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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS

BRICK HOUSE. The Commodores play Emerald Queen Casino I-5 in Tacoma at 8:30 p. m. June 14. Ticket prices range from $35 to $65.

Commodores take the ‘night shift’ at EQC

The Commodores are not just any group. They have staying power. Just like their hit song “Brick House,” the Commodores have created a foundation that just will not budge.

After churning out hit after hit in the Motown days, the Commodores still had not achieved Grammy recognition. This was not to be until 1986, without former band member Lionel Richie, when the Commodores released “Night Shift.”

The Commodores were formed at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1967 as the Mystics, becoming the Commodores in 1969. All students at the Institute, the original line-up consisted of Lionel Richie, William King, Thomas McClary, Milan Williams, Ronald LaPread, and Walter “Clyde” Orange.

After being discovered by Berry Gordy, the group was signed by Motown in 1972, and started out as the opening act for the Jackson 5 on their European tour. It was two years before the Commodores ever started recording, but once they did they became Motown’s best-selling male group of the 1970s.

With hits like “Machine Gun” and “Sail On,” the Commodores became proven artists. They proved it then. They proved it in 1986 with “Night Shift,” and now they are ready to prove it again.

Unlike many other groups, the Commodores have not rested on their early hits. Quite the contrary, the Commodores have continued to put out quality work. With the creation of their new label, the Commodores released “Commodores Hits Vol.1,” “Commodores Hits Vol. II,” “Commodores Christmas” and “Commodores XX-No Tricks.”

The Commodores were the launching pad for one of the 1980s top pop talents in Richie singing lead vocals on ballads “Three Times A Lady,” “Easy” and “Still.”

Richie led the group to their first No. 1 pop smash with “Three Times A Lady” and “Still.” After Richie left to pursue his solo career in 1981, the Commodores bounced back with their last No.1 hit, “Night Shift.”

After the release of “Night Shift,” the term of the Commodores’ recording agreement with Motown came to an end and the band entertained offers from every major record label in the business. Their change in status to an unsigned group focused their attention and talents. Together with their manager David Fish, the Commodores set about taking control of their career in an unprecedented fashion.

The first step was to regain control of their material. Motown’s refusal to grant master use licenses to the Commodores for their planned greatest hits records turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

In 1991, the Commodores – Orange, King and James Dean “J.D.” Nicholas – began the mammoth undertaking of creating all new digital recordings of the Commodores classic hits. Using the best digital recording technology available, the first step in assuming total control of their future was accomplished.

Recording sessions from late 1991 through 1992 produced enough material for four new albums.  

With four records in the can, the only one thing missing was a label and the Commodores decided to form their own record company. Announced in August 1992, Commodores Records and Entertainment came into being. It was the final step in maintaining full and total control over their music and career that the band had desired for some time.

The Commodores have maintained their place among the most successful entertainers in the world. Their new careers as entrepreneurs, as well as performers, bring the boys from Tuskegee full circle. Bringing the talent and experience of four decades of writing, producing and performing hit music to a whole new generation of fans, the Commodores are proving once again that their future is as bright as their past.

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