"You Are" | ||||
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Single by Lionel Richie | ||||
from the album Lionel Richie | ||||
B-side | "You Mean More to Me" | |||
Released | January 1983 | |||
Recorded | 1981 | |||
Genre | Funk [1] | |||
Length | 5:05 4:05 (7") | |||
Label | Motown | |||
Songwriter(s) | Lionel Richie Brenda Harvey Richie | |||
Producer(s) | Lionel Richie James Anthony Carmichael | |||
Lionel Richie singles chronology | ||||
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Audio | ||||
"You Are" on YouTube |
"You Are" is a song released as a single in 1983 by American singer-songwriter Lionel Richie. It was written by Richie and his then-wife, Brenda Harvey Richie. It appears on his self-titled debut solo album, which came out in 1982. It resumes where he left off with D-flat major tunes with Commodores' "Sail On" and "Still", and his solo effort "Truly".
Released as the follow-up single to his number-one hit song "Truly", "You Are" reached the top five on three major Billboard music charts. On the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, the song spent two weeks at number four in early 1983. [2] It peaked at number two on the R&B chart (behind "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson), and spent six weeks at number one on the adult contemporary chart. [3] In the United Kingdom, the song reached number 43 on the British pop chart. [4]
Billboard said that it has a faster tempo than "Truly" and that it has "an inventive vocal arrangement, with deft harmonies and resonant bass rumbles." [5]
"You Are" is a romantic song, although it has a more upbeat arrangement than many of Richie's slower ballads, including a horn section. Before achieving popularity for his own music, singer Richard Marx was a studio musician who can be heard singing backing vocals on "You Are" as well as other songs from Richie's debut album.
Richie re-worked the song as a duet with country singer Blake Shelton for Richie's 2012 Tuskegee album.
Chart (1983–2012) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [6] | 17 |
UK Singles (OCC) [7] | 43 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [8] | 4 |
US Cashbox Top 100 [9] | 2 |
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [10] | 1 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [11] | 2 |
Canada Top 50 Singles (RPM) | 5 |
Chart (1983) | Position |
---|---|
US Billboard Hot 100 [12] | 29 |
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) [13] | 1 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) [14] | 13 |
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 stations that are members of the Adult Contemporary radio panel. The chart debuted in Billboard magazine on July 17, 1961. Over the years, the chart has gone under a series of name changes, being called Easy Listening(1961–1962; 1965–1979), Middle-Road Singles(1962–1964), Pop-Standard Singles(1964–1965), Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks(1979–1982) and Adult Contemporary(1983–present) The current number-one song on the chart is "Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift.
"Endless Love" is a song written by Lionel Richie and originally recorded as a duet between Richie and singer/actress Diana Ross. In this ballad, the singers declare their "endless love" for one another. It was covered by Luther Vandross with R&B-pop singer Mariah Carey, and also by country music singer Shania Twain. Richie's friend Kenny Rogers also recorded the song. Billboard has named the original version as the greatest song duet of all time.
"Three Times a Lady" is a 1978 song by American soul group Commodores for their album Natural High, written by lead singer Lionel Richie. It was produced by James Anthony Carmichael and Commodores.
"Missing You" is a song performed by American singer Diana Ross, recorded for her 1984 album Swept Away. The song was written, composed, and produced by Lionel Richie as a tribute to Marvin Gaye, who was murdered by his father earlier that year. The memorial song was released as the album's fourth single on November 13, 1984, by RCA. Richie also provided background vocals on the song.
"Easy" is a song by American band Commodores from their fifth studio album, Commodores, released on the Motown label. Group member Lionel Richie wrote "Easy" with the intention of it becoming another crossover hit for the group given the success of a previous single, "Just to Be Close to You", which spent two weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977.
"Say You, Say Me" is a song written and recorded by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie for the film White Nights. The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the Hot Black Singles chart in December 1985. It also became Richie's ninth number-one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The track is not available on the film's soundtrack album, as Motown did not want Richie's first single following the massive success of his 1983 album Can't Slow Down to appear on another label. It was included by Motown on Richie's 1986 release Dancing on the Ceiling.
"Hello" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie. Taken as the third single from his second solo album, Can't Slow Down (1983), the song was released in 1984 and reached number one on three Billboard music charts: the pop chart, the R&B chart, and the Adult Contemporary chart. The song also went to number one on the UK Singles Chart for six weeks.
Lionel Richie is an American R&B and pop singer, who has released 10 studio albums, three live albums, and seven compilation albums. Formerly the lead vocalist of The Commodores, Richie began a solo career in the early 1980s and has released over 40 singles, five of which became number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Coming Home is the eighth studio album by American singer Lionel Richie. It was released by The Island Def Jam Music Group on September 12, 2006 in the United States. A breakaway from his previous albums and their adult contemporary sounds, Richie and executive producer Antonio "L.A." Reid recruited a number of sought-after producers and songwriters from the contemporary R&B and hip-hop genres to work with him on the album, including Dallas Austin, Jerry Duplessis, Jermaine Dupri, Sean Garrett, Wyclef Jean, Rodney Jerkins, and Norwegian duo Stargate.
"Do It to Me" is a song by American singer Lionel Richie. The song was written by Richie, and produced by himself and Stewart Levine. It was the first single from his first compilation album, Back to Front and was released in 1992 by Motown Records. The song spent one week at number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Do It to Me" also achieved some success in European countries, becoming a top ten hit in France and Norway. The song samples the drum break "Sneakin' in the Back" by Tom Scott.
"I Call It Love" is a song by American singer Lionel Richie. It was written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, and Phillip "Taj" Jackson for Richie's eighth studio album Coming Home (2006), while production was helmed by Eriksen and Hermansen under their production moniker Stargate. The song was released as the album's lead single and reached number-one on Billboard's urban adult contemporary chart. Nicole Richie starred in the accompanying music video.
"Truly" is the debut solo single by American singer-songwriter Lionel Richie. Resuming where he left off with D-flat major tunes "Sail On" and particularly "Still" when he was lead for the Commodores, Richie wrote the song and co-produced it with James Anthony Carmichael.
"Lady" is a song written by Lionel Richie and first recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in September 1980 on the album Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits.
"My Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lionel Richie. It was released in 1983 as the third and final single from his self-titled debut solo album. The song features harmony backing vocals by country music singer Kenny Rogers. It reached the top 10 on three notable Billboard magazine charts in the spring of 1983: on the Billboard Hot 100 the song peaked at No. 5; on the Adult Contemporary chart, the song spent four weeks at No. 1; and on the R&B chart, the song topped out at No. 6. "My Love" was not among Richie's more successful singles in the United Kingdom, where it only managed No. 70 on the UK Singles Chart. In Canada, it peaked at No. 28 on the RPM Top 100 Singles chart.
"Running with the Night" is the second single released from American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie's multi-platinum and Grammy Award-winning 1983 album, Can't Slow Down. Richie co-wrote the song with songwriter Cynthia Weil and co-produced it with James Anthony Carmichael.
"Penny Lover" is the title of the fifth and final single released from Lionel Richie's multi-platinum 1983 album, Can't Slow Down. The song was written by Richie and his then-wife, Brenda Harvey Richie.
"Stuck on You" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie. It was the fourth single released from his second studio album, Can't Slow Down, released in June 1984, by Motown, and achieved chart success, particularly in the US and the UK, where it peaked at number three and number 12, respectively. "Stuck on You" reached number one on the Adult Contemporary chart, Richie's seventh chart topper.
"Ballerina Girl" is a 1986 song written and recorded by Lionel Richie. The song is a track from his Dancing on the Ceiling album. "Ballerina Girl" peaked at number five on the soul charts. The song was also the last of Richie's eleven number ones on the Adult Contemporary charts, spending four weeks on top. "Ballerina Girl" peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1987.
In the US and Canada, the song was released as a double A-side, with Deep River Woman entering the charts in January 1987.
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"You Are" is a breezy midtempo lite-funk number — not a ballad, though it's as gentle as one.