Three Times a Lady

Infobox Single
Name = Three Times a Lady
Type = Single
Artist = The Commodores
from Album = Natural High
B-side =


Released = 1978
Genre = Pop
Length =
Label = Motown Records
Writer = Lionel Richie
Producer = James Anthony Carmichael"Three Times a Lady" is a 1978 single from the funk/soul band the Commodores, from their 1978 album "Natural High". It was produced by James Anthony Carmichael and the Commodores and it was the most popular track of the album.

Lionel Richie reportedly wrote the song about his love for his daughter, wife, and mother hence 'Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady'. It became the Commodores's first Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit, topping the chart for two weeks on August 12, 1978. It was also the only Motown song to reach the Top 10 that year. The song also spent three weeks at #1 on the adult contemporary chart. It was one of only a few Motown singles to reach the top spot in the UK. In the years since the Commodores had started in 1974 it has been one of their most emotional songs since "You Don't Know That I Know" from the album "Caught In the Act " in 1975.

Covers and parodies

The chorus of the song was parodied on "Saturday Night Live". Eddie Murphy, in the Buckwheat persona, would use numeric hand gestures and yell, "Unce! Tice! Fee tines a mady!"

Comedian Bill Bailey performed a German translation of the song in his "Part Troll" set, perhaps suggesting that German isn't the most romantic language. According to Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills, the song is about Richie professing his love for fat women. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/listenagain]

The most successful cover version was performed by Conway Twitty, who took his version into the top 10 of the "Billboard" Hot Country Singles chart in 1984. Twitty's version appeared on his 1983 album, "Lost in the Feeling".

The song was also covered in the country genre by country singer Billy "Crash" Craddock on his 1986 album Crash Craddock and in 2007 by Cobra Starship as an iTunes bonus track for their album "¡Viva La Cobra!". In 2001 it was covered by Anglo-Norwegian boy band a1 and featured on "Motown Mania" and as a bonus track on their hit single "No More".

References

ee also

* Hot 100 number-one hits of 1978 (United States)