Three Times a Lady

“Three Times a Lady” is a 1978 song by American soul group the Commodores for their album Natural High, written by lead singer Lionel Richie. It was produced by James Anthony Carmichael 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.[4] It was the only Motown 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 song also reached number one on the Canadian RPM Singles Chart for four weeks,[6] and was one of only a few Motown singles to reach the top spot on the UK Singles Chart, staying there for five weeks.[7] 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. As a student at Tuskegee University, Lionel Richie joined friends to form the band The Commodores. The group primarily performed funk 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 that was ubiquitous in Alabama. At a party to celebrate his parents’ 37th wedding anniversary,[1Richie’s father toasted his mother, Alberta, saying “She’s a great lady, she’s a great mother, and she’s a great friend.”[8] The toast inspired Richie to write a waltz, “Three Times a Lady”, which he dedicated to his wife, Brenda. As Richie later told Dick Clark, 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. 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.