Easy

“Easy” is a song by Commodores for the Motown label, from their fifth studio album, Commodores. Released in March 1977, “Easy” reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart, and #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The success of “Easy” paved the way for similar Richie-composed hit ballads such as “Three Times a Lady” and “Still” and also for Richie’s later solo hits. Richie wrote “Easy” with the intention of it becoming another crossover hit for the group, given the success of a previous single, “Just to Be Close to You”, which spent 2 weeks at #1 on the Billboard R&B chart (known as the Hot Soul Singles chart at that time) and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts in 1976. The song is noted for a feedback noise, with an echo, that is heard in the Bridge of the song. Also, an electric guitar solo dominates the instrumental portion of the song. In addition, the other Commodores are heard singing wordless harmonies during the chorus of the song. The edited version receives the most airplay. The longer version from the album features the chorus being repeated more times, a semitone up, from A-flat major to A major, a few times before it fades out.