Can't Slow Down is a fantastic album,but I think Prince deserved this award.

He had some damn amazing competition. I was rooting for Tina but no matter who won in this category, I would have been happy.

Hey I'm gonna tell yall some crazy shit. I was a freshman at the University of South

Carolina and we had a section of dorms called the Honey Combs where i resided. 4 of the dorms were men and 2 of them were women. On Grammy night that year everybody was watching. After

the Grammys people in the men's dorms lost their damn minds. Everyone was yelling out the dorm balconies who they thought should have won the awards. People were yelling Bruce Springsteen and Prince. It was like an epic battle between those two. I was LMAO. A few people called Lionel's name. Fucking Bruce Springsteen the boss you fucker. Fuck you Prince is the king bitch. It got so bad to the point the resident hall director started going around each floor to see who was causing the commotion. It's still one of the craziest things I've ever experienced. It went on for 35 to 40 minutes. I was expecting Prince to cash in on Grammy night but you can't argue with Lionel's success that year too with Can't Slow Down.

[Edited 7/2/17 20:42pm]

yeah it's interesting to think about in retrospect, those stories in context put it best. That album is beyond corny now. Even when I was young I saw the video for All Night, where Uncle Lionel has duct tape wound around his ass and the painter jumps over the fence and does the splits and the whole scene looks like they pumped nitrous oxide into an aerobics class, and thought this is some tacky old bullshit. I mean it has a nice flow and some tracks are standout, but I'd never admit to liking it now, more credibility in the others.

phunkdaddy said:

daingermouz2020 said:

Annoyed. Either Prince or Bruce should have won

MotownSubdivision said:

For reference, his competition was Tina Turner (Private Dancer), Bruce Springsteen (Born in the U.S.A.), Cyndi Lauper (She's so Unusual) and Prince (Purple Rain) against his Can't Slow Down. I think Prince should have won just like many others on here (of course) but in all honesty, there really wasn't a wrong choice to be made given the nominees. All of the nominated albums are classic blockbusters and iconic albums of the entirety of the 1980s. As far as the artists go, you have an identifiable feminist icon in Cyndi, a massive unprecedented comeback from Tina (also a feminist icon), a down-to-earth blue collar everyman in Bruce, a mysterious sexual enigma almost fresh from the underground in Prince and a likable laid back and smooth singer in Lionel. It was a win with whoever they decided on. However, considering how PR was the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed of the nominees, it is puzzling how it didn't get AoTY. [Edited 7/3/17 8:33am]

Most younger black people thought it was some bullshit. Are people buying "Can't Slow Down" today no they are buying Purple Rain.

Scorp said:

Cant Slow Down was an exceptional album across the board. Lionel Richie at his apex James Carmichael delivered exceptional level of production for that album and

"Love Will Find A Way" is my favorite track

laurarichardson said:

Are people buying "Can't Slow Down" today

Somebody's buying it, because there's a deluxe version, and a 2013 CD remaster.

There's also a Blu-Ray audio version

SoulAlive said:

Scorp said:

I love that jam That could have been the jam that gave rise to adult contemporary music

AC has always been popular, going all the way back to when it was called "easy listening", "beautiful music", and "crooner pop". Today people think that in the 1960s after The Beatles, there was only rock music on the charts. Not true, unless you consider Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Tom Jones, and 5th Dimension rock music. Lawrence Welk & Andy Williams had shows on TV. In the 1970s, there was John Denver, The Carpenters, Barry Manilow, Gordon Lightfoot and other AC/soft rock acts. John Denver was so popular they put him in movies like Oh God!, Muppet Show specials and his own variety specials. So Lionel had little to do with popularizing AC. He just benefited from it already being big on the radio.

laurarichardson said:

MickyDolenz said:

laurarichardson said:

laurarichardson said:

There is probaly a remasters of Zamir the pan flute player what does that have to do with longevity and influence.

Adele is the biggest selling current act, and her music has more in common with Lionel Richie than it does with Purple Rain or Born In The USA. She even has a song called Hello.

SoulAlive said:

laurarichardson said:

SoulAlive said:

laurarichardson said:

Most younger black people thought it was some bullshit. Are people buying "Can't Slow Down" today no they are buying Purple Rain.

Oh stop it in 1984,everybody was diggin 'Can't Slow Down' and I believe it sold around the same amount as 'Purple Rain'.It was a HUGE album.Lionel was in his heyday just like Prince and MJ were.I never understand why you have to put another artist down just to make Prince look better. ... [Edited 7/4/17 1:53am]

that album sold close to 20 million worldwide,

which was a major reason why he was asked to be the opening performer at the 84 Summer Olympic games in Los Angeles....and then co-write We Are The World with Michael Jackson

that was a brilliant album

[Edited 7/4/17 9:21am]

Scorp said:

Scorp said:

MotownSubdivision said:

Well at the time, the album was said to have sold 8 milliom units by the end of 1984 (Purple Rain sold similar numbers in the same timespan). By now, both albums have been certified to have sold around 20 million each so while people are still buying PR, a similar number of people have also been buying CSD.

Jimmy Fallon had Lionel doing a skit on his show. If people today didn't know Lionel's music, the skit wouldn't make any sense to the audience.

He's also been on other current mainstream shows. Even his daughter Nicole became famous.

laurarichardson said:

Scorp said:

that album sold close to 20 million worldwide,

which was a major reason why he was asked to be the opening performer at the 84 Summer Olympic games in Los Angeles....and then co-write We Are The World with Michael Jackson

that was a brilliant album

Never said it was not a big seller back then. Is it still selling today or as influential?

NO

I love Can't Slow Down, but you made a good point!

kitbradley said:

SoulAlive said:

"Love Will Find A Way" is my favorite track

It is an incredible song. Reminds me of his Commodores days. Interesting Motown passed on the song as a single despite the fact it stayed in heavy rotation at black radio.

This song has become a quiet storm classic....and yeah,you're right.....R&B radio really embraced this song back then.It got alot of airplay.

^^^ it's so cool seeing Sheila Escovedo (his drummer at the time) in that video

SoulAlive said:

^^^ it's so cool seeing Sheila Escovedo (his drummer at the time) in that video