"Oh No" is an
R&B ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
from the 1981
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 ...
album ''
In the Pocket''. Written 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 was released as a single in 1981, being his last hit with the Commodores before going solo.
Similarities of the song's opening bars can be heard in Richie's 1981
duet
A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...
"
Endless Love" with
Diana Ross.
''
Record World'' praised "the combination of delicate piano melodies and Lionel Richie Jr.'s emotional lead vocal."
This song was also featured in the 1982 movie ''
The Last American Virgin
''The Last American Virgin'' is a 1982 American sex comedy film written and directed by Boaz Davidson. It is a remake of Davidson's 1978 Israeli film '' Eskimo Limon (Lemon Popsicle)''.
After the success of the original film and its sequels in ...
''.
Track listings
7" single
#"Oh No" – 3:00
#"Lovin' You" – 4:36
Charts
References
{{Commodores
1981 singles
Commodores songs
Songs written by Lionel Richie
1981 songs
Motown singles
Song recordings produced by James Anthony Carmichael