Classic R+B, Soul, Hip-Hop, etc

**PaulBullion** · 10-20-2018, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by Mormel

You know I have trouble understanding the hate for Lionel Richie. The Commodores was a fine band and sure Lionel's solo 80s stuff was poppy as hell... but the same can be said for so many artists who were putting out music in the same time. Why single out Lionel? I like All Night Long, I like Dancing On The Ceiling.

I didn't really like his solo stuff until "Destiny."

I think a lot of the hatred may have had to do with 2 things:

1. The "Hello" video was... really bad.

2. His album beat Springsteen's "Born in the USA" at the Grammys that year. They actually changed the way voting worked after that, making it harder for non-white acts to win Best Album.

**ed2962** · 10-20-2018, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by Mormel

You know I have trouble understanding the hate for Lionel Richie. The Commodores was a fine band and sure Lionel's solo 80s stuff was poppy as hell... but the same can be said for so many artists who were putting out music in the same time. Why single out Lionel? I like All Night Long, I like Dancing On The Ceiling.

I think it's because people remembered the Commodores starting out as a hard funk band and then group ended up as a cheesy pop band by the 80's. The over saturation of "Celebration" probably didn't help. So when Richie went straight pop some people were like, "Hey, I'm not going to get another 'Brick House'?"

**ed2962** · 10-20-2018, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by PaulBullion

I didn't really like his solo stuff until "Destiny."

I think a lot of the hatred may have had to do with 2 things:

1. The "Hello" video was... really bad.

2. His album beat Springsteen's "Born in the USA" at the Grammys that year. They actually changed the way voting worked after that, making it harder for non-white acts to win Best Album.

Wait a minute...what?

**PaulBullion** · 10-20-2018, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by ed2962

Wait a minute...what?

To this day, some outlets consider this kind of "unskewing the vote" a good thing, at least occasionally

To the Grammys' credit, this committee has some value. It was established after Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down won Album of the Year over Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA and Prince's Purple Rain. Richie was far from the best choice that year, and his win helped create the public perception that the Grammys were cut off from what "good music" meant.

What the committee does and how it makes choices, though, remains fairly private. The names of members are kept secret, and the only journalist to get a member of the committee to speak (off the record) was Robert Hilburn in 1999 for the LA Times. In that article, the unnamed source explains how the group decides the nominees:

The goal in each category is to take the 20 nominations that the members send forth and get the list down to a consensus of the seven or eight that we feel are the [best]. When we get that consensus, we stop. Each member of the committee then fills out a ballot, which isn't tabulated that day. So when we leave the room, no one — including Mike Greene — knows the results. The only ones who know are the accountants when they tabulate it later.

https://www.vox.com/2015/2/4/7976729...voting-process

**ed2962** · 10-20-2018, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by PaulBullion

To this day, some outlets consider this kind of "unskewing the vote" a good thing, at least occasionally

https://www.vox.com/2015/2/4/7976729...voting-process

Wow. I had no knowledge of this, but in a way I'm not super shocked. It might not be totally a racial thing seeing as they were mad that if Bruce didn't win the 2nd choice should have been Prince, but still...

**Mormel** · 10-20-2018, 01:36 PM

Yeah, that is all sorts of messed up. You can argue baback and forth about whether Can't Slow Down is on the level of Born in the USA or Purple Rain. But in that particular instance, it was nominated in the category; it was a contender, and it got the popular vote.

But Ed, I believe you were thinking of that other funk band turned pop, Kool & the Gang, who made 'Celebration'.

**PaulBullion** · 10-20-2018, 01:49 PM

Lionel Richie produced an album for Country singer Kenny Rogers in 1981.

As the title track is a cover of a song previously recorded by Bobby Blue Bland, Aretha Franklin, Motown band The Fantastic Four and other soul acts, I'll include it here instead of the country thread.

Oh, the backing vocals here? Gladys and the Pips.

**ed2962** · 10-20-2018, 02:28 PM

Originally Posted by Mormel

Yeah, that is all sorts of messed up. You can argue baback and forth about whether Can't Slow Down is on the level of Born in the USA or Purple Rain. But in that particular instance, it was nominated in the category; it was a contender, and it got the popular vote.

But Ed, I believe you were thinking of that other funk band turned pop, Kool & the Gang, who made 'Celebration'.

You're right. I don't know what i was thinking. I'm drinking margaritas this afternoon...

**ed2962** · 10-20-2018, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by PaulBullion

Lionel Richie produced an album for Country singer Kenny Rogers in 1981.

As the title track is a cover of a song previously recorded by Bobby Blue Bland, Aretha Franklin, Motown band The Fantastic Four and other soul acts, I'll include it here instead of the country thread.

Oh, the backing vocals here? Gladys and the Pips.

Lionel is doing straight up country these days. I was thinking of posting some duets he did with country stars covering his old song tomorrow...