“Well my friends, the time has come…” to commemorate a really recognizable lyric and a chart anniversary for Lionel Richie. On November 12, 1983, “All Night Long (All Night)” accomplished its climb to the highest of the Billboard Hot 100, on its method to changing into one of many anthems of his profession.
Written by Richie and co-produced by the artist with James Carmichael, “All Night Long” had been transferring up the US pop chart since mid-September. Furthermore, it was already within the midst of a seven-week run at No. 1 on the R&B survey. Then it began a four-week pop reign, seizing the crown from Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s “Islands In The Stream.” On the R&B chart, Motown’s sturdy finish to the 12 months would proceed when Richie was adopted to the summit by DeBarge’s “Time Will Reveal.”
“All Night Long” was one of many many hits from Can’t Slow Down, Lionel’s second solo album, which itself was an absolute gross sales juggernaut, licensed ten-times platinum in America in simply over two years, by the tip of 1985. By far the bestselling album of Richie’s stellar profession, its estimated worldwide gross sales are actually some 20 million.
Making magic on Sunset
Recorded at Ocean Way Studios on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles within the spring of 1983, the monitor featured such celebrated gamers as Greg Phillinganes on synthesisers, Paulinho da Costa on percussion, and a crew of backing vocalists that included a then-unknown Richard Marx.
Listen to the very best of Lionel Richie on Apple Music and Spotify.
As for the Jamaican-style chant that had Richie and the refrain singing “Tom bo li de say di moi ya, yeah, jambo, jumbo,” what did it imply? This author requested Lionel that very query in an interview for British pop weekly Record Mirror on the time of the only’s success. “If you go back and try to find out what it means,” he stated, “it’s like most of Bob Marley’s chants. They don’t really mean anything, but you know what they mean – you know what I’m saying? It’s an old Jamaican chant.”
Buy or stream “All Night Long (All Night)” on Lionel Richie’s Can’t Slow Down album.