Easy (Commodores song)
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| "Easy" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Commodores | ||||||||||
| from the album Commodores | ||||||||||
| Released | March 1977 | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1977 | |||||||||
| Length | 4:15 (Edit Version) 5:00 (Album Version) |
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| Label | Motown | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Lionel Richie | |||||||||
| Producer | James Carmichael Commodores[1] |
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| Commodores singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Easy" is a 1977 hit single by Commodores for the Motown label, from their fifth studio album, Commodores.
Written by Commodores lead singer Lionel Richie, the song, a slow ballad with country and western roots, expresses a man's feelings as he leaves his lover and ends their relationship. Since the narrator finds the girlfriend to be a bit of a drag, rather than being depressed about the break-up, he states that he is instead "easy like Sunday morning."
The single was released in the wake of the failure of the Commodores' single "Just to Be Close to You" at pop radio. Richie wrote "Easy" with the intention of it becoming a crossover hit for the group. "Easy" reached number-one on the Billboard R&B chart, and number-four on the Billboard Hot 100. [2]. Before "Easy's" success, the Commodores had primarily been a funk band, but the success of "Easy" paved the way for similar Richie-composed ballads such as "Three Times a Lady", and also for Richie's later solo hits.
This song features an electric guitar solo, in the instrumental section, backup vocals, in the Chorus, from the Commodores, plus an unusual feedback noise with an echo in the bridge section of the song.
The edit version gets mostly played. The longer version from the album features the Chorus being repeated more times, a half step up, from A Flat Major to A Major, a few times before it fades out.
The song appears on the game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol
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[edit] Charts
| Chart | Peak |
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| U.S. Billboard R&B chart | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3] | 4 |
| UK Singles Chart[4] | 9 |
[edit] Cover versions
"Easy" has been covered by many artists, such as Clarence Carter, Richie Havens, John Wesley Ryles, Jimmy Lindsay, Australian Idol finalist Holly Weinert, Canadian Idol finalist Jason Greeley, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, Irish boy band Westlife, America's Got Talent runner-up Cas Haley and others including Faith No More, who also released it as a single towards the end of 1992. "Easy" was sampled by the Houston-based rap group Geto Boys for the song "Six Feet Deep" from their 1993 album "Till Death Do Us Part". It was also used as a sample in Cam'ron's song "Hey Ma". Another cover of the song was included in a National Football League promo during the 2000s.
[edit] Faith No More cover
| "Easy" | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Faith No More | ||||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Angel Dust | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | EUR December 29, 1992 USA April 4, 1993 |
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| Genre | Alternative rock | |||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 3:08 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Slash | |||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Lionel Richie | |||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Matt Wallace Faith No More |
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| Faith No More singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Faith No More recorded a cover of "Easy" originally as a b-side during the studio sessions for Angel Dust,[5] following its repeated performance during live shows, but was released as the final single to the album in late 1992 - early 1993. It was their highest-charting UK hit, reaching #3, and their final charting single in the American chart Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #58. It was originally issued on December 29, 1992, on the double A-side single with "Be Aggressive", listed as "I'm Easy", in Europe and over three months later in America on the Songs to Make Love To, it was later included on the European version of their album Angel Dust and, in 2006, on a Commercial for Levi's Jeans.
[edit] Version differences
The song was released under three titles: "I'm Easy", "I'm Easy (Cooler Version)", and "Easy". The title varies depending upon the region of release. Most European releases had the title "I'm Easy", whereas the rest of the world, including Scotland, received the release as simply "Easy". There are at least two, perhaps four, different mixes in circulation, all of which originate from a the same studio recording of the song. The first mix has a voice-over by Mike Patton during the first few seconds of the song: "Turn the lights out, baby. This one's for the ladies in the house." The second version, sometimes listed as the "Cooler Version", lacks this intro but features a backing string arrangement throughout the song. A supposed third version has both the string arrangement and the spoken intro, while a fourth (and rarest) mix reportedly lacks both.
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The "First version was featured on the releases:[6]
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And the "Second version" was featured on the following releases:
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[edit] Track lists
[edit] Songs to Make Love ToThe Songs to Make Love To release, which was titled "Easy" on some pressings, was the American and Canadian release of the single. Its track list, which was almost identical to the German "I'm Easy" – special edition version which replaces track three with the rerecording of "As the Worm Turns" and is similar to the standard edition versions of "I'm Easy" which had the Revolution 23 Full Moon mix of "A Small Victory" as its third and last track, is as follows:[6]
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[edit] I'm Easy/Be AggressiveThe double A-side "I'm Easy/Be Aggressive" singles track lists had the first two tracks as "Easy" and "Be Aggressive" and two live tracks, with the exceptions of one fully live version which is identical to the Free Concert in the Park bonus disc and a two track French version, which are as follows.[6]
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[edit] Japanese versionThe Japanese version was released separately as a seven track EP under the name of "Easy" with the "I'm Easy/Be Aggressive" cover image and with six live tracks that also featured on other versions of the single, its track list was as follows:[6]
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† Live in Munich, Germany in November 9, 1992 |
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[edit] Charts
| Chart | Peak |
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| Australia ARIA Charts[7] | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[8] | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart[4][9] | 3 |
| Swiss Single Charts[10] | 9 |
| Dutch Top 40[11] | 10 |
| Irish Singles Chart[12] | 10 |
| Swedish Single Charts[13] | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[14] | 58 |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ australian-charts.com page on the Commodores version of Easy, retrieved on 24 February 2008
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 130.
- ^ billboard.com page on the Commodores "Easy", retrieved on 24 February 2008
- ^ a b everyhit.co.uk, an archive containing all UK top 40 charts, retrieved on 24 February 2008
- ^ Jem Aswad (June 1992). "Faith No More: Angel Dust in the wind". Issue 25. Reflex Magazine. http://negele.org/db/index.php3?band=2&year=1992&month=6&id=980. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
- ^ a b c d The PDF discography from FNM.com, retrieved on 24 February 2008
- ^ australian-charts.com Australian charts page for Faith No More, retrieved on 24 February 2008
- ^ norwegiancharts.com, Norwegian charts page for Faith No More, retrieved on 24 February 2008
- ^ chartstats.com page on FNM, retrieved on 27 January 2008
- ^ hitparade.ch, Swiss charts page for Faith No More, retrieved on 24 February 2008
- ^ dutchcharts.nl, Dutch charts page for 'Faith No More, retrieved on 24 February 2008
- ^ irishcharts.ie, Irish charts page for 'Faith No More, retrieved on 28 May 2008
- ^ swedishcharts.com, Swedish charts page for Faith No More, retrieved on 24 February 2008
- ^ Billboard.com chart history for Faith No More, retrieved on 24 February 2008
| Preceded by "Best of My Love" by The Emotions |
Billboard's Hot Soul Singles number one single (The Commodores version) July 16, 1977 |
Succeeded by "Best of My Love" by The Emotions |
| Preceded by "Are You Gonna Go My Way " by Lenny Kravitz |
ARIA (Australia) number-one single (Faith No More Version) May 15 - 22, 1993 |
Succeeded by "That's the Way Love Goes" by Janet Jackson |
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