^^^Urgh. That horrid video and awful song made my eyes and ear drums bleed even as a child.

SoulAlive said:

I like the song "Love Will Conquer All" but the rest of the album puts me to sleep I remember after this album came out,I saw an article in a magazine (Right On!? Black Beat? Rock N' Soul?....can't remember which one) that was titled "Is Lionel Richie becoming the black Barry Manilow?" There was a sense that,at that point,he had gone too "pop" and had totally abandoned his R&B roots.

You bring up a point that I believe has been a long ongoing issue with the black community. Why is it that if you are a black artist, if you go outside the box to reach a higher audience, you are either going "too pop" or "abandoning your roots (a.k.a. being a sellout)"???? Then if you don't go outside the box, stay within the R&B roots, you are "Unsung" instead? What gives? I have always been at odds with this philosophy and debate because it makes no sense whatsoever. Sammy Davis, Jr. was given much flack from black folks back in the day because he could sing, dance, write and play music with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and because of that he was "trying to be white". Urgh, I'm sorry but that is total bullshit. As far as Richie goes, the real complaint should had been that "Dancing on the Ceiling" was a shit song (along with a cheesy, shitty music video to go along with it). Period.

Ok, rant over.

[Edited 12/15/15 5:05am]

missfee said:

missfee said:

I've always hated that song but I dont think it killed his career as a Pop/R&B star. Lionel had his 10 years of super fame as part of the Commodores and as a solo artist. By 1987, his time was simply up. Just the way it is for most folks in the industry. They had to make room for the younger singers and the fact New Jack Swing started to take over black music soon after the "Ceiling" album had run out of steam, Lionel just couldn't keep up. I suppose he could have tried New Jack on the follow-up like a lot of other veteran artists were doing but most of them sounded absolutely ridiculous so I'm glad he didn't attempt to follow that particular trend.

MickyDolenz said:

purplethunder3121 said:

BobGeorge909 said:

I don't doubt the accuracy of what ure saying at all as I was mostly just talking out my ass while simultaneously dumping on country which I don't like. At the time is seemed more like an attempt at exploring a revenue market than an honest artistic endeavor.

I grew up hearing country music & watching country shows. So I've always liked it. I think the sales was more that it was a duets album with mostly current hot acts, than it being country music. I'm not sure if Lionel released a country album of all new songs without the guests, it would have done as well. At least it probably would not have sold sold as quickly. Although duet albums existed before, it was the big sales of the Frank Sinatra duet albums from the 1990s that really brought out this trend. Ray Charles had big sales with the duet albums at the end of his career. Santana's Supernatural is the biggest selling album of their career and that is partially duets.

Did he have flop records at the time? I kind of remember him just basically, not showing up anymore after Dancing on the Ceiling. Like he went away for a while. But I only knew him through the radio hits.

bobzilla77 said:

Did he have flop records at the time? I kind of remember him just basically, not showing up anymore after Dancing on the Ceiling. Like he went away for a while. But I only knew him through the radio hits.

He had vocal problems in the late 1980s and did not release anything. He had an operation to remove polyps. I think his father had health problems too and Lionel was taking care of him. Lionel released a greatest hits in the early 1990s, with 3 new songs on it. One became a hit Do It To Me. That was his last album on Motown. He didn't release an album of all new material until the late 1990s. I don't think the albums he released after the 1992 compilation did much business, other than the country duets one, even though there were collabs with Akon, Wyclef, Ne-Yo, Jermaine Dupri, Lenny Kravitz, and Raphael Saadiq. But there was a minor hit with Jam & Lewis.

There was an 10 year gap between Dancing On The Ceiling and his next album of all new material. That probably doesn't work for anyone except Sade. His time for Top 40 airplay had passed.

missfee said:

SoulAlive said:

I like the song "Love Will Conquer All" but the rest of the album puts me to sleep I remember after this album came out,I saw an article in a magazine (Right On!? Black Beat? Rock N' Soul?....can't remember which one) that was titled "Is Lionel Richie becoming the black Barry Manilow?" There was a sense that,at that point,he had gone too "pop" and had totally abandoned his R&B roots.

You bring up a point that I believe has been a long ongoing issue with the black community. Why is it that if you are a black artist, if you go outside the box to reach a higher audience, you are either going "too pop" or "abandoning your roots (a.k.a. being a sellout)"???? Then if you don't go outside the box, stay within the R&B roots, you are "Unsung" instead? What gives? I have always been at odds with this philosophy and debate because it makes no sense whatsoever. Sammy Davis, Jr. was given much flack from black folks back in the day because he could sing, dance, write and play music with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and because of that he was "trying to be white". Urgh, I'm sorry but that is total bullshit. As far as Richie goes, the real complaint should had been that "Dancing on the Ceiling" was a shit song (along with a cheesy, shitty music video to go along with it). Period.

Ok, rant over.

[Edited 12/15/15 5:05am]

It's not just a black thing. Phil Collins is heavily criticized for turning Genesis from a progressive rock band into the 80s version of Seals and Croft. Most fans of the early Genesis fans, especially of the albums when Peter Gabriel was the lead singer, can't stand Phil for turning them into a pop band, emphasizing commercial songs like Invisible Touch.

[Edited 12/15/15 11:46am]

bobzilla77 said:

Did he have flop records at the time? I kind of remember him just basically, not showing up anymore after Dancing on the Ceiling. Like he went away for a while. But I only knew him through the radio hits.

He had some vocal troubles, but if Dancing on the Ceiling had at least managed to retain the fans he established with Can't Slow Down, his next album would have done much greater numbers espeically considering his 4-5 hiatus.

kitbradley said:

I've always hated that song but I dont think it killed his career as a Pop/R&B star. Lionel had his 10 years of super fame as part of the Commodores and as a solo artist. By 1987, his time was simply up. Just the way it is for most folks in the industry. They had to make room for the younger singers and the fact New Jack Swing started to take over black music soon after the "Ceiling" album had run out of steam, Lionel just couldn't keep up. I suppose he could have tried New Jack on the follow-up like a lot of other veteran artists were doing but most of them sounded absolutely ridiculous so I'm glad he didn't attempt to follow that particular trend.

Even if black audiences were moving towards New Jack Swing, there was still room in pop for love songs. One More Try, Because I Love You and I Don't Know Much were huge hits in America during the peak of New Jack Swing:

Lionel used Can't Slow Down's success for cashing in with the lackadaisical Dancing on the Ceiling and that cost him long term success into the 1990s.

[Edited 12/15/15 12:06pm]

SoulAlive said:

I'm telling you guys....what really hurt Lionel's career is when he cheated on his wife Brenda kicked his ass and it was all over the news.That type of negative publicity ruined Lionel's image (even more so than that godawful Dancing On The Ceiling video,lol).

BobGeorge909 said:

SoulAlive said:

I'm telling you guys....what really hurt Lionel's career is when he cheated on his wife Brenda kicked his ass and it was all over the news.That type of negative publicity ruined Lionel's image (even more so than that godawful Dancing On The Ceiling video,lol).

Didn't it involve a hot pot of grits or something?

'Hits' Lionel would rather forget!

From the archives:

Lionel was a huge star in the late 80s and there's a lot of temptation from beautiful young women. I'm not saying what he did is right but it's not like he beat his wife or fought back physically.

Identity said:

SoulAlive said:

I'm telling you guys....what really hurt Lionel's career is when he cheated on his wife Brenda kicked his ass and it was all over the news.That type of negative publicity ruined Lionel's image (even more so than that godawful Dancing On The Ceiling video,lol).

I remember that one.

My friends and I were singing "Hello" on karaoke, and at the end it said "Writer: L.Ritchie (Brenda Richie Publishing)"

He never went away. He's not on the charts but either is a certain purple fuck.

MotownSubdivision said:

MichaelJackson5 said:

Reminds me of another prominent black, male artist who peaked in the 1980s.

Prince?

Ding ding ding ding.........me thinks we have a winner! (At least that's who would get my vote).

[Edited 12/16/15 12:41pm]

"Brenda kicked his ass and it was all over the news".....THIS. A lot of women that I knew got a lot of mileage (of jokes and cracks) out that incident. A few years later he released another single but no one seemed to care. By 1996 he started to get his respect back.

SoulAlive said:

I'm telling you guys....what really hurt Lionel's career is when he cheated on his wife Brenda kicked his ass and it was all over the news.That type of negative publicity ruined Lionel's image (even more so than that godawful Dancing On The Ceiling video,lol).

Oh yeah, that too Not only did she kick his ass, she beat his mistress' ass too. Karma really does bite, since Lionel ended up leaving Brenda for the mistress and marrying her.....fast forward to nearly a decade (and many plastic surgeries) later, the mistress and Lionel divorce.

Cinny said:

I had this tape when I was a little kid. I think what he accomplished in the early-mid 80s just wasn't followed up well in the late eighties. A lot of legends, white and black, who did not do dance music or new jack swing were left behind.

Richie did dance music once... Lionel "crossed over" to sing/write Patti Page type drivel.

TD3 said:

Cinny said:

I had this tape when I was a little kid. I think what he accomplished in the early-mid 80s just wasn't followed up well in the late eighties. A lot of legends, white and black, who did not do dance music or new jack swing were left behind.

Richie did dance music once... Lionel "crossed over" to sing/write Patti Page type drivel.

I guess I didn't hear it. There was a real tide turning in the late eighties, and then suddenly dance music was taboo again in 1993.

Cinny said:

I guess I didn't hear it. There was a real tide turning in the late eighties, and then suddenly dance music was taboo again in 1993.

Lionel released some remixes and maxi singles, so some of his stuff was dance music