"Running with the Night" is the second single released from American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie's multi-platinum and

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winning 1983 album, ''

Can't Slow Down Can't Slow Down may refer to: * ''Can't Slow Down'' (Lionel Richie album) or its title song, 1983 * ''Can't Slow Down'' (Saves the Day album), 1998 * ''Can't Slow Down'' (Foreigner album), 2009 * "Can't Slow Down" (song), by Hedley from their a ...

''. Richie co-wrote the song with songwriter Cynthia Weil and co-produced it with

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. ...

Recording

The

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

solo on "Running with the Night" was played by Steve Lukather, best known as a member of the rock band Toto.Hyatt, Wesley (1999). ''The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits'' (Billboard Publications), page 279. Lukather sat down in the studio and the engineer played the basic tracks of the song, for him to hear for the first time, so he could plan his part. As the music played, he jammed along on his instrument. At the conclusion of the tune, he said to the engineer, "Okay, I'm ready for a take." The producer replied, "That was a take." Some adult contemporary stations edited out Lukather's guitar solo. Singer Richard Marx added backing vocals on the track as a session singer; he had also lent his vocals to Richie's "

All Night Long (All Night) "All Night Long (All Night)" is a hit single by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie from 1983. Taken from his second solo album, '' Can't Slow Down'' (1983), it combined Richie's soulful Commodores style with Caribbean influences. This ...

" and " You Are".

Reception

Released as the follow-up single to Richie's hit "

", "Running with the Night" became another ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top ten for the singer, peaking at #7 in early 1984. The song also reached the top ten on two other '' Billboard'' charts that year, topping out at #6 on both 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 ...

and

R&B charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. "Running with the Night" also made the top ten 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 ...

, reaching #9 in January 1984. In its contemporary review of the single, '' Cash Box'' said that "Richie presents a dramatic, smooth, mid-tempo tale of tripping the light fantastic, and he once again proves his ability to synthesize a melting pot of styles." In a positive retrospective review Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

AllMusic 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 databa ...

wrote "he even adds a bit of rock with the sleek nocturnal menace of 'Running With the Night,' one of the best songs here. He doesn't swing for the fences like Michael did in 1982; he makes safe bets, which is more in his character."

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for the song was directed by Bob Giraldi. It begins at a wedding reception, and focuses on a bridesmaid ( Sheila E.) who sits alone. It then cuts to Richie and a group of men who pair up with women, except for Richie. They dance through streets and then crash the wedding reception during which Richie then pairs up with the lonely bridesmaid. The wedding guests and Richie's company then dance together.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Samples

* Rihanna sampled this song on "Push Up On Me", a track from her 2007 album ''

Good Girl Gone Bad ''Good Girl Gone Bad'' is the third studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on May 31, 2007, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Rihanna worked with various producers on the album, including Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, Neo d ...

''. Both Richie and Weil are given songwriter credit.

References

External links

Single release info from discogs.com
{{Lionel Richie 1983 singles Lionel Richie songs Music videos directed by Bob Giraldi Songs written by Lionel Richie Songs with lyrics by Cynthia Weil 1983 songs Motown singles Song recordings produced by James Anthony Carmichael