Memorial Coliseum

September 17, 1976

By the fall of 1976, the Commodores were in full swing. The members of the group had met while students at HBCU Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. They played the circuit in the early years at places like the Citizen’s Club in Tuscaloosa and Big Daddy’s Copa Club in Montgomery, eventually signing a contract with Motown and opening for acts, including The Jackson 5. When the band pulled into Memorial Coliseum on a warm September evening for the Friday concert, their music was gaining steam. Lionel Richie’s soulful vocals packed a powerful punch onstage and brought the near-sell-out crowd to its feet for much of the show, which featured top-ten hits, including “Sweet Love” and “Just to Be Close to You.” The raucous instrumental “Machine Gun,” was a center point in the show, a signature song that would find new life in popular movie soundtracks like “Looking For Mr. Goodbar,” starring Diane Keaton and Richard Gere.