Dancing on the Ceiling

Dancing on the Ceiling is the third solo studio album by American singer Lionel Richie, released by Motown on August 11, 1986. The album was originally to be titled Say You, Say Me, after the Academy Award-winning track of the same name, but it was renamed after Richie rewrote several songs for the album. Released to generally positive reviews, the album – Richie's second with session guitarist Carlos Rios – topped the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 4 million copies. Following Dancing on the Ceiling and the consequent Outrageous tour, Richie went on a long hiatus, not releasing an album of entirely new material for another ten years.

Background and recording

Richie rose to prominence as a member of the Commodores in the late 1970s, but after tensions arose in the band, he left in 1982. His first two solo albums were runaway successes: Lionel Richie (1982) sold 4 million copies, while Can't Slow Down (1983) sold 10 million, and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Recording for Dancing on the Ceiling began in 1985. "Say You, Say Me" was used in that year's film White Nights for which it had won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Work on the album was done while Richie was finalizing his work with "We Are the World".

During early production, the album was intended to be titled Say You, Say Me and released in December 1985. However, Richie found that he did not "want to do those songs" owing to the social conditions he saw, and began rewriting it "to express what [he] felt the world was boxing itself into". Ultimately, the album's title was changed to Dancing on the Ceiling, as the titular song was Richie's next single. Recording for the album took over a year and a half, and Richie stated that he tried to include a mixture of sounds.

Reception

Dancing on the Ceiling has generally received positive reviews. Anthony Decurtis, reviewing in Rolling Stone, gave the album a positive review, writing that it "sets an impressive standard for mainstream pop craft", encompassing Richie's "finest qualities". He especially praised the track "Say You, Say Me", but found "Ballerina Girl" a "virtual anthology of Richie's worst saccharine excesses". Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn found that "We Are the World" had left Richie "with a deeper sense of social purpose, and his attempts to infuse that sense into his traditional approach brings a tension to the new album that makes Dancing on the Ceiling his most satisfying collection."

Robert Christgau of The Village Voice ranked the album a B+. He found that it provided "lulling, almost mantralike entertainment" with "a knack for tune that puts [Richie] over the fine line between lulling and boring". His criticism centered on "Ballerina" for its mawkishness and lack of interest in some of the faster songs. To promote the album Richie went on an Outrageous 40-city concert tour, entitled "Outrageous". The first concert was in Phoenix, Arizona.

Dancing on the Ceiling peaked at No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 200. The title track was the album's second biggest single, reaching No.2 in the US and No.7 in the UK Singles Chart, falling behind "Say You, Say Me" earlier performance. Other Top 10 singles from the album include "Love Will Conquer All" (US No.9, UK No.45) and "Ballerina Girl" (US No.7, UK No.17). Meanwhile, "Deep River Woman" reached No.10 on Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

Legacy

Following the success of Dancing on the Ceiling, Richie withdrew almost entirely from the music industry for six years, which Steve Huey of AllMusic suggests was "quitting while he was ahead". He released a compilation album – with some new material – entitled Back to Front in 1992, with his first all-new release, Louder Than Words, following in 1996. , none of his successive albums have been as successful as Lionel Richie, Can't Slow Down, and Dancing on the Ceiling. A remastered edition of Dancing on the Ceiling was released in 2003, featuring four bonus tracks.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lionel Richie, except where noted. All tracks are produced by Lionel Richie and James Anthony Carmichael, except "Night Train (Smooth Alligator)," produced by Narada Michael Walden.

Personnel

Credits lifted from the album's liner notes.

Musicians

Lionel Richie – lead vocals, rhythm arrangements (1–3, 5–8), vocal arrangements (1–8), choir arrangements (2), arrangements (4), keyboards (6–8), drum machine (6)
John Barnes – acoustic piano (1), synthesizers (4), Synclavier (4), arrangements (4)
Michael Boddicker – synthesizers (1–3, 5–9)
Carlos Rios – synthesizers (1), guitars (1, 2, 7), rhythm arrangements (1), acoustic guitar (8)
Steve MacMillan – door creek effects (1)
Ken Caillat – sound effects (1)
Tom Jones – sound effects (1)
Greg Phillinganes – keyboards (2, 5, 7, 8), synthesizers (2, 6), drum machine (2, 6), rhythm arrangements (2, 6), Minimoog bass (8)
Michael Lang – keyboards (3)
Neil Larsen – keyboards (3)
Preston Glass – synthesizers (9)
Cory Lerios – synthesizers (9)
Tim May – guitars (3, 5, 7, 8)
Charles Fearing – guitars (4)
Louis Shelton – guitar solo (5)
David Cochrane – guitars (6)
Eric Clapton – guitar solo (7)
Steve Lukather – guitars (8)
Vernon "Ice" Black – guitar solo (9)
Neil Stubenhaus – bass guitar (1)
Nathan East – bass guitar (2, 3, 6)
Joe Chemay – bass guitar (5, 7)
Abraham Laboriel – bass guitar (8)
Randy Jackson – bass guitar (9)
John Robinson – drums (1, 8)
Paul Leim – drums (2, 3, 5–7), drum machine (8), additional drums (9)
Narada Michael Walden – drums (9), drum programming (9), arrangements (9), vocal arrangements (9)
Paulinho da Costa – percussion (2, 4, 6–9)
Sheila E. – percussion (4)
James Anthony Carmichael – horn arrangements (1, 7), rhythm arrangements (1–3, 5–8), string arrangements (3, 5, 8)

Background vocals

Maxi Anderson (Tracks 1, 2)
Billie Barnum (Tracks 1, 2)
Melinda Chatman (Tracks 1, 2)
David Cochrane (Tracks 1, 2)
Kevin Dorsey (Tracks 1, 2)
Karen Jackson (Tracks 1, 2)
Marlena Jeter (Tracks 1, 2)
Fred Law (Tracks 1, 2)
Janice Marie (Tracks 1, 2)
Richard Marx (Tracks 1, 2, 7)
Rick Nelson (Tracks 1, 2)
Brenda Richie (Tracks 1, 2)
Anita Sherman (Tracks 1, 2)
Karen Siegel (Tracks 1, 2)
Alfie Silas (Tracks 1, 2)
Phyllis St. James (Tracks 1, 2)
Stephanie Taylor (Tracks 1, 2)
Deborah Thomas (Tracks 1, 2, 7)
Carmen Twillie (Tracks 1, 2)
Julia Waters Tillman (Tracks 1, 2, 7)
Maxine Waters Willard (Tracks 1, 2, 7)
Leslie Smith (Track 2)
Lionel Richie (Track 4)
Suzee Ikeda (Track 4)
Marva King (Tracks 4, 6, 9)
Alabama (Track 5)
Kitty Beethoven (Track 9)
Jennifer Hall (Track 9)

Hoopa Hollers on "Dancing on the Ceiling":

James Anthony Carmichael
David Egerton
Wayne Hargrave
Linda Jenner
Steve MacMillan
Greg Phillinganes
Kathi Pogoda
Cheryl Pyle
Carlos Rios
Maximo Rios
Dave Rosen
Kelly Ryan
Wibert Terrell

Production

Producers – Lionel Richie (all tracks); James Anthony Carmichael (all tracks); Narada Michael Walden (Track 9).
Production Assistant – Brenda Harvey-Richie
Production Direction – Suzee Wendy Ikeda
Engineers – Calvin Harris (Tracks 1–8); David Frazer and Gordon Lyon (Track 9).
Additional Recording on Tracks 1–8 – David Egerton and Fred Law
Assistant Recording on Tracks 1–8 – David Egerton
Assistant Engineers – Karen Siegel and Mark Smith (all tracks); Dana Jon Chappelle and Stuart Hirotsu (Track 9).
Dimensional recording by Spherical Sound, Inc. on Track #1.
Mixed by Calvin Harris
Mix Assistants – Fred Law and Steve MacMillan
Mastered by Brian Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
Art Direction – Johnny Lee
Photography – Aaron Rapoport

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col"| Chart (1986)

! scope="col"| Peak<br>position

! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)

| style="text-align:center;"|2

! scope="row"

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

! scope="col"| Chart (1986)

! scope="col"| Position

! scope="row" | Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)

| 12

! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)

| 55

! scope="row"| US Billboard 200

| 99

! scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)

| 48

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

! scope="col"| Chart (1987)

! scope="col"| Position

! scope="row" | Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)

| 22

! scope="row" | New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)

| 28