During my last year
of high school in Phoenix, Arizona, one of the staples of our dances was the hit song, Brick House, by the Commodores.
There was something about that song that made one think that one’s butt could move in ways that it simply wasn’t
designed to do. Or, maybe it was just my butt. I’m just sayin’.
However, not only was that song a staple at a high school
dance that was attended mainly by white and Hispanic kids, it drew the crowd’s attention to a hot act that would command
their attention for the rest of their lives, with record sales of 75 million copies and climbing. What a testament to the
unifying attributes of great music!
One
of the hits that attributed to such astonishing sales was their 1985 tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, Nightshift.
That song was to the 80’s as Abraham, Martin and John was to the 60’s.
Fast-forward twenty-five years to June 25, 2010. If the
month and day sounds like they should mean something, you’re correct. That marked the first anniversary
of the death of Michael Jackson. To commemorate his life and passing, the Commodores released a new version
of Nightshift.
I always felt that
the original version of the song could never be improved upon and that no one should ever try to “cover” it.
However, when I listened to an advance copy of the re-recorded version of the song, the hair on the back of my neck
stood straight up. The lyrics are as touching for its honoring of Michael Jackson as the original version was in honoring
Marvin and Jackie.
I knew that I had to
talk to one of the Commodores about this great, new version of this classic song. It was my pleasure to
be able to chat by phone with one of the original members of the Commodores, William King.
By the time I talked with King, he had already had a long
day of interviews talking about the song. I knew he had to be tired but you wouldn’t know it by his
warmth and willingness to chat with yet another interviewer.
I cut to the chase by asking questions that I knew he had already answered countless times
already that day. I asked Mr. King what led to the latest version of Nightshift.
“Well, you know, when we actually did the song for the first time after
Michael died, which was the next night, it wasn’t anything like what you’re hearing now, lyric wise.
On stage in Birmingham, England, JD (Nicholas) went in and sang (going into the melody of the tune) ‘Michael,
he was a friend of mine . . .” and he just started off like that, right? And he just
