"Three Times a Lady" is a 1978 song by American soul group the Commodores for their album Natural High, written by lead singer Lionel Richie. The Commodores' first hit was the 1974 synthesizer-pumped instrumental "Machine Gun." The song Easy by the Commodores was released in 1977. Publisher's Note: As a special treat for SoulTrackers, Jo-Ann Geffen, co-author of "Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Story Behind the Song," a great book that includes interviews with artists about the makings of many now-classic songs, has agreed to share with us some of the stories from the book (which is now available as an e book at Amazon.com), including this one about the Commodores. In 1982, Lionel Richie left to pursue a solo career. The band's rise to superstardom stalled when lead singer Lionel Richie left to pursue a solo career, but remaining members regrouped to arguably peak in 1985 with the Grammy-winning album Nightshift. It’s the first personnel change since the band originated in Tuskegee, Ala., 17 years ago. Milan Williams plays keyboards; Walter (Clyde) Orange is the drummer and part-time lead singer; Thomas McClary plays lead guitar, and Ronald LaPread, bass. Bit by bit, the rest of the band joined in until they came up with a track and bass line. While the equipment was being repaired and replaced, the group took a break. In 1977, the Commodores were in the studio recording, when there was a problem with the equipment. Ronald LaPread, the group's bass player, began jamming. 7 on the Billboard R&B chart. https://www.blackpast.org/.../lionel-richie-and-commodores-1967 It was the Commodores' first Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit, topping the chart for two weeks on August 12, 1978, and also reached number one on the soul chart for two weeks. The Commodores are funk soul brothers with a huge amount of class. This is a slow ballad song that was written by Lionel Richie who was the lead singer of the Commodores at that time. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for The Jackson 5 while on tour. The Commodores made a brief appearance in the 1978 film Thank God It's Friday. They performed the song "Too Hot ta Trot" during the dance contest; the songs "Brick House" and "Easy" were also played during the movie. Written by Williams, the song climbed to No. CommodoresThe Commodores … The funk and soul band the Commodores emerged from Tuskegee Institute (present-day Tuskegee University) in Macon County to become a widely known and popular Motown act. In 1983, Skyler Jett replaced Richie as co-lead singer. 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