Movin' On (Commodores album)

Movin' On is the third studio album by the Commodores, released by Motown Records in 1975.

Movin' On
Studio album by The Commodores
Released	October 1975
Recorded	1975
Genre	Soul, funk
Length	36:04
Label	Motown
Producer	James Anthony Carmichael, Commodores
The Commodores chronology
Caught in the Act (1975) Movin' On (1975) Hot on the Tracks (1976)
Singles from Movin' On
"Gimme My Mule" Released: 1975 "Sweet Love" Released: 1975

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Christgau's Record Guide	B−[1]

The album reached number 29 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and number seven on the R&B albums chart. The only single released from the album, "Sweet Love", a mid-tempo ballad about "the virtues of peace and harmony during troubled times,"^[2] reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1976, making it the group's first top ten hit on the chart. However, the last track, "Cebu", became a staple on the "Quiet Storm" radio stations, and appeared as a B-side to two of their later singles, "Fancy Dancer" (1976) and "Only You" (1983).

Allmusic rated the album four and a half out of five stars.^[3]

The cover artwork of the 2012 Van Halen album A Different Kind of Truth drew comparisons to that of Movin' On.^[4]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hold On"	Thomas McClary, Lionel Richie	4:16
2.	"Free"	McClary, Richie	3:54
3.	"Mary, Mary"	Milan Williams	4:08
4.	"Sweet Love"	Richie	6:31

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"(Can I) Get a Witness"	Walter "Clyde" Orange	5:01
2.	"Gimme My Mule"	Ronald LaPread	5:05
3.	"Time"	William King, McClary	3:21
4.	"Cebu" ((instrumental))	McClary	4:48
Total length:			36:04

Personnel

Commodores

• Lionel Richie – vocals, saxophones, keyboards
• Milan Williams – keyboards
• Thomas McClary – vocals, guitars
• Ronald LaPread – bass
• Walter Orange – vocals, drums, percussion
• William King – trumpet

Additional personnel

• Cal Harris – ARP synthesizer programming

Production

• Commodores – producers, arrangements
• James Anthony Carmichael – producer, arrangements
• Cal Harris – engineer, mixing, technical direction
• Frank Mulvey – art direction, design
• Peter Palombi – cover illustration
• Antonin Kratochvil – liner photography

Charts

Year	Chart positions[5]
	US	US R&B	Aus[6]
1975	29	7	80

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions[7]
		US	US R&B	US Dance
1975	"Gimme My Mule"	—	—	11
1976	"Sweet Love"	5	2	—

References

1. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
2. Taylor, Marc (2001). A Touch of Classic Soul 2: The Late 1970s. Aloiv Publishing. p. 84. ISBN 9780965232876 – via Google Books.
3. "Hot on the Tracks - Commodores | Album". AllMusic. Retrieved Jul 25, 2024.
4. Wardlaw, Matt (January 12, 2012). "Did Van Halen Borrow Their Album Cover From A Legendary Motown Band?". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
5. "The Commodores US albums chart history". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 72. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
7. "The Commodores US singles chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-07-15.

External links

• Commodores-Movin' On at Discogs