"Ballerina Girl" is a 1986 song written and recorded by
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...
. The song is a track from Richie's ''
Dancing on the Ceiling
''Dancing on the Ceiling'' is the third solo studio album by American singer Lionel Richie, released on July 15, 1986. The album was originally to be titled ''Say You, Say Me'', after the Academy Award-winning track of the same name, but it wa ...
'' album. "Ballerina Girl" peaked at number five on the soul charts. The song was also the last of Richie's eleven number ones on the
Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
charts, spending four weeks on top. "Ballerina Girl" peaked at number seven on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 1987.
The song was written for Lionel's adopted daughter,
Nicole
Nicole may refer to:
People
* Nicole (name)
* Nicole (American singer) (born 1958), a contestant in season 3 of the American ''The X Factor''
* Nicole (Chilean singer) (born 1977)
* Nicole (German singer) (born 1964), winner of the 1982 Euro ...
.
Music video
In the music video Richie plays the song on a piano in a ballet school, while young ballet students dance.
Track listings
7" Single
# "Ballerina Girl" - 3:36
# "Deep River Woman" - 4:35
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Cover versions
*1997:
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...
*2000:
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...
References
1980s ballads
1986 singles
1987 singles
Lionel Richie songs
Songs written by Lionel Richie
Song recordings produced by James Anthony Carmichael
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