"You Are" by Lionel Richie

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  1311
Date:  01/15/1983
Debut:  49
Peak:  4
Weeks:  18
Genre:  Pop, R&B, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  With his first solo single, "Truly," reaching #1, Richie needed a solid follow-up to show that his first hit wasn't just a fluke riding on the "Endless Love" wave. He did a smart thing by choosing a happy, uptempo pop tune instead of another ballad. It worked well for him with the song hitting the pop Top 10, #2 at R&B and a long six weeks in the top spot at AC.

ReduxReview:  This song is just kind of hard to dislike. The chorus is infectious and Richie sounds as happy as all get-out. The arrangement is terrific and still sounds great despite the dorky synth bass. I don't think he could have had a better follow-up to "Truly" than this song. The only slight blemish is the very opening of the song. It sounds very similar to the opening of Steve Winwood's "While You See a Chance." Other than that, the song is aces.

ReduxRating:  7/10

Trivia:  Singing background vocals on this song was a teenage musician named Richard Marx. Marx had a demo tape that Richie heard and based on that, Richie invited Marx out to L.A. Marx was in the studio during the sessions for Richie's debut album and Richie tagged Marx in to sing a background part on this song. Marx went on to do more background vocals for stars like Whitney Houston and Barbra Streisand. Soon, his songs were getting recorded by artists and that finally lead to his own debut album in 1987.

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