In 1967, eighteen-year-old guitarist Thomas McClary had a dream: to form a musical group that would be hailed as “the black Beatles”. A lofty ambition. But one that began to take shape the day he enrolled at the prestigious Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. It was then that he met another young man: a saxophonist by the name of Lionel Richie. In the following months, they hooked up with William King who played trumpet,. The trio formed the musical group The Mystics.
Keyboardist Milan Williams came on board when another school group disbanded. A new name for The Mystics was needed and during a rehearsal, William King randomly selected the word "commodore" from a dictionary."We lucked out," King joked when telling this story to People magazine. "We almost became The Commodes!”
Over the following months, the group’s reputation spread and the Institute sent them to New York to perform in a talent show. One thing led to another, and the Commodores signed a management contract with one Benjamin "Benny" Ashburn, who gave them as much publicity as he could. Ashburn’s hard work paid off: in 1969, the group landed an audition with Atlantic Records.
After the audition, two more members were added: Ronald La Pread (bass, trumpet) and Walter Orange (vocals, drums). Soon, the band caught the attention of Motown Records executives, who hired them to be the opening act for the Jackson 5’s world tour.The tour was extensive. "…for two years we were the opening act for the Jackson Five,” Thomas McClary once told Onyx Magazine. “After the two years had expired, we signed with Motown."
Soon after, the Commodores began recording their first album, the funk-heavy Machine Gun. Recording began in 1972 and the album debuted on July 22nd, 1974. The title track – an instrumental – was the first single from the album. It peaked at No. 22 on Billboard Hot 100, but went to number 7 on Billboard’s Best Selling Soul Singles after being released in April of 1974. The second single, “I Feel Sanctified", was also successful, though it didn’t climb as high on the charts as its predecessor."We started touring after our first album,” McClary said in the Onyx interview, “and actually broke the Beatles' attendance record in the Philippines, which was unheard of."
It soon became apparent to Motown founder Berry Gordy that he had a massively popular group on his hands. Lionel Richie spoke enthusiastically about his days with the company. "There are great universities for music. Julliard, Berkley, you name it - but nothing like Motown university, you know? If ever you wanted to learn how to be an artist, and have it taught to you by the artists themselves,” he said in a 2008 interview with entertainment website “Channel 24” “I had Professor Marvin Gaye, Professor Smokey Robinson, I had the principal of the university, Berry Gordy…”
In 1978, with the release of their sixth studio album – Natural High – the Commodores made the crossover from funk to mainstream pop with the ballad “Three Times a Lady”, written by Richie. It was the first #1 hit for the Commodores, topping the chart for two weeks. The group has gone on to sell over 75 million records worldwide; they have spawned successful solo careers for former members, most notably Lionel Richie and Thomas McClary. Today, the Commodores consist of Ronald La Pread, J.D. Nicholas and William King, along with a backing band. They continue to perform and record, remaining as popular as ever.
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