The Commodores made a brief appearance in the 1978 film Thank God It’s Friday. Lionel Richie and Orange alternated as lead singers. They performed mostly cover tunes and some original songs with their first singer, James Ingram. After winning the university’s annual freshman talent contest. The band originated while its members attended Tuskegee University in Alabama. To choose a new name, William King opened a dictionary and randomly picked a word. Together a six man band was created from which the notable individuals were Lionel Richie, Thomas McClary, and William King from the Mystics Andre Callahan, Michael Gilbert, and Milan Williams were from the Jays. Richie described some members of the Mystics as jazz buffs. The Commodores originally came together from two former student groups, the Mystics and the Jays. The members of the group met as freshmen at Tuskegee Institute in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972. The Commodores’ Walter “Clyde” Orange, James Dean “JD.” Nicholas and William “WAK” King have influenced both artists young and old and in all genres with their classic songs. The group continues to perform, playing at arenas, theaters, and festivals around the world. In 1986, the Commodores won their first Grammy for the song Nightshift.

The band’s biggest hit singles are ballads such as Easy, Three Times a Lady, and Nightshift and funky dance hits which include Brick House. After being discovered by Berry Gordy, the Commodores went on to sell over 60 million records for Motown.The group’s most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. In 1968 the group was formed while all the members were in college at Tuskeegee Institute. The Commodores is an American funk/soul band formed at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, USA.

Commodores nightshift live