Before they became the kings of the slow-dance ballad, the Commodores were just a group of guys from Tuskegee who wanted to melt your face off with pure, unadulterated funk. Seriously. If you only know them for the smooth, easy-listening vibes of "Three Times a Lady," you are missing out on the grit.
1975 was a weird, electric year for music. The Commodores were finding their feet, and they dropped a track that basically defined the transition from the psychedelic soul of the late sixties into the tight, rhythmic precision of mid-seventies funk. That track was Slippery When Wet.
It wasn't just a hit. It was a statement.
The Sound of 1975 and Why It Worked
Listen to the opening bars of Slippery When Wet by the Commodores. It doesn't ask for your attention; it demands it with a clavinet line that feels like it’s coated in axle grease. Thomas McClary’s guitar work here is legendary. It’s percussive. It’s sharp. It cuts through the mix like a hot knife through butter.
Most people forget that the Commodores were a self-contained band. In an era where many Motown acts were backed by the Funk Brothers or studio musicians, these guys played their own instruments. They wrote their own stuff. They had a chemistry that you just can't manufacture in a boardroom.
The song hit number one on the Billboard Soul Singles chart. Why? Because it was relatable and catchy as hell. Everyone knows that feeling of a relationship or a situation that's just a little too dangerous to handle. It’s that metaphor of the "slippery" road—it’s fun to drive fast until you lose control.
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Lionel Richie Before the Sweaters
Honestly, it’s kinda hilarious to look back at Lionel Richie in this era. This was the "Brick House" era. This was the era of massive afros, sequined jumpsuits, and a raw vocal grit that he eventually traded in for a tuxedo and a piano. In Slippery When Wet, his delivery is playful. It’s soulful. It’s got a bit of a wink to it.
The song was the lead single from their third album, Caught in the Act. If you look at the tracklist of that record, you see a band that was experimenting. They had "This Is Your Life" for the softies, but they had "Slippery When Wet" for the dance floor.
Breaking Down the Groove
- The Bassline: Ronald LaPread didn't just play notes; he played the spaces between them. The bass in this track is heavy. It's the anchor that keeps the whole thing from floating away into disco-land.
- The Horns: The "Mean Machine" horn section. That’s what they called them. These weren't polite jazz horns. They were punctuations. Think of them like exclamation points at the end of every funk phrase.
- The Lyrics: "Watch out, girl, 'cause it's slippery when wet." It’s simple. It’s effective. It doesn’t try to be Shakespeare, and that’s why it works at 2:00 AM in a crowded club.
The Production Magic of James Anthony Carmichael
You can’t talk about Slippery When Wet by the Commodores without mentioning James Anthony Carmichael. He was the secret sauce. He took this group of talented musicians and polished them just enough to get on the radio without stripping away their "Tuskegee funk" roots.
Carmichael understood that funk is about the "one." The first beat of the bar. Everything in this song drives toward that pulse. If you listen closely to the bridge, the way the instruments layer on top of each other is a masterclass in tension and release. It builds. It simmers. Then it boils over back into that main riff.
Why Does This Song Still Matter?
Let’s be real. A lot of music from 1975 sounds dated now. The synths sound thin, or the production feels muddy. But Slippery When Wet still thumps in a modern car stereo. It has been sampled, covered, and referenced because the groove is foundational.
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It represents a moment in time when Motown was evolving. Berry Gordy’s empire was changing. The focus was shifting toward these self-contained bands like the Commodores and Rufus featuring Chaka Khan. They weren't just singers; they were architects of sound.
There’s also the historical context. The Commodores were opening for the Jackson 5 around this time. Can you imagine? You go to see Michael and his brothers, and then these guys come out and drop a funk bomb like "Slippery When Wet." It was a high-energy era that bridged the gap between the Motown Revue and the stadium tours of the eighties.
Common Misconceptions About the Track
People often think this was a Lionel Richie solo vision. It wasn't. The song was written by Thomas McClary. It was a group effort. When you hear that distinctive guitar scratch, that's McClary. He was the one pushing for that harder, rock-edged funk sound that helped them stand out from other R&B groups of the day.
Another myth? That they were always a ballad band. If you go back and listen to the Machine Gun album or Caught in the Act, you’ll realize they were one of the heaviest funk bands on the circuit. "Slippery When Wet" was the peak of that identity before they realized that "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady" could buy them private jets.
How to Appreciate the Song Today
If you want to actually "get" this song, don't listen to a compressed MP3 on tiny earbuds. Find a vinyl copy of Caught in the Act. Or at least get some decent headphones. Listen to the way the hi-hat interacts with the snare. There’s a "swing" to it that modern drum machines just can’t replicate.
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Basically, it’s a masterclass in pocket playing.
The song reminds us that even the biggest pop stars usually have a "dirty" musical past. Before the Grammys and the "We Are the World" era, Lionel and the boys were just trying to make people dance until their shoes wore out.
Actionable Insights for Music Lovers
- Listen to the full album: Don't just stop at the single. Caught in the Act is a cohesive journey through mid-70s R&B.
- Study the Clavinet: If you're a musician, pay attention to the keyboard work. It’s a textbook example of how to use a Hohner Clavinet D6 to create rhythm.
- Compare the eras: Listen to "Slippery When Wet" and then immediately play "Still." The contrast is wild. It shows the incredible range of a band that refused to be pigeonholed.
- Check the Live Versions: There are some mid-70s live recordings where they extend the jam. That’s where you see the real power of the Mean Machine horn section.
Slippery When Wet by the Commodores remains a high-water mark for Motown’s funk era. It’s oily, it’s dangerous, and it’s impossible to sit still while it’s playing. It proves that while the Commodores eventually mastered the heart, they started by mastering the feet.
To truly dive into this era, your next step is to explore the "Machine Gun" era of the band. Look for their 1974 debut album to hear where this raw sound originated. Then, contrast Thomas McClary’s guitar solos with the later, more refined work of the late seventies to see how the band’s internal dynamics shifted as they headed toward superstardom.