All Night Long (All Night)
1983 single by Lionel Richie
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"All Night Long (All Night)" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie from his second solo album, Can't Slow Down (1983). The song combined Richie's Commodores style with Caribbean influences. The single reached number one on three Billboard charts (pop, R&B and adult contemporary).[6] In the UK, it peaked at number two on the singles chart.[7]
- 4:20 (radio version)
- 6:25 (album version)
- 3:49 (video version)
| "All Night Long (All Night)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
7" cover | ||||
| Single by Lionel Richie | ||||
| from the album Can't Slow Down | ||||
| B-side | "Wandering Stranger" | |||
| Released | August 31, 1983[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Motown | |||
| Songwriter | Lionel Richie | |||
| Producers |
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| Lionel Richie singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "All Night Long (All Night)" on YouTube | ||||
The song lyrics were written primarily in English, but Richie has admitted in at least one press interview that "African" lyrics in the song, such as "Tam bo li de say de moi ya" and "Jambo jumbo", were in fact gibberish.[8] Richie has described these portions of the song as a "wonderful joke", written when he discovered that he lacked the time to hire a translator to contribute the foreign-language lyrics he wished to include in the song.[9]
Production
When composing the song, Richie was able to write all of the verses easily but got stuck when he got up to the hook. He told GQ that he kept repeating, "come on and sing along" over and over to no avail:[10]
Now I have this song, 'Well, my friends the time has come to raise the roof and have some fun,' that's great. 'Karamu, fiesta, forever — come on and sing along. Da-da-da-da…' I don’t have a hook. And so, it took me probably another month of just walking around my house and everywhere trying to find out what is the hook to 'come on and sing along?' I’ve got to give you the sing-along.
Finally, inspiration struck him while he was visiting a friend's house and about to go back to work in the studio:
So, I went to one of my dear friends' houses, Dr. Lloyd Greg, and I went by for dinner. He’s from Jamaica. And I’m leaving at now it's — I took a break from the studio, I'm leaving his house now about two o'clock in the morning. And as I'm leaving the house, I’m saying to him, "Hey man, I got to go back and work all night long, man." All night long. All night long. All night long. All night long. Got it.
Reception
Music video
An accompanying music video for "All Night Long (All Night)" was produced by former Monkee and TV video pioneer Michael Nesmith and directed by Bob Rafelson.[13][14]
Notable uses
Richie performed the song at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[15]
Richie performed the song live at the December 11, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo.[16][17]
In 2024, the song was featured in advertisements for Mattress Firm.[citation needed]
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
All-time charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[51] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Germany (BVMI)[52] | Gold | 300,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[53] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[54] | 2× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Spain (Promusicae)[55] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[56] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[57] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Personnel
Personnel as listed in the album's liner notes are:[58]
- Lionel Richie – lead and backing vocals, Yamaha GS-1 synthesizer, rhythm and vocal arrangements
- Greg Phillinganes – Yamaha GS-1 synthesizer
- Darrell Jones – guitar
- Carlos Rios – guitar
- Tim May – guitar
- Abraham Laboriel – bass guitar
- John "J.R." Robinson – drums
- Paulinho da Costa – percussion
- Melinda Chatman – vocal sound effects
- James Anthony Carmichael – backing vocals; horn, rhythm and string arrangements
- David Cochrane – backing vocals
- Calvin Harris – backing vocals
- Richard Marx – backing vocals
- Deborah Thomas – backing vocals
- Kin Vassy – backing vocals
Chant vocals
- Diane Burt, James Anthony Carmichael, Melinda Chatman, David Cochrane, Dr. Lloyd Byro Greig, Calvin Harris, Brenda Harvey-Richie, Jeanette Hawes, Janice Marie Johnson, Richard Marx, Deborah Joyce Richie, Lionel Richie, Suzanne Stanford and Deborah Thomas
Hoopa hollers
- Marilyn Ammons, Sue Ann Butler, Melinda Chatman, Sheldon J. Cohn, Esq., Sandy Dent-Crimmel, Ruth Diaz, David Egerton, Sylvia Genauer, Rejauna Lynn Green, Gabrielle Greig, Sally Greig, Tanya Greig, Darrell Jones, David Malvin, Alison Maxwell, Jerry Montes, John Michael Montes, Billy "Bass" Nelson, Greg Phillinganes, Carlos Rios, Suzanne Stanford, Randy Stern, Wilbert Terrell and Susan Wood
Production
- Lionel Richie – producer
- James Anthony Carmichael – producer
- Calvin Harris – recording engineer
- Steve Crimmel – second recording engineer
- David Egerton – second recording engineer, gibberish vocals
- Mark Ettel – second recording engineer
2011 version (with Guy Sebastian)
| "All Night Long (All Night)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Lionel Richie featuring Guy Sebastian | ||||
| Released | 18 March 2011[59] | |||
| Recorded | 2011 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 4:11 | |||
| Songwriter | Lionel Richie | |||
| Producer | RedOne | |||
| Lionel Richie singles chronology | ||||
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| Guy Sebastian singles chronology | ||||
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Richie recorded a new version of the song with Australian singer Guy Sebastian in 2011. All proceeds went towards the Queensland floods and New Zealand earthquake appeal.[60] The re-recorded version was produced by RedOne[60] and was released to iTunes Stores in Australia and New Zealand on 18 and 16 March, respectively.[61][62]
Charts
It debuted on the New Zealand Singles Chart at number twelve on 21 March 2011[63] and on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart at number twenty-six on 28 March 2011.[64]
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[64] | 26 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[63] | 12 |
Jacob Collier version
In 2018, English musician Jacob Collier collaborated with Take 6 and the Metropole Orkest on a version of "All Night Long". Collier's arrangement won the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals. The version was included on Collier's studio album Djesse Vol. 1 (2018). The album peaked at number six on the Billboard Top Classical Albums and Top Jazz Albums.
Benjamin Ingrosso version
| "All Night Long (All Night)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Benjamin Ingrosso | ||||
| Released | March 2019 | |||
| Recorded | 2019 | |||
| Studio | Spotify Studios, Stockholm | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:08 | |||
| Label | TEN Music Group | |||
| Songwriter | Lionel Richie | |||
| Producer | Hampus | |||
| Benjamin Ingrosso singles chronology | ||||
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In 2019, Swedish singer Benjamin Ingrosso recorded a version at the Spotify studios, Stockholm. It was released in March 2019 and peaked at number 5 on the Swedish charts and was certified platinum in June 2019.[65][66] The rearranged version of the song, titled as "All Night Long (All Night) [2020 Edit]" was released on 17 July 2020.
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[67] | 5 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2019) | Position |
|---|---|
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[68] | 49 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[69] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| Streaming | ||
| Sweden (GLF)[70] | 3× Platinum | 24,000,000† |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Samplings
Parts of the song were used in "I Like It", a 2010 song composed by Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, and RedOne with samplings from Lionel Richie as the 1983 classic is interpolated after the first and third choruses.[71][72]