''Commodores'' is the fifth studio album by the

Commodores Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

, released in 1977. The album spent eight weeks at the top of the R&B/soul albums chart, the second of their albums to do so, and was their first Top 5 pop album. There is also a previously released extended version.

Reception

The band employed a variety of musical styles for the album, highlighted by the popular anthem " Brick House". With Walter Orange's deep voice on the lead, and Ronald LaPread's roundtone bassline, this track peaked on the U.S. Hot 100 at #5, and the U.S. R&B Chart at #4. "Brick House" means a "stacked" woman with an hour-glass figure. In contrast to "Brick House", " Easy" is a pop ballad with mellow vocals by Lionel Richie. "Zoom" is one of the Commodores' best known tunes, despite not being released as a single in the US. It reached #38 on the

UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Fergie sampled "Zoom" in her song "All That I Got (The Make-Up Song)" on the album ''

The Dutchess ''The Dutchess'' is the debut solo studio album by American singer and rapper Fergie. It was released on September 13, 2006, through A&M Records and the will.i.am Music Group as her first solo album. The album was recorded between The Black Eye ...

''. In the UK and other Western European countries this album was released as ''Zoom'' on Tamla Motown. The album was dedicated to Kathy Faye LaPread, bass guitarist Ronald LaPread's wife, who died from cancer around that time.The Story Behind the Song: "Zoom" by the Commodores
SoulTracks

Track listing

Personnel

Commodores * Lionel Richie – vocals, saxophones, keyboards *

Milan Williams Milan B. Williams (March 28, 1948 – July 9, 2006) was an American keyboardist and a founding member of The Commodores. Biography Williams was born in Okolona, Mississippi, and began playing the piano after being inspired by his older brother Ea ...

– keyboards * Thomas McClary – vocals, guitars *

Ronald LaPread Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

– vocals, bass *

Walter Orange Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown i ...

– vocals, drums, percussion * William King – vocals, trumpet Additional musicians * Cal Harris – synthesizers * Darrell Jones – guitars

Production

* Commodores – producers, arrangements *

James Anthony Carmichael James Anthony Carmichael (born September 14, 1941) is an American Grammy-winning musician, arranger, and record producer. At first he started off in Los Angeles as an arranger and producer for Motown acts like The Temptations and the Jackson 5. ...

– producer, arrangements * Cal Harris – engineer, mixing * Jane Clark – engineer * Jack Andrews – mastering * Carl Overr – graphics director * Stan Martin – design * Tom Nikosey – illustration * Gene Gurley – photography * Benjamin Ashburn – album coordinator, manager

Charts

Singles

References

{{Authority control Commodores albums 1977 albums Albums produced by James Anthony Carmichael Albums produced by Lionel Richie Motown albums