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The Commodores were a highly successful Soul
music|soul/funk band in the 1970s. They met as
freshmen at Tuskegee Institute, and signed to
Motown having first caught the public eye
supporting The Jackson Five on tour. Now they are
perhaps best known for the ballad "Easy", which is
not considered to be representative of their
output. More usually, they recorded funky, driven
dance floor hits including "Brick House", "Fancy
Dancer", and "Slippery When Wet", amongst others.
"Machine Gun", the instrumental title track from
their debut album, has become a staple at American
sporting events, and has been featured in many
films, including Boogie Nights.

The Commodores' original lineup was Lionel Richie
(saxophone), Thomas McClary (guitar), Milan
Williams (keyboards), William King (trumpet),
Ronald LaPread (bass) and Walter Orange (drums).
Band members typically traded lead vocal duties.
After Lionel Richie left the band, former Heatwave
(band)|Heatwave singer J.D. Nicholas assumed his
place in the group.

The band jumpstarted careers of Richie and Orange.
When Richie left the band in 1982, it has never
recovered its early success. It has also gradually
abandoned funky roots to move into the more
commercial disco arena.

The Commodores were inducted into the Vocal Group
Hall of Fame in 2003.

==Discography==
* (1974) Machine Gun (album)|Machine Gun 
* (1975) Caught in the Act (Commodores
album)|Caught in the Act 
* (1975) Movin' On 
* (1976) Hot On The Tracks  
* (1977) Commodores (album)|Commodores 
* (1977) Zoom (Commodores album)|Zoom 
* (1978) Natural High 
* (1979) Midnight Magic 
* (1980) Heroes (Commodores album)|Heroes 
* (1981) In The Pocket 
* (1983) Commodores 13 
* (1985) Nightshift  

The group left Motown in 1986 for Polydor, and
released several additional albums, primarily
compilations.

==Samples==
*Media:BrickHouse.ogg|Download sample "Brick
House" from Commodores (album)|Commodores

== External links ==
*http://www.vghf.com/Inductees/commodores.htm
Vocal Group Hall of Fame page on The Commodores