Personnel: Lionel Richie (vocals, arranger, keyboards, programming);

Narada Michael Walden (arranger, drums, programming); Carlos Rios

(acoustic & electric guitars, synthesizer); Tim May, Eric Clapton, David Cochrane, Vernon "Ice" Black, Steve Lukather (guitar); John Barnes (piano, Synclavier, programming); Greg Phillinganes (keyboards, Mini-Moog synthesizer, synthsizer, programming); Michael Lang, Neil Larson (keyboards); Michael Boddicker, Preston Glass, Corey Lerios (synthesizer); Neil Steubenhaus, Nathan East, Joseph Chemay, Abraham Laboriel, Randy Jackson (bass); John Robinson, Paul Leim (drums); Paulinho Da Costa, Sheila E (percussion); Alabama, Alfie Silas, Marva King (background vocals).

Producers: Lionel Richie, James Anthony Carmichael, Narada Michael Walden.

Recorded at Oceanway, Hollywood, California; Motown, San Rafael, California;

Music Mill, Nashville, Tennessee; Bear Creek Studios, Woodenville, Washington in 1986. Originally released on Motown (6158). Includes liner notes by Steven Ivory.

This is part of Motown's "Classic Albums" series.

Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston might have gotten more press in 1986 than Lionel Richie, but DANCING ON THE CEILING was every bit as commercially successful as CONTROL and Houston's self-titled debut. Spawning a remarkable five Top 20 singles, including the sprightly title track and the number one ballad "Say You Say Me" (the biggest hit of Richie's entire career), DANCING ON THE CEILING was the capper of Richie's most successful period. (Richie took an extended hiatus from music after this, not releasing a full album of original material for nearly ten years.) Richie's nearest comparison during this period was Phil Collins, who was just as ubiquitous on the airwaves with a similar brand of adult contemporary pop. But where Collins' records now sound dated because of their trendy reverb-heavy production, Richie was a canny producer/arranger in the grand Motown tradition, and so there's a timeless quality to tunes like "Ballerina Girl" that keeps them fresh.