Songoftheday 2/5/14 - Marvin, he was a friend of mine and he could sing a song his heart in every line...

The Commodores - "Nightshift"
from the album Nightshift (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 13

Today's Song of the Day is by the soul and funk band the Commodores, who were formed at Tuskegee University in Alabama in the late 60s. After coming under Motown Records' wing in 1972, and released their debut album two years later. The instrumental title track from that set, "Machine Gun", became their first hit, reaching #22 on the pop chart, #7 on the R&B list, and crossing the Atlantic to place at #20 on the British singles chart. A year later, with their second album, they managed to top the soul chart with "Slippery When Wet", an ultra-funky number that featured member Lionel Richie on vocals. Richie's pop-oriented influence on the band's sound grew exponentially through the mid-80s, and as they adopted a more adult-contemporary R&B type of sound, pop radio started playing them more, as evidenced by their first pop top-10 single, "Sweet Love" from their third effort Movin' On. However, they still balanced it for a while with their original funk groove, scoring their first "disco" hit with "Fancy Dancer" in 1977.

But it wouldn't be long until the softer side of the Commodores won out, with them placing their first top-10 hit in the UK with "Easy", then topping the American pop, soul, and easy-listening charts (as well as in the UK) with "Three Times A Lady". The group closed out the decade with their second pop #1 in the US, "Still".

Richie would leave the band in 1982, and while he would have a very successful solo career from the get-go, the group's first album without him failed to send a single to even the pop top-40. For their second post-Lionel release, though, they would leave longtime producer James Anthony Carmichael (who would go to concentrate on Richie's material) for Dennis Lambert. Lambert would co-write the first single and title track, "Nightshift", with drummer and now-lead singer Walter Orange, who sung the top-ten "Brick House" for the band back in 1977 (JD Nicholas provides the second verse). Dedicated and lyrically about then-recently passed soul legends Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, the nostalgic and solemn tribute to the pair resonated with American, and they ended up with their biggest hit in the decade...

"Nightshift" reached the top-3 of the pop chart in the U.S. in April of 1985, while topping the R&B list in Billboard for a full month. The song made the #2 spot on the easy-listening adult contemporary radio chart, while the remix even went to #6 on the dance club play chart. In Britain, the single went to #3 as well. "Nightshift" would go on to win the Grammy award for group R&B performance.

The single would be the group's last so far in the pop top-40, though they came close with the followup (and future "robbed hit") "Animal Instinct".  Their next full-length album, United, contained their final Hot 100 hit, "Goin' To The Bank", which also almost topped the soul chart at #2, as well as "United In Love", which made the top-40 on the adult contemporary chart. While their final charting soul hit, "Solitaire" (#51), came in 1988, the band continues on the oldies circuit on tour...

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Here's the Commodores live with the song...

..and again in 2010 re-released with new lyrics referencing the death of Michael Jackson..

In 1985, Jamaican reggae singer Winston Groovy had a minor hit in Britain with a cover that went to #83 on the singles chart there...

American Idol winner Fantasia interpolated "Night Shift" in her recent top-40 R&B hit "Lose To Win"...

Up tomorrow: Recent New Girl actor wants to come along.