The Commodores ~ Three Times A Lady 1978 Soul Purrfection Version

By the time "Three Times A Lady" was released, it was apparent that Lionel Richie's emotionally charged vocals were better suited to the ballads he introduced to the band rather than the hot funk the rest of the band was able to produce. Disco brought a need for the "slow songs", so that couples could get close and calm down after an energetic night of disco dancing and the tune brought instant bliss to the dance floor. It also gave the Commmodores their first #1 Pop hit, spending two weeks at the top there and #1 R&B. Lionel was inspired to write the song while at his parents 37th wedding anniversary and heard his father thank his wife for staying with him through all the problems life threw at them. Lionel realized that he had not taken the time to thank his own wife and set about writing "Three Times A Lady". It entered the chart on June 17, 1978 and hit the peak position for the week ending August 12.