''Endless Love: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name. The album was released worldwide by Mercury Records and

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

in 1981. While the ''Endless Love'' movie itself faded into obscurity, the film's soundtrack and its theme song by

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

and

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 ...

, also called " Endless Love", certainly did not. The song was a No. 1 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and nearly 30 years after its release still remains the best-selling single of Ross' career. The single stayed at No. 1 for no less than nine weeks from August 9 to October 10, 1981, making it the biggest-selling single of the year in the US. It also topped the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and the Adult Contemporary chart as well as becoming a top ten hit single in the UK, peaking at No. 7. It also reached the top ten charts in most parts of the world. The duet single was released by Motown Records worldwide since both artists were still signed to that label at the time, and in effect, became the most successful single in Motown history. It however became Ross' final hit single for the label; shortly thereafter, she signed a then record-breaking $20 million deal with RCA Records. Her first album for her new label, the self-produced '' Why Do Fools Fall in Love'', released the same year, included a solo version of "Endless Love". The ''Endless Love'' soundtrack also included a second duet with Ross and Richie, "Dreaming of You", and both songs were also included as orchestral versions alongside Jonathan Tunick's original score. While Ross' appearance on the ''Endless Love'' soundtrack marked the end of an era as she left Motown after twenty years on the label, Lionel Richie's work for the album instead became a new beginning in his career both as a composer, producer and an artist in his own right. The "Endless Love" single was released while he was still officially a member of the Commodores. The success of the duet encouraged Richie to branch out into a full-fledged solo career, releasing his self-titled debut album in 1982 which produced another chart-topping single, " Truly", continuing the style of his ballads with the Commodores like " Easy", " Three Times a Lady" and " Still", as well as ballads Richie composed and produced for other artists like "

Lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

" for Kenny Rogers which hit No. 1 in 1980. The soundtrack album also featured two tracks that were not originally recorded for the actual film: KISS' " I Was Made for Lovin' You", first released on their album '' Dynasty'', a No. 11 hit on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

s singles chart in 1979, as well as Cliff Richard's "Dreamin'", written by singer Leo Sayer and producer Alan Tarney, originally included on Richard's album ''I'm No Hero'', also a top ten hit in the UK in 1980. Blondie's 1979 US and UK No. 1 hit " Heart of Glass" which also briefly appeared in the movie was not included on the soundtrack album. The ''Endless Love'' soundtrack was re-released on CD by

in 1998; this 1998 CD version is now out-of-print. In December 2014, PolyGram re-released the CD soundtrack in Japan under Universal Japan SHM-CD.

Track listing

Side A

#" Endless Love" (

) – 4:26 #*Performed by

and Lionel Richie #"Dreaming of You" ( Thomas McClary, Richie) – 4:31 #*Performed by Ross and Richie #" I Was Made for Lovin' You" ( Paul Stanley,

Desmond Child John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. His hits as a songwriter include Kiss's "I Was Made for Lovi ...

, Vini Poncia) – 3:59 #*Performed by Kiss #" Dreamin'" ( Leo Sayer, Alan Tarney) – 3:37 #*Performed by Cliff Richard #"Endless Love" (Theme) (Richie) - 2:45 #*Instrumental

Side B

#"Dreaming of You" (Theme) (Richie) – 4:44 #*Instrumental #"Heart Song" (

Jonathan Tunick Jonathan Tunick (born April 19, 1938, New York City) is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer, and one of seventeen " EGOTs" - people to have won all four major American showbusiness awards: the Tony Awards, Academy Awards, Emmy A ...

) – 1:42 #*Instrumental #"David Goes to Jade's House" (Tunick) – 3:35 #*Instrumental #"Ann Sees David and Jade Making Love" (Tunick) – 3:32 #*Instrumental #"David at the Institution" (Dialogue) (Tunick) – 4:28 #*Instrumental #"Endless Love" (Reprise) (Richie) – 4:27 #*Performed by Ross and Richie

Charts

Certifications

Personnel

- lead and backing vocals on "Endless Love" and "Dreaming of You" *

- lead vocals on "Endless Love" and "Dreaming of You" * KISS - performers on "I Was Made for Lovin' You" * Cliff Richard - lead vocals on "Dreamin'" *Sonny Burke -

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

*David Cochrane - bass guitar, backing vocals * Paulinho Da Costa - percussion *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

- bass guitar *Barnaby Finch - piano * Ed Greene -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Paul Jackson Jr. Paul Milton Jackson Jr. (born December 30, 1959) is an American fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. Jackson knew by the age of fifteen that he wanted to become a professional musi ...

- acoustic and electric guitar * Thomas McClary - guitar *

Sylvester Rivers Sylvester Rivers (born October 28, 1953) is an American composer, arranger, pianist and producer, based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, he has recorded with numerous major artists including Aretha Franklin, Nancy Wilson ...

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

* Rick Shlosser - drums *Deborah Thomas - backing vocals *

David T. Walker David T. Walker (born June 25, 1941) is an American guitarist, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to numerous session musician duties since the early 1970s, Walker has issued fifteen albums in his own name. Career David T. Walker was born to ...

- guitar

Production

*Lionel Richie -

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

("Endless Love" and "Dreaming of You") * Vini Poncia - producer ("I Was Made for Lovin' You") * Alan Tarney - producer ("Dreamin'") *Peter Guber - record and soundtrack producer *Jon Peters - record and soundtrack producer *

Charles Koppelman Charles Koppelman (March 30, 1940 – November 25, 2022) was an American musician, music producer, and businessman. He held executive positions at EMI and Steve Madden, and he was Chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. At the time of his d ...

- executive producer *Adam Fields - executive producer *Brenda Richie - production assistant *

- arranger, conductor * Gene Page -

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

arrangements, rhythm arrangements *Harry Bluestone - concertmaster *Reginald Dozier - sound engineer, mixing engineer *Michael Mancini - sound engineer, mixing engineer *Jeff Lancaster - package design

Sources and external links

Allmusic Diana Ross biography AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Allmusic Lionel Richie biography AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

br>Official Charts Company, UK chart historyIMDB.com, ''Endless Love''

References

{{Authority control 1981 soundtrack albums Mercury Records soundtracks PolyGram soundtracks albums arranged by Gene Page Romance film soundtracks Drama film soundtracks