"All Night Long (All Night)" is a hit single by American singer and songwriter

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and record ...

from 1983. Taken from his second solo album, '' Can't Slow Down'' (1983), it combined Richie's soulful

Commodores Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

style with

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influences. This single reached number one on three ''Billboard'' charts (pop, R&B and adult contemporary). In the UK, it peaked at number two on the singles chart. The song lyrics were written primarily in English, but Richie has admitted in at least one press interview that "African" lyrics in the song, such as "Tom bo li de say de moi ya" and "Jambo jumbo", were in fact his

sui generis ''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include: * Biology, for species that do not fit in ...

dialects. Richie has described these portions of the song as a "wonderful joke", written when he discovered that he lacked the time to hire a translator to contribute the foreign-language lyrics he wished to include in the song. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' summed up its review of the single saying "Richie’s command of these diverse musical elements and shifts in melodic direction is as impressive as it is pleasureable."

Music video

An accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "All Night Long (All Night)" was produced by former Monkee and TV video pioneer

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

and directed by

Bob Rafelson Robert Jay Rafelson (February 21, 1933 – July 23, 2022) was an American film director, writer, and producer. He is regarded as one of the key figures in the founding of the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s. Among his best-known films as a ...

Notable uses

Richie performed the song at the closing ceremonies of the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the seco ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. The song was used in the pilot episode for ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two Met ...

'', " Brother's Keeper". While Richie was supposed to appear in the episode to sing it, he was on tour at the time and couldn't make it to the filming location; an unnamed band plays the song in the episode.

Charts and certifications

Original 1983 version

Weekly charts

, align="center", 1 , - , - , - , UK Singles (

The Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

) , align="center", 2 , - , - , - , - , scope="row", US Hot Black Singles (''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'') , align="center", 1 , - , US ''Cash Box'' Top 100 , align="center", 1 , - , -

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Personnel

Personnel as listed in the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are descen ...

are: * Lionel Richie – lead and backing vocals, Yamaha GS-1 synthesizer, rhythm and vocal arrangements *

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...

– Yamaha GS-1 synthesizer * Darrell Jones – guitar * Carlos Rios – guitar * Tim May – guitar * Abraham Laboriel – bass guitar * John "J.R." Robinson – drums * Paulinho da Costa – percussion * Melinda Chatman – vocal sound effects *

James Anthony Carmichael James Anthony Carmichael (born September 14, 1941) is an American Grammy-winning musician, arranger, and record producer. At first he started off in Los Angeles as an arranger and producer for Motown acts like The Temptations and the Jackson 5. ...

– backing vocals; horn, rhythm and string arrangements * David Cochrane – backing vocals * Calvin Harris – backing vocals *

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's self-titled debut album went triple-platinum in 1987, and his first single, " ...

– backing vocals * Deborah Thomas – backing vocals * Kin Vassy – backing vocals Chant vocals * Diane Burt, James Anthony Carmichael, Melinda Chatman, David Cochrane, Dr. Lloyd Byro Greig, Calvin Harris, Brenda Harvey-Richie, Jeanette Hawes, Janice Marie Johnson, Richard Marx, Deborah Joyce Richie, Lionel Richie, Suzanne Stanford and Deborah Thomas Hoopa hollers * Marilyn Ammons, Sue Ann Butler, Melinda Chatman, Sheldon J. Cohn, Esq., Sandy Dent-Crimmel, Ruth Diaz, David Egerton, Sylvia Genauer, Rejauna Lynn Green, Gabrielle Greig, Sally Greig, Tanya Greig, Darrell Jones, David Malvin, Alison Maxwell, Jerry Montes, John Michael Montes, Billy "Bass" Nelson, Greg Phillinganes, Carlos Rios, Suzanne Stanford, Randy Stern, Wilbert Terrell and Susan Wood Production * Lionel Richie – producer * James Anthony Carmichael – producer * Calvin Harris – recording engineer * Steve Crimmel – second recording engineer * David Egerton – second recording engineer, gibberish vocals * Mark Ettel – second recording engineer

2011 version (with Guy Sebastian)

Richie recorded a new version of the song with Australian singer

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter who was the winner of the first ''Australian Idol'' in 2003, judge on Australia's ''The X Factor'' from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach ...

in 2011. All proceeds went towards the Queensland floods and New Zealand earthquake appeal. The re-recorded version was produced by

RedOne Nadir Khayat ( ar, نادر الخياط; born 9 April 1972), better known by his stage name RedOne, is a Moroccan singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. As a record producer and songwriter, he has worked with many high-profi ...

Adams, Cameron (26 February 2011
Lionel Richie and Guy Sebastian have teamed up to record a charity single for earthquake relief
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' (Sydney). Retrieved 27 February 2011 and was released to

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,000 ...

s in Australia and New Zealand on 18 and 16 March, respectively.

Charts

It debuted on the New Zealand Singles Chart at number twelve on 21 March 2011 and on the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

at number twenty-six on 28 March 2011.

Jacob Collier version

In 2018, English singer, arranger, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist

Jacob Collier Jacob Collier (; né Moriarty; born 2 August 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His music incorporates a combination of jazz with elements from many other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reh ...

collaborated with

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as Dove ...

and the

Metropole Orkest The Metropole Orkest (Metropole Orchestra) is a jazz and pop orchestra based in the Netherlands, and is the largest full-time ensemble of its kind in the world. A hybrid orchestra, it is a combination of jazz, big band and symphony orchestra. Com ...

on a version of "All Night Long". Collier's arrangement won the 2020

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for ''Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals''. The version was included on Collier's studio album, '' Djesse Vol. 1'' (2018). The album peaked at number six on the

Top Classical Albums and Top Jazz Albums.

Benjamin Ingrosso version

In 2019, Swedish singer Benjamin Ingrosso recorded a version at the Spotify studios, Stockholm. It was released in March 2019 and peaked at number 5 on the Swedish charts and was certified platinum in June 2019. The rearranged version of the song, titled as "All Night Long (All Night) 020 Edit was released on 17 July 2020.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Sverigetopplistan
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Samplings

Parts of the song were used in " I Like It", a 2010 song composed by

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By th ...

, Pitbull, and

with samplings from

as the 1983 classic is interpolated after the first and third choruses.

References

External links

List of cover versions of "All Night Long (All Night)"
at SecondHandSongs.com {{authority control 1983 singles 2011 singles 2019 singles American reggae songs Calypso songs Lionel Richie songs Guy Sebastian songs Benjamin Ingrosso songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in South Africa Songs written by Lionel Richie Macaronic songs Swahili-language songs 1983 songs Motown singles Song recordings produced by James Anthony Carmichael Songs about dancing

Music video

Notable uses

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Personnel

2011 version (with Guy Sebastian)

Charts

Jacob Collier version

Benjamin Ingrosso version

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Samplings

See also

References

External links