"Stuck on You" by Lionel Richie

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  1954
Date:  06/23/1984
Debut:  72
Peak:  3
Weeks:  19
Genre:  Pop, Country Crossover



Pop Bits:  As Richie's third single, "Hello," from his album Can't Slow Down was beginning to descend from its #1 peak, this fourth single was released. The ballad extended his Top 10 solo hit streak to seven in a row when it got to #3. It would be his fifth solo single to hit #1 at AC. The song was also popular at R&B where it reached #8. The album was still riding high on the chart and would actually spend all of 1984 in the Top 10 thanks to this stretch of hit singles.

ReduxReview:  Richie purposely made an album that would appeal to the masses. It covered several styles and genres including this country-pop tune. The LP could have been a major mess, but somehow it all worked together well. I've always waffled on this song though. There are times I think it is well-written and nice to hear, and then other times I think it's kind of annoying and saccharine. When compared to some of the other hits from the album, it's actually kind of bland. I'm surprised it did so well, but Richie was at his peak around this time, so there was not much wrong he could do. It's a fine tune, but I have a tendency to use the skip button when it circles around in a playlist.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  This song had a distinct country-pop feel to it, so the label decided to market it to Country radio. It actually did well and ended up peaking at #24 on that chart. That result may seem a bit unusual, but it wasn't Richie's first experience in the Country market. Kenny Rogers' 1980 #1 Pop/#1 Country/#1AC hit "Lady" was written and produced by Richie. The results were so good that Rogers retained Richie for his next album, Share Your Love. Richie produced and contributed four songs to that album. Although none of Richie's tunes were released as singles, it did include four Pop/Country hit songs including the #1 Country/#1 AC/#3 Pop "I Don't Need You."

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