Lady (You Bring Me Up)
Commodores | Artist Essentials
First released: 1981 (year verified)
Original 1981 full studio album presentation
MusicAtlas editorial note: The springy rhythm and bright backing voices make the refrain feel buoyant without softening its pulse.
YouTube opens a title-and-artist search. The selected recording and date are identified below.
Release evidence and recording details
First released: 1981 (year verified)
The original In the Pocket program and Motown history support 1981. The isolated inherited 1977 track field in the licensed catalog conflicts with that original chronology and is not adopted. Only year precision is assigned.
Recording: Original 1981 full studio album presentation
Credit: Commodores
Role in this collection: Primary artist
Original album: In the Pocket
Original album association; the supported year is not an exact worldwide release day.
In the Pocket - original licensed album program
The original 1981 program identifies the selected Commodores performances. Only original program membership and corroborated year are used. Isolated inherited track dates, later anthologies, extended mixes and live versions do not replace the original release event. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
The Commodores - official Motown recording history
The label history identifies the band, its original Machine Gun single preceding the album, the 1975 Sweet Love period, the original 1977 funk recordings, Midnight Magic association for Sail On and Still, Lady in 1981 and the post-Richie Nightshift group in 1985. Solo Lionel Richie recordings remain separate. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
Annual version match under review
The selected recording has release evidence, but its version has not been matched to the retained annual entry. It is omitted from Beyond the yearly lists until this match is resolved.
The selected full original studio album presentation is longer than the explicitly labeled single version in the licensed hit anthology. The actual retained annual title does not identify its edition, so that candidate remains provisional and is excluded from Beyond.
In the Pocket - original licensed album program
The original 1981 program identifies the selected Commodores performances. Only original program membership and corroborated year are used. Isolated inherited track dates, later anthologies, extended mixes and live versions do not replace the original release event. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
All the Great Hits - labeled single presentations
The licensed original-hit anthology explicitly labels shorter single versions of Three Times a Lady, Sail On, Still and Lady. Its package year is not used to date older recordings. These editions are compared with the selected full studio album presentations. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
About Commodores
The Commodores developed from musicians studying at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Their recordings joined tightly played funk with melodic ballads, giving space to several songwriters and contrasting lead voices. Machine Gun and Walter Orange's performances on Brick House represent the group's rhythmic side, while Lionel Richie sang songs including Easy and Three Times a Lady. Producer James Anthony Carmichael helped shape their recorded work. After Richie left for a solo career, the group continued with J.D. Nicholas and the later recording Nightshift.
Artist background sources
Classic Motown: The Commodores
Label history supports Tuskegee origins, funk/ballad range, distinct vocal roles, Carmichael and post-Richie continuation; reviewed retained Commodores/The Commodores variants share one catalog ID. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-17. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
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