The Commodores, January 8

Sunday, January 8, 8 p.m.

Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport IA

With the ensemble currently boasting Walter “Clyde” Orange, James Dean “J.D.” Nicholas, and William “WAK” King alongside their five-piece band The Mean Machine, the legendary funk and soul outfit The Commodores bring their “Greatest Hits Tour” to Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center on January 8, treating crowds to a beloved repertoire that includes the chart-topping ballads “Easy,” “Still,” and the immortal “Three Times a Lady.”

The Commodores were formed in 1968 from two former student groups in Alabama, with the new six-man band featuring Lionel Richie, Thomas McClary, and William King from the Mystics, and Andre Callahan, Michael Gilbert, and Milan Williams from the Jays. After winning Tuskegee University's annual freshman talent contest, they played at fraternity parties as well as a weekend gig at the Black Forest Inn, one of a few clubs in Tuskegee that catered to college students. After performing cover tunes and some original songs with their first singer James Ingram, the vocalist left to serve in Vietnam, and was later replaced by drummer Walter "Clyde" Orange, who wrote or co-wrote many of their hits. Richie and Orange subsequently alternated as lead singers, with Orange was the lead singer on the Top 10 hits "Brick House" in 1977 and "Nightshift" in 1985.

Released in 1974, "Machine Gun," the instrumental title track from the band's debut album, became a staple at American sporting events, and is also heard in many films including Boogie Nights and Looking for Mr. Goodbar. The song reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the Commodores delivered three albums between 1975 and 1976: the funk recording Caught in the Act and the pip hits Movin' On and Hot on the Tracks. After those recordings, the group developed the mellower sound hinted at in their 1976 top-10 hits "Sweet Love" and "Just to Be Close to You," and the following years, the group released "Easy," which became the musicians' biggest hit yet, reaching number four in the U.S. That smash was followed by the funky top-five single "Brick House," and the group topped the Billboard charts in 1978 with "Three Times a Lady". In 1979, the Commodores scored another top-five ballad, "Sail On," before landing a number-one hit once again with the ballad "Still". More top-10 hits followed with "Oh No," "Lady (You Bring Me Up)," and "Nightshift," the later tune winning the Commodores a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance, and other accolades include nine additional Grammy nominations and 2003 induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

The Commodores play their Event Center engagement on January 8, admission to the 8 p.m. concert is $35-65, and more information and tickets are available by calling (563)328-8000 and visiting RhythmCityCasino.com.