All Night Long (All Night)
"All Night Long " is a song by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie from his second solo album, Can't Slow Down. The song combined Richie's Commodores style with Caribbean influences. The single reached number one on three Billboard charts. In the UK, it peaked at number two on the singles chart.
The song lyrics were written primarily in English, but Richie has admitted in at least one press interview that "African" lyrics in the song, such as "Tam bo li de say de moi ya" and "Jambo jumbo", were in fact gibberish. Richie has described these portions of the song as a "wonderful joke", written when he discovered that he lacked the time to hire a translator to contribute the foreign-language lyrics he wished to include in the song.
Production
When composing the song, Richie was able to write all of the verses easily but got stuck when he got up to the hook. He told GQ that he kept repeating, "come on and sing along" over and over to no avail:Finally, inspiration struck him while he was visiting a friend's house and about to go back to work in the studio:
Reception
Cash Box summed up its review of the single saying "Richie's command of these diverse musical elements and shifts in melodic direction is as impressive as it is pleasurable." Mat Snow of NME said it "is amongst the most justly infectious floor-fillers ever."Music video
An accompanying music video for "All Night Long " was produced by former Monkee and TV video pioneer Michael Nesmith and directed by Bob Rafelson.Notable uses
Richie performed the song at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.Richie performed the song live at the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize celebration.
In 2024, the song was featured in advertisements for Mattress Firm.
Charts
Year-end charts
| Chart | Rank |
| Australia | 23 |
| Brazil | 19 |
Personnel
Personnel as listed in the album's liner notes are:- Lionel Richie – lead and backing vocals, Yamaha GS-1 synthesizer, rhythm and vocal arrangements
- Greg Phillinganes – Yamaha GS-1 synthesizer
- Darrell Jones – guitar
- Carlos Rios – guitar
- Tim May – guitar
- Abraham Laboriel – bass guitar
- John "J.R." Robinson – drums
- Paulinho da Costa – percussion
- Melinda Chatman – vocal sound effects
- James Anthony Carmichael – backing vocals; horn, rhythm and string arrangements
- David Cochrane – backing vocals
- Calvin Harris – backing vocals
- Richard Marx – backing vocals
- Deborah Thomas – backing vocals
- Kin Vassy – backing vocals
- Diane Burt, James Anthony Carmichael, Melinda Chatman, David Cochrane, Dr. Lloyd Byro Greig, Calvin Harris, Brenda Harvey-Richie, Jeanette Hawes, Janice Marie Johnson, Richard Marx, Deborah Joyce Richie, Lionel Richie, Suzanne Stanford and Deborah Thomas
- Marilyn Ammons, Sue Ann Butler, Melinda Chatman, Sheldon J. Cohn, Esq., Sandy Dent-Crimmel, Ruth Diaz, David Egerton, Sylvia Genauer, Rejauna Lynn Green, Gabrielle Greig, Sally Greig, Tanya Greig, Darrell Jones, David Malvin, Alison Maxwell, Jerry Montes, John Michael Montes, Billy "Bass" Nelson, Greg Phillinganes, Carlos Rios, Suzanne Stanford, Randy Stern, Wilbert Terrell and Susan Wood
- Lionel Richie – producer
- James Anthony Carmichael – producer
- Calvin Harris – recording engineer
- Steve Crimmel – second recording engineer
- David Egerton – second recording engineer, gibberish vocals
- Mark Ettel – second recording engineer
2011 version (with Guy Sebastian)
Richie recorded a new version of the song with Australian singer Guy Sebastian in 2011. All proceeds went towards the Queensland floods and New Zealand earthquake appeal. The re-recorded version was produced by RedOne and was released to iTunes Stores in Australia and New Zealand on 18 and 16 March, respectively.Charts
It debuted on the New Zealand Singles Chart at number twelve on 21 March 2011 and on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart at number twenty-six on 28 March 2011.| Chart | Peak position |
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