(* Diana Ross and ....)
Chart entered : 12 September 1981
Chart peak : 7
Number of hits : 28
Some eight or nine years ago a friend in my walking group asked me in all seriousness if I was interested in going to see Lionel perform. I thought "My God, what signals have I been giving out ?"
The phenomenal success of Three Times A Lady , a transatlantic number one in 1978 had made its composer and singer the undisputed main man in The Commodores, dictating the direction of future singles and writing a number one for Kenny Rogers with Lady in 1980.
Lionel was then asked to write a theme song for the film Endless Love ( which is pretty dire -see my review here. ) Ross was persuaded to sing on it despite having already signed the deal to leave Motown for RCA. Despite Lionel writing and producing the song she gets first billing of course . It is of course his record, an utterly typical slow piano ballad over which he smoothly layers his chocolate box lyrics, the only real difference from Three Times A Lady or Still being the extra layer of honey Miss Ross brings to the proceedings.
It was top of the US charts for nine weeks, became Ross's biggest selling single and her last chart topper. It was nominated for an Oscar, the only thing in the film that was. It prompted Lionel to leave The Commodores and strike out as a solo artist. It almost made number one again in 1994 as a duet for Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey and Lionel himself re-recorded it with Shania Twain in 2011 though to less commercial effect.
Lionel is a nice bloke and does what he does well but this sort of thing will hopefully never be appealing to me.
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