Machine Gun - he Commodores (1974) 1/24/23

The Mystics and the Jays were two freshman music groups that formed at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute in1968. Both featured some extremely talented musicians, and before long, they figured that if they joined forces, they could take a run at making it big.

They were right...but first they needed a new name. They settled on The Commodores, and the rest--as they say--is music history!

Fun Fact #1: To get the name, group member William King opened a dictionary to a random page--and the word "commodore" jumped right out. According to Lionel Ritchie, "We lucked out. We almost became The Commodes!"

In the early '70s, The Commodores went on tour as the opening act for The Jackson Five, and when the folks at Motown heard them, it wasn't long before they were signed to a contract and hard at work recording their debut album: 1974's "Machine Gun."

"Machine Gun" was different than every other Commodores album that followed: It was all funk and no ballads!

The title track, which became their first big hit (and "Great Song"), didn't have any vocals, either! It was a flat out instrumental funk jam.

Fun Fact #2: Motown's president Berry Gordy, Jr. thought the clavinet part in the song sounded like gunfire, hence the name "Machine Gun."

The song reached #7 on Billboard's Soul Chart and #22 on the Hot100. It was also a HUGE hit in the clubs, in the days just before Billboard created a dance chart that could track it!

So crank up your speakers for The Commodore's first "Great Song of the '70s" ('80s & '90s): 1974's "Machine Gun!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho_Od3o9OLg