Robbed hit of the week 4/14/14 - The Commodores' "Animal Instinct"...

The Commodores - "Animal Instinct"
from the album Nightshift (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #43

This week's "robbed hit" comes from the R&B group Commodores, who bounced back after the departure of lead singer and major creative force Lionel Richie with a tribute to passed soul stars "Nightshift" that brought them back to the top 10 on the pop chart with their biggest hit in over five years. They followed that single up with a more middle-of-the-road lite-funk song of "Animal Instinct", written by British artist Martin Page ("We Built This City", "These Dreams") and sung again by Walter Orange...

"Animal Instinct" just missed the pop top-40 in June of 1985, while only being a moderate hit at #22 on the R&B chart. Its biggest success was in the dance clubs, where it became their second consecutive top-10 dance hit at #9. Across the pond the single stalled down at #74.

Their next single, the ultra-smooth "Janet", probably would've been a better follow-up to "Nightshift", and it did manage to go to #8 on the adult-contemporary chart.  The following year, they released United, and the first single "Goin' To The Bank" took them almost back to the top of the soul chart at #2, while being their most recent pop hit in both America and the UK. Also from the album, "Take It From Me" landed them in the top-40 on the R&B chart, while "United In Love" went to #22 on the adult-contemporary radio list. The last time they saw the chart was in 1988 with "Solitaire" which topped out at #51 on the R&B chart...

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...and here's the top-ten club mix of the song...