"Three Times a Lady" is a 1978 song by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

group the

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 ...

for their album '' Natural High'', written by lead singer

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 recor ...

. It was produced by

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. ...

and the Commodores. It was the Commodores' first number-one hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, topping the chart for two weeks on August 12, 1978, and also reached number one on the soul chart for two weeks. It was the only

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

song to reach the top 10 on the US ''Billboard ''Hot 100 that year. The song also spent three weeks at number 1 on the

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

. The song also reached number one on the Canadian ''RPM'' Singles Chart for four weeks, and was one of only a few Motown singles to reach the top spot on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, staying there for five weeks. It was also successful in Ireland, staying at number one for three consecutive weeks. It was number one in Australia for five weeks, and reached number 2 in New Zealand.

Background

As a student at

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

, Lionel Richie joined friends to form the band The Commodores. The group primarily performed

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

and party songs written by band members. Richie had grown up in a household full of varying kinds of music. His grandmother, Adelaide Foster, taught classical piano, and he was also inspired by the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

that was ubiquitous in Alabama. At a party to celebrate his parents' 37th wedding anniversary, Richie's father toasted his mother, Alberta, saying "She's a great lady, she's a great mother, and she's a great friend." The toast inspired Richie to write a

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

, "Three Times a Lady", which he dedicated to his wife, Brenda. As Richie later told

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

, the toast caused him to realize, "I haven't taken the time to tell my wife thank you. How many guys are in the same position?" Richie did not believe that a waltz would fit The Commodores' musical style, so he wrote it imagining that it would be sung by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

. As the band prepared to record the album ''Natural High'', group members presented various songs that they had written. Richie played "Three Times a Lady" for producer James Carmichael, with the warning that he intended to pitch the song to Sinatra. Carmichael insisted that the song be added to The Commodores' album.

Release

In the United States, "Three Times a Lady" was the first of two singles off of ''Natural High''. It entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on June 18, 1978 at number 73. Eight weeks later, it reached number 1, where it remained for two weeks. It also reached the top of the R&B chart, soul, and country charts. The song was the first number 1 single for The Commodores, and the first of their songs to be a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. The song eventually reached the top of charts in the United Kingdom, the Philippines, South Africa, and Canada, and was in the top 5 on charts in 25 other countries. The original Commodores' version of the song was included as the final track on Lionel Richie's greatest hits

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

'' Back To Front'', released in 1992.

Impact

The song was a "smash hit" which launched The Commodores into a higher level of fame and notice. In large part due to the popularity of this song, the band was named the top R&B group of the year by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', ''Billboard'', and '' Cashbox''. ''Billboard'' also named them the number 3 pop group of 1978, making them one of the historically few non-white performers listed. "Three Times a Lady" was nominated for two

Grammy 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 pres ...

awards, for Song of the Year and for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus. The song won a 1979

American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produ ...

and a

People's Choice Award The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...

. Many other artists reached out to Richie, asking him to write songs with them. Richie at first turned them all down, but eventually agreed to work with country singer

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

. The collaboration resulted in Rogers' hit song "

Lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inf ...

Chart performance

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Covers

* Nate Harvell recorded a country version in 1978, reaching number 23 on the ''Billboard'' country chart and number 24 in Canada. *

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

's version appears on his 1983 album '' Lost in the Feeling''. Twitty's version reached number 7 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart in the late winter of 1984 and number 4 in the Canadian charts. (#81 Year End)

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

reviewer Tom Jurek wrote that "Three Times a Lady" and the previous single, "

Heartache Tonight "Heartache Tonight" is a song written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bob Seger and J. D. Souther, recorded by the Eagles and features Glenn Frey on lead vocals. The track was included on their album '' The Long Run'' and released as a single in 1979. ...

" "offer(ed) a solid view of Twitty's amazing crossover potential, and his ability to take well-known pop tracks and turn them into solid country smashes long after the countrypolitan days of

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

and RCA."

References

External links

List of cover versions of "Three Times a Lady"
at SecondHandSongs.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Three Times A Lady 1978 singles 1983 singles 1978 songs Commodores songs Billy "Crash" Craddock songs Conway Twitty songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Lionel Richie Song recordings produced by Jimmy Bowen Warner Records singles Number-one singles in Australia Song recordings produced by James Anthony Carmichael 1970s ballads Soul ballads