Happy birthday to Walter "Clyde" Orange of the Commodores, born December 9, 1946.
Formed by a bunch of funk-loving friends at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute, the Commodores became one of the major crossover acts of the 70s and launched the career of the biggest male solo star of the 80s. At the early end of the trend for self-contained funk bands, the group, consisting of Lionel Richie on saxophone, Walter Orange on drums, William King on trumpet, Ronald LaPread on bass, Milan Williams (who died in July 2006) on keyboards and Thomas McClary on guitar, found success principally playing local gigs in Alabama before scoring a major coup by successfully auditioning to serve as the warm-up band for the Jackson Five's 1971 tour.
Happy birthday to Walter "Clyde" Orange of the Commodores, born December 9, 1946.
Formed by a bunch of funk-loving friends at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute, the Commodores became one of the major crossover acts of the 70s and launched the career of the biggest male solo star of the 80s. At the early end of the trend for self-contained funk bands, the group, consisting of Lionel Richie on saxophone, Walter Orange on drums, William King on trumpet, Ronald LaPread on bass, Milan Williams (who died in July 2006) on keyboards and Thomas McClary on guitar, found success principally playing local gigs in Alabama before scoring a major coup by successfully auditioning to serve as the warm-up band for the Jackson Five's 1971 tour.
The tour gave the group broad national attention and led to their signing with Motown, which was still the preeminent black label. Their first release, 1974's Machine Gun, was a pure funk disc led off by the scorching instrumental title cut, which hit the top 10 on the Soul charts. Their sound was tight and funky and gave no indication of the mellower balladry for which they would later be known. They followed in the next year with the equally strong Caught In The Act and Movin On. The latter included their first substantial crossover cut, "Sweet Love," which became the first of several Lionel Richie penned and sung crossover ballads – a style that would, in part, define much of the group’s commercial success over the next half decade.
Among all those hit ballads like “Easy,” “Still” and “Oh No” was a monumental dance jam with Orange taking the lead vocals. “Brick House” became perhaps the signature song for the Commodores, and a concert favorite to this day.
When Richie departed the group in 1982 to record his eponymous debut, the Commodores were given up for dead by much of the music world. But the group, with new singer J.D. Nicholas (a latter day member of Heatwave), confounded critics by recording a Walter Orange composition that became one of their biggest hits ever. "Nightshift," a musical tribute to Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye and other deceased soul greats, was a deserving smash, spending 4 weeks at the top of the charts and winning for the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance.
The hits slowed down for the Commodores by the end of the 80s, but the group, with the threesome of Walter Orange, J.D. Nicholas and William King continued performing and sounding great for decades after. In 2010, The Commodores received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the SoulTracks Readers’ Choice Awards.
Orange has stepped back from day-to-day performances with The Commodores, but continues to hold an important place in the R&B world.
Happy birthday, Walter!