"Why You Wanna Try Me" by Commodores

Song#:  0907
Date:  02/06/1982
Debut:  82
Peak:  66
Weeks:  5
Genre:  R&B



Pop Bits:  The first two singles from The Commodores' LP "In the Pocket" reached both the pop and R&B Top 10 - "Lady (You Bring Me Up)" (#8 pop/#5 R&B) and "Oh No" (#4 pop/#5 R&B). They shot for a third hit with this song but it came up way short only making it a third of the way up the pop chart and petering out at #42 at R&B. The low peaks were especially disappointing because it was the last Commodores single to featured Lionel Richie as lead vocalist.

ReduxReview:  I'm not that shocked at the poor showing of this single. It just is not in the same league as their two previous hits. Richie was co-writer and it doesn't even come close to ranking near his best material. There is not much interesting about the tune and its lazy groove and performance seems almost half-hearted. The album was not really one of their best, but it did contain the Lionel Richie-penned tune "Lucy," which is kind of a lost gem. That song plus the two Top 10's are pretty much all you need from the album. This single can be left behind.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  After Lionel Richie left for a solo career, The Commodores replaced Richie with vocalist Skyler Jett. Jett shared lead vocal duties for just a couple of years. He became an in-demand session singer in later years and provided vocals on thousands of songs including Celine Dion's 1998 mega-hit "My Heart Will Go On" (from the film "Titanic").

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