Lionel Richie’s Own Parents Inspired This No. 1 Single for The Commodores

In 1978, The Commodores had their first No. 1 single on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, with “Three Times A Lady”. The sweet song, on their Natural High album, was written by The Commodores’ Lionel Richie.

“Three Times A Lady” says in part, “With every beat of my heart / To touch you to hold you / To feel you to need you / There’s nothing to keep us apart / You’re once twice / Three times a lady / And I love you / I love you.”

Although “Three Times A Lady” is a romantic song, Richie wasn’t inspired to write it just by thinking about his own love interest. Instead, it was his parents’ enduring marriage that led him to write this sweet song.

“I wrote it back in 1978, and it was a very personal meaning to me,” Richie says. “I attended the wedding anniversary of my parents and my father made a speech about how much he loved my mother and appreciated the way she had stood beside him for 37 years.”

“It was beautiful, and I started to think about my own life and how my wife stands by me, how she does so many things without being asked or thanked. So, I wrote ‘Three Times A Lady’ as a dedication to my wife and my mother.”

Richie was married to Brenda Harvey at the time. They divorced in 1993.

Who Else Lionel Richie Thought Should Record “Three Times A Lady”

Richie knew “Three Times A Lady” was special, but he didn’t necessarily think it was for The Commodores. Instead, when Richie wrote the song, he was thinking that it would be perfect for Frank Sinatra instead. He played the song for producer James Carmichael, who suggested that The Commodores release it.

Indeed, “Three Times A Lady” quickly became one of The Commodores’ biggest hits. But the satisfaction of having a hit with “Three Times A Lady” was much more personal for Richie.

“I think my next-door neighbor summed it up when she said that if a man wanted to buy her a present, all he need do is buy her that record and he wouldn’t have to say anything else,” Richie recalls.

Although “Three Times A Lady” is The Commodores’ first No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart, it’s their fifth No. 1 overall. The group had four No. 1 hits on the R&B chart, including “Easy” and “Too Hot Ta Trot”.

“Three Times A Lady” was nominated for two Grammy Awards. In 1983, Conway Twitty released his take on this song. Twitty’s version of “Three Times A Lady” became a Top 10 single for him.

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