The Commodores / discography

The Commodores performing in Hallandale , Florida

This discography is an overview of the released records of the American R&B and funk band The Commodores . According to sources and record awards, she has sold more than 9.1 million records to date, over six million of them in her home country alone. The most successful release of the Commodores is the album The Definitive Collection with over 1.2 million units sold.

Albums

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	R&B
1974	Machine gun	-	-	-	-	US138 (9 weeks) US	R&B22 (6 weeks) R&B	First published: July 22nd, 1974 Producers: Commodores, James Carmichael
1975	Caught in the Act	-	-	-	-	US26 (33 weeks) US	R&B7 (25 weeks) R&B	First published: March 1975 Producers: Commodores, James Carmichael
	Movin 'on	-	-	-	-	US29 (32 weeks) US	R&B7 (30 weeks) R&B	First published: October 1975 Producers: Commodores, James Carmichael
1976	Hot on the tracks	-	-	-	-	US12 (39 weeks) US	R&B1 (31 weeks) R&B	First published: September 1976 Producers: Commodores, James Carmichael
1977	Commodores (US) / Zoom (DE, UK)	-	-	-	-	US3 (53 weeks) US	R&B1 (44 weeks) R&B	First published: March 1977 Producers: Commodores, James Carmichael
1978	Natural high	-	-	-	UK8th gold (23 weeks)UK	US3 platinum (33 weeks)US	R&B1 (32 weeks) R&B	First published: May 1978 Producers: Commodores, James Carmichael
1979	Midnight Magic	-	-	-	UK15th gold (25 weeks)UK	US3 (41 weeks) US	R&B1 (38 weeks) R&B	First published: August 1979 Producers: Commodores, James Carmichael
1980	Heroes	-	-	-	UK50 (5 weeks) UK	US7th platinum (33 weeks)US	R&B3 (39 weeks) R&B	First published: June 1980 Producers: Commodores, James Carmichael
1981	In the pocket	-	-	-	UK69 (5 weeks) UK	US13 platinum (40 weeks)US	R&B4 (40 weeks) R&B	First published: June 1981 Producers: Commodores, James Carmichael
1983	Commodores 13	-	-	-	-	US103 (20 weeks) US	R&B28 (17 weeks) R&B	First published: September 1983 Producer: Commodores
1985	Nightshift	DE4 (30 weeks) DE	AT9 (14 weeks) AT	CH8 (15 weeks) CH	UK13 (10 weeks) UK	US12 gold (37 weeks)US	R&B1 (36 weeks) R&B	First published: February 1985 Producer: Dennis Lambert
1986	United	DE62 (1 week) DE	-	CH28 (2 weeks) CH	-	US101 (15 weeks) US	R&B17 (21 weeks) R&B	First published: February 1985 Producers: Dennis Lambert, Jeremy Smith, Greg Mathieson, James Anthony Carmichael, Milan Williams

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More studio albums

• 1983: Uprising
• 1988: Rock Solid
• 1989: Keep On Dancing (re-release of Uprising )
• 1992: Christmas
• 1993: XX No Tricks

Live albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	R&B
1977	Commodores Live!	-	-	-	UK60 (1 week) UK	US3 (28 weeks) US	R&B2 (26 weeks) R&B	First release: October 1977 double album recording: America tour 1977

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More live albums

• 1983: Commodores 1978 Platinum Tour (Promo)
• 1998: Live! (2 CDs)

Compilations

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	R&B
1978	Commodores' Greatest Hits	-	-	-	UK19th gold (16 weeks)UK	US23 (20 weeks) US	R&B24 (17 weeks) R&B	First published: November 1978
1982	Love songs	-	-	-	UK5 gold (28 weeks)UK	-	-	First published: August 1982
	All the great hits	-	-	-	-	US37 gold (24 weeks)US	R&B12 (30 weeks) R&B	First published: November 1982
1983	Commodores Anthology	-	-	-	-	US141 (7 weeks) US	R&B50 (7 weeks) R&B	First published: May 1983
1985	The Very Best of Commodores - 16 Classic Tracks	-	-	-	UK25th gold (13 weeks)UK	-	-	First published: October 1985
1995	The very best	-	-	-	UK26th silver (3 weeks)UK	-	-	First published: April 1995
2003	The Definitive Collection	DE40 (9 weeks) DE	AT61 (3 weeks) AT	CH45 (6 weeks) CH	UK1 × 4 Quadruple platinum (… Where.)UK	-	-	First published: November 2003 Lionel Richie and the Commodores
2013	The Best of the Commodores: 20th Century Masters The Millennium Collection	-	-	-	-	US155 gold (12 weeks)US	-	First published: November 23, 1999

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More compilations

1978: Easy 1978: Super Twin (2 LPs) 1982: The Best of Commodores 1983: Compact Command Performances 1983: Portrait (2 LPs) 1984: All the Great Love Songs 1985: The Best of Commodores 1985: Great Love Songs (with Lionel Richie and Diana Ross ) 1986: Composer: Great Songs Written by Lionel Richie (US:gold) 1992: Commodores Hits Vol. I & II 1993: Three Times a Lady 1994: The Very Best Of (Diamond Star Collection) 1994: gold 1994: The Best of Commodores 1995: The Best of Commodores

1996: The Commodores 1996: Commodores / Sam & Dave (with Sam & Dave ; 2 CDs) 1997: The Ultimate Collection 1998: This Is Forever 1998: Motown: The Real Thing 1999: The Best of the Commodores 1999: Classic Commodores 2001: Anthology (2 CDs) 2002: The Collection 2005: Jazz Funk 2005: Gold (2 CDs) 2006: Soul Legends (with Lionel Richie ) 2006: Gold (with Lionel Richie; 2 CDs) 2006: Color Collection 2008: Lionel Richie and the Commodores (with Lionel Richie) 2009: The Definitive Collection

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)							Remarks	[↑]: treated together with the previous entry; [←]: placed in both charts
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	R&B	Dance
1974	Machine gun machine gun	-	-	-	UK20 (11 weeks) UK	US22 (13 weeks) US	R&B7 (15 weeks) R&B	-	First published: April 23, 1974 Author: Milan Williams
	I Feel Sanctified Machine Gun	-	-	-	-	US75 (8 weeks) US	R&B12 (15 weeks) R&B	-	First published: October 1, 1974 Authors: Jeffrey Bowen, Bill Miller
	The Zoo (The Human Zoo) Machine Gun	-	-	-	UK44 (2 weeks) UK	-	-	-	First published (UK): November 1974 Release in US on March 16, 1972 Authors: Gloria Jones , Pam Sawyer
1975	Slippery When Wet Caught in the Act	-	-	-	-	US19 (15 weeks) US	R&B1 (17 weeks) R&B	-	First published: April 2, 1975 Authors: Commodores, Thomas McClary
	This Is Your Life Caught in the Act	-	-	-	-	-	R&B13 (15 weeks) R&B	-	First published: August 18, 1975 Author: Lionel Richie
	Sweet Love Movin 'On	-	-	-	-	US5 (23 weeks) US	R&B2 (20 weeks) R&B	-	First published: November 25, 1975 in the UK charts until October 1977 as the B-side of Brick House . Authors: Lionel Richie, Commodores
1976	Just to Be Close to You Hot on the Tracks	-	-	-	UK62 (4 weeks) UK	US7 (16 weeks) US	R&B1 (18 weeks) R&B	-	First published: August 9th 1976 Chart entry in UK only in November 1978 Authors: Lionel Richie, Commodores
	Fancy Dancer Hot on the Tracks	-	-	-	-	US39 (9 weeks) US	R&B9 (14 weeks) R&B	Dance33 (1 week) Dance	First published: November 18, 1976 Authors: Ronald LaPread, Lionel Richie, Commodores
1977	Easy commodores	-	-	-	UK9 gold (10 weeks)UK	US4 (22 weeks) US	R&B1 (17 weeks) R&B	-	First published: May 5, 1977 Author: Lionel Richie
	Brick House Commodores	-	-	-	UK32 (6 weeks) UK	US5 gold (16 weeks)US	R&B4 (13 weeks) R&B	Dance34 (2 weeks) Dance	First published: August 11, 1977 only in the UK B-side Sweet Love placed Authors: Commodores
	Too Hot Ta Trot Commodores Live!	-	-	-	UK38 (3 weeks) UK	US24 (12 weeks) US	R&B1 (14 weeks) R&B	-	First published: November 17, 1977 Authors: Commodores
1978	Zoom Live!	-	-	-[UK: ↑]		-	-	-	First published: January 6, 1978 Authors: Ronald LaPread, Lionel Richie, Commodores
	Three Times a Lady Natural High	DE30 (11 weeks) DE	AT20 (4 weeks) AT	-	UK1 gold (14 weeks)UK	US1 (20 weeks) US	R&B1 (17 weeks) R&B	-	First published: June 8, 1978 Author: Lionel Richie
	Flying high natural high	-	-	-	UK37 (7 weeks) UK	US38 (10 weeks) US	R&B21 (11 weeks) R&B	-	First published: June 9, 1978 Authors: Lionel Richie, Thomas McClary
1979	Sail On Midnight Magic	-	-	-	UK8th silver (10 weeks)UK	US4 (17 weeks) US	R&B8 (13 weeks) R&B	-	First published: July 1979 Author: Lionel Richie
	Still Midnight Magic	-	-	-	UK4 (11 weeks) UK	US1 (20 weeks) US	R&B1 (17 weeks) R&B	-	First published: September 1979 Author: Lionel Richie
	Wonderland Midnight Magic	-	-	-	UK40 (4 weeks) UK	US25 (15 weeks) US	R&B21 (13 weeks) R&B	-	First published: December 1979 Author: Milan Williams
1980	Old-Fashion Love Heroes	-	-	-	-	US20 (16 weeks) US	R&B8 (14 weeks) R&B	-	First published: June 1980 Author: Milan Williams
	Heroes Heroes	-	-	-	-	US54 (9 weeks) US	R&B27 (11 weeks) R&B	-	First published: August 1980 Authors: Lionel Richie, Darrell Jones
	Jesus Is Love Heroes	-	-	-	-	-	R&B34 (11 weeks) R&B	-	First published: November 1980 Author: Lionel Richie
1981	Lady (You Bring Me Up) In the Pocket	DE64 (5 weeks) DE	-	-	UK56 (5 weeks) UK	US8 (22 weeks) US	R&B5 (18 weeks) R&B	Dance53 (12 weeks) Dance	First published: June 1981 Authors: Harold Hudson, Shirley King, William King
	Keep On Taking Me Higher In the Pocket	-	-	-	-	-	-[Dance: ↑]		First published: August 1981 Authors: Harold Hudson, Thomas McClary
	Oh no in the pocket	-	-	-	UK44 (3 weeks) UK	US4 (20 weeks) US	R&B5 (20 weeks) R&B	-	First published: September 1981 Author: Lionel Richie
1982	Why You Wanna Try Me In the Pocket	-	-	-	-	US66 (5 weeks) US	R&B42 (6 weeks) R&B	-	First published: January 1982 last song with Lionel Richie as lead singer. Writer: Lionel Richie, David Cochrane
	Painted Picture All the Great Hits	-	-	-	-	US70 (6 weeks) US	R&B19 (18 weeks) R&B	-	First published: November 1982 Authors: Harold Hudson, Walter Orange
1983	Only You Commodores 13	-	-	-	UK93 (2 weeks) UK	US54 (13 weeks) US	R&B20 (16 weeks) R&B	-	First published: August 1983 Author: Milan Williams
1985	Nightshift Nightshift	DE4 (19 weeks) DE	AT4 (14 weeks) AT	CH5 (11 weeks) CH	UK2 silver (14 weeks)UK	US3 (22 weeks) US	R&B1 (22 weeks) R&B	-	First published: December 1984 Tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson Grammy (R&B vocal group) Authors: Dennis Lambert, Franne Golde, Walter Orange
	Animal Instinct Nightshift	DE39 (9 weeks) DE	-	-	UK74 (2 weeks) UK	US43 (9 weeks) US	R&B22 (11 weeks) R&B	Dance9 (7 weeks) Dance	First published: April 1985 Author: Martin Page
	Lightin 'Up the Night Nightshift	-	-	-	-	-	-[Dance: ↑]		First published: April 1985 Authors: Diane Warren , Jeff Lorber
	Janet Nightshift	-	-	-	UK90 (1 week) UK	US87 (4 weeks) US	R&B65 (7 weeks) R&B	-	First published: August 1985 Authors: Bobby Caldwell, Franne Golde, Paul Fox
1986	Goin 'to the Bank United	DE34 (14 weeks) DE	-	-	UK43 (4 weeks) UK	US65 (12 weeks) US	R&B2 (20 weeks) R&B	-	First publication: September 1986 Authors: Andy Goldmark, Dennis Lambert, Franne Golde
1987	Take It from Me United	-	-	-	-	-	R&B38 (12 weeks) R&B	-	First published: January 1987 Authors: Dennis Lambert, Andy Goldmark, Franne Golde
1988	Easy (reissue)	-	-	-	UK15 (11 weeks) UK	-	-	-	First published: August 1988
	Solitaire Rock Solid	-	-	-	-	-	R&B51 (7 weeks) R&B	-	First published: September 1988 Authors: Sandy Torano, Chris Cameron

More singles

1969: Keep On Dancing (release: May) 1973: Don't You Be Worried (release: January 6th) 1973: Are You Happy (release: August 24th) 1974: Rapid Fire 1975: Superman (released February 21) 1976: Come Inside (unpublished; planned release: May) 1976: High on Sunshine (only in UK; release: July) 1976: Thumpin 'Music 1982: Lucy (release: October)

1982: Reach High (release: December) 1983: Turn Off the Lights (release: December) 1987: United in Love (release: May) 1988: Homeless 1989: Grrip (release: April 3rd) 1993: Everything Reminds Me of You 1994: Brick House '94 1998: Brickhouse Cuts

Video albums

• 1998: Live!
• 2004: The Best of 20th Century Masters: The DVD Collection

statistics

Chart evaluation

DE  AT  CH  UK  US  R&B Number one albums DE-DE AT-AT CH-CH UK1UK US-US R&B5R&B Top 10 albums DE1DE AT1AT CH1CH UK3UK US5US R&B10R&B Albums in the charts DE3DE AT2AT CH3CH UK11UK US17thUS R&B16R&B

DE  AT  CH  UK  US  R&B  Dance Number one singles DE-DE AT-AT CH-CH UK1UK US2US R&B7thR&B Dance-Dance Top 10 singles DE1DE AT1AT CH1CH UK5UK US10US R&B16R&B Dance1Dance Singles in the charts DE5DE AT2AT CH1CH UK19thUK US25thUS R&B29R&B Dance4thDance

Awards for music sales

Golden record  Canada 1985: for the single Nightshift  Netherlands 1979: for the album Midnight Magic 1979: for the album Natural High

Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.

Country / Region	silver	gold	platinum	Sales	swell
Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources)
Canada (MC)	-	gold1	-	50,000	musiccanada.com
Netherlands (NVPI)	-	2 × gold2	-	100,000	nvpi.nl
United States (RIAA)	-	5 × gold5	3 × platinum3	6,000,000	riaa.com
United Kingdom (BPI)	3 × silver3	7 × gold7th	4 × platinum4th	2,960,000	bpi.co.uk
All in all	3 × silver3	15 × gold15th	7 × platinum7th

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Chart sources: Singles albums UK US
2. ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
3. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .
4. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot Dance / Disco 1974-2003, ISBN 978-0-89820-156-7 .

Web links

• The Commodores at Allmusic (English)
• The Commodores at Discogs (English)