out at #17 on their R&B list. Internationally, the record was a top-20 success in England (#17) and France (#18), and a top-40 hit in the Netherlands.

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The flip side of the 7" single, the smooth country of "Deep River Woman"with genre superstars Alabama, was a hit in its own right, reaching #10 on Billboard's Country Singles chart, #28 on the Adult Contemporary list, and #71 on the Hot 100..

Here's Lionel on tour in Paris performing the song...

Up tomorrow: Some Samoans pick a winner.