Song:Endless Love
Album:The Definitive Collection
Endless Love was a monster hit in 1981. It came at a pivotal point in the careers of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross and helped make the film Endless Love a hit. Like a lot of Richie's songs, it's an unabashed weeper. The film Endless Love was directed by legendary Italian director Franco Zeffarelli for PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and starred Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt. At the time, PolyGram had a relationship with Motown. So they asked Motown about contributing a couple of songs to the soundtrack. Zeffarelli and film composer Jonathan Tunick were put in touch with Lionel Richie. Tunick came from Broadway but he composed a lot of film and TV scores in the 80s. Richie was still a member of The Commodores. He played a song for them that was a Commodores reject. But Zeffarelli thought it would work in the film. They asked Ross if she would sing it with Richie. At that time, she left Motown for RCA. So Endless Love was her final Motown recording. Of course the song was a huge hit and helped Richie launch his solo career. It also gave Ross a jump start on her new label. A second duet Dreaming Of You also appeared on the soundtrack. KISS and Cliff Richard also appeared on the soundtrack. Blondie's Heart Of Glass appeared in the film but not on the soundtrack. You can get Endless Love on this Lionel Richie budget comp. The song was nominated for an Oscar but lost. A cover of Endless Love was a hit for Mariah Carey and Luther Vandross in 1994. Richie recently recorded a new version of the song with Shania Twain. A remake of Endless Love starring Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde is scheduled for release in Feb. 2014. Here's Lionel Richie and Diana Ross performing Endless Love on the 1982 Academy Awards broadcast.
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