This song is a real gem from 1984, smack in the middle of one of my favorite eras of pop music.  Lionel Richie is one of the all time great singer songwriters, and I've always admired his prowess as both a singer and piano player....he's also pretty great on the saxophone, as he proved in his early years with the Commodores, but once he started writing songs and singing, they had to bring him to the front of the stage.

This song is a great example of the most common and versatile "essential feel" that we teach here at the "Piano Man Approach", the "Syncopated Feel"....or as we affectionately named it, the "Heartbeat Feel".  It's also a perfect candidate for two of my favorite simple chord based improv techniques, Toggles & Arpeggios.

The biggest challenge with this song is that while it works with very simple major and minor chords, it definitely loses something without the more complex major 7s, added 9s, and occasional unusual bass note.  I had fun discussing and doing a run down on this one...always been one of my favorites from the era, and hands down my favorite by Lionel.....let's dive in!

Enjoy the masterclass of this song, and check out Lionel Richie's beautiful master recording below. 

If you'd like to explore my piano method more deeply, my best students use my video courses and join me for conversation and twice monthly Q&A Livestreams in my private community...you can find it all HERE. Thanks.

If the video doesn't show above, use THIS LINK to see it on YouTube

If the video doesn't show above, use THIS LINK to see it on YouTube