"All Night Long (All Night)" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie from his second solo album, Can't Slow Down (1983). The song combined Richie's Commodores style with Caribbean influences. The single reached number one on three Billboard charts (pop, R&B and adult contemporary). In the UK, it peaked at number two on the singles chart.

The song lyrics were written primarily in English, but Richie has admitted in at least one press interview that "African" lyrics in the song, such as "Tam bo li de say de moi ya" and "Jambo jumbo", were in fact gibberish. Richie has described these portions of the song as a "wonderful joke", written when he discovered that he lacked the time to hire a translator to contribute the foreign-language lyrics he wished to include in the song.Id.

Production When composing the song, Richie was able to write all of the verses easily but got stuck when he got up to the hook. He told GQ that he kept repeating, "come on and sing along" over and over to no avail:

Finally, inspiration struck him while he was visiting a friend's house and about to go back to work in the studio:

Reception Cash Box summed up its review of the single saying "Richie's command of these diverse musical elements and shifts in melodic direction is as impressive as it is pleasurable." Mat Snow of NME said it "is amongst the most justly infectious floor-fillers ever."

Music video An accompanying music video for "All Night Long (All Night)" was produced by former Monkee and TV video pioneer Michael Nesmith and directed by Bob Rafelson.

Notable uses Richie performed the song at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Richie performed the song live at the December 11, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo.

In 2024, the song was featured in advertisements for Mattress Firm.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1983–1984)PeakpositionArgentina (CAPIF)3Australia (Kent Music Report)1Brazil (ABPD)1Canada Retail Singles (The Record) 2Canada Top Singles (RPM)1Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)1Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)1Peru (UPI)2South Africa (Springbok Radio) 1UK Singles (OCC)2US Hot Black Singles (Billboard)1US Cash Box Top 100 1Venezuela (UPI)1

Year-end charts Chart (1983)RankAustralia (Kent Music Report)87Canada18South Africa6UK10US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)5US Cash Box6 Chart (1984)RankAustralia (Kent Music Report)23Brazil (ABPD)19

All-time charts Chart (1958–2018) PositionUS Billboard Hot 10096

Certifications

Personnel Personnel as listed in the album's liner notes are: Lionel Richie – lead and backing vocals, Yamaha GS-1 synthesizer, rhythm and vocal arrangements Greg Phillinganes – Yamaha GS-1 synthesizer Darrell Jones – guitar Carlos Rios – guitar Tim May – guitar Abraham Laboriel – bass guitar John "J.R." Robinson – drums Paulinho da Costa – percussion Melinda Chatman – vocal sound effects James Anthony Carmichael – backing vocals; horn, rhythm and string arrangements David Cochrane – backing vocals Calvin Harris – backing vocals Richard Marx – backing vocals Deborah Thomas – backing vocals Kin Vassy – backing vocals

Chant vocals Diane Burt, James Anthony Carmichael, Melinda Chatman, David Cochrane, Dr. Lloyd Byro Greig, Calvin Harris, Brenda Harvey-Richie, Jeanette Hawes, Janice-Marie Johnson, Richard Marx, Deborah Joyce Richie, Lionel Richie, Suzanne Stanford and Deborah Thomas

Hoopa hollers Marilyn Ammons, Sue Ann Butler, Melinda Chatman, Sheldon J. Cohn, Esq., Sandy Dent-Crimmel, Ruth Diaz, David Egerton, Sylvia Genauer, Rejauna Lynn Green, Gabrielle Greig, Sally Greig, Tanya Greig, Darrell Jones, David Malvin, Alison Maxwell, Jerry Montes, John Michael Montes, Billy Bass Nelson, Greg Phillinganes, Carlos Rios, Suzanne Stanford, Randy Stern, Wilbert Terrell and Susan Wood

Production Lionel Richie – producer James Anthony Carmichael – producer Calvin Harris – recording engineer Steve Crimmel – second recording engineer David Egerton – second recording engineer, gibberish vocals Mark Ettel – second recording engineer

2011 version (with Guy Sebastian)

Richie recorded a new version of the song with Australian singer Guy Sebastian in 2011. All proceeds went towards the Queensland floods and New Zealand earthquake appeal. The re-recorded version was produced by RedOneAdams, Cameron (26 February 2011) Lionel Richie and Guy Sebastian have teamed up to record a charity single for earthquake relief. The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Retrieved 27 February 2011 and was released to iTunes Stores in Australia and New Zealand on 18 and 16 March, respectively.

Charts It debuted on the New Zealand Singles Chart at number twelve on 21 March 2011 and on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart at number twenty-six on 28 March 2011. Chart (2011)Peakposition

Jacob Collier version In 2018, English musician Jacob Collier collaborated with Take 6 and the Metropole Orkest on a version of "All Night Long". Collier's arrangement won the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals. The version was included on Collier's studio album Djesse Vol. 1 (2018). The album peaked at number six on the Billboard Top Classical Albums and Top Jazz Albums.

Benjamin Ingrosso version

In 2019, Swedish singer Benjamin Ingrosso recorded a version at the Spotify studios, Stockholm. It was released in March 2019 and peaked at number 5 on the Swedish charts and was certified platinum in June 2019. The rearranged version of the song, titled as "All Night Long (All Night) [2020 Edit]" was released on 17 July 2020.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2019) Peakposition

Year-end charts Chart (2019) Position Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 49

Certifications

Sverigetopplistan

Samplings A sample of the song was used in "Fuego", a 2007 song by the American girl group the Cheetah Girls. Parts of the song were used in "I Like It", a 2010 song composed by Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, and RedOne with samplings from Lionel Richie as the 1983 classic is interpolated after the first and third choruses.

See also List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1983 (U.S.) List of number-one R&B singles of 1983 (U.S.) List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1983 (U.S.)

References

External links List of cover versions of "All Night Long (All Night)" at SecondHandSongs.com