"Endless Love" is a song written byLionel Richie and originally recorded as aduet between Richie and singer/actressDiana Ross. In thisballad, the singers declare their "endless love" for one another. It was covered byLuther Vandross with R&B-pop singerMariah Carey, and also bycountry music singerShania Twain.Billboard has named the original version as the greatest song duet of all time.[2]
Ross and Richie recorded the song forMotown, and it was used as the theme forFranco Zeffirelli'sfilm adaptation ofScott Spencer's novelEndless Love. (Jamie Bernstein, as the character Susan, sings the song during the course of the movie.) Produced by Richie and arranged byGene Page, it was released as a single from the film's soundtrack in 1981. While the filmEndless Love was a modest box-office success, the song became the second-biggest selling single of the year (first was "Bette Davis Eyes" byKim Carnes) in the United States and reached number one on theHot 100, where it stayed for nine weeks from August 15 to October 10, 1981. It also topped theBillboardR&B chart and theAdult Contemporary chart, and reached number seven in the United Kingdom. It also became the most successful duet of the rock era, surpassingthe Everly Brothers' 1957 hit "Wake Up Little Susie", which spent four weeks at number one. Both songs spent six months on the chart, with "Endless Love" eclipsing the Everlys' hit by one week.[3]
Record World called it a "super ballad" that is "overflowing with drama and tenderness".[4]
The record became the best-selling single of Ross' career, becoming her sixth and final number one single on theBillboardHot 100 as a solo artist, which was then the most number ones achieved by a female solo artist untilWhitney Houston's 1988 ballad, "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", topped the Hot 100 in April 1988, in which Houston achieved a historic seventh number one single on the chart. It is also Richie's best-charting single, and the first of several hits for him during the 1980s. The song was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Original Song for Richie, and was the second song with which Ross was involved that was nominated for an Oscar. It also won a 1982American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single. Ross recorded a solo version of the song for her firstRCA Records album,Why Do Fools Fall in Love, the duet version being her last hit on Motown. Richie's solo version was released as track 10 on the 2003 remastered bonus edition of his1982 album.
For three weeks from September 5, 1981 to September 26, 1981, the single spent three weeks simultaneously at number one on three majorBillboard charts: theBillboard Hot 100, R&B and adult contemporary chart, the most weeks for a duet single and third behindRay Charles' "I Can't Stop Loving You" andWhitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", who spent more weeks at four and five respectively, and tied in third place withVanessa Williams' "Save the Best for Last". It was the first of Richie's four songs to top the three charts, a chart record to this day shared with Houston, and Ross' only single to accomplish this.
Sony Music Entertainment PresidentTommy Mottola suggested that Vandross recordSongs, an album ofcover versions. Featuring Vandross' versions of songs likeStephen Stills' "Love the One You're With",Heatwave's "Always and Forever", andRoberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly", the album was shaping up to be a major career accomplishment. To give the album a bigger boost, Mottola's then-wife, Mariah Carey, came up with the idea to remake "Endless Love" as a duet with her.Lionel Richie andDiana Ross had originally recorded "Endless Love" in 1981, and the song spent nine weeks at number 1. Although Luther's album was already set to contain one Lionel Richie composition, "Hello", it was obvious that having the most-popular female artist on the Sony label singing on the album would be a benefit.[39]
AllMusic senior editorStephen Thomas Erlewine highlighted the track.[40]Larry Flick fromBillboard magazine noted that it is "framed with beautiful, swelling strings (how 'bout those harps and rolling drums at the song's climax!)." He added, "Carey is at her most colorful and effective here, fluttering around Vandross' distinctive phrasing with ease and agility."[41] Steve Baltin fromCash Box deemed it "a guaranteed smash." He explained further, "The passionate song is the perfect vehicle for their emotive singing styles. In addition, they know not to argue with success, staying true to the original."[42]Entertainment Weekly's Jeremy Helligar wrote that the album might very will give Vandross a number one hit with "Endless Love" but still called the song "drippy."[43] A reviewer fromMusic & Media commented, "A compliment should go out to the casting director, who brought together two partners of equal magnitude to render the plush duetDiana Ross &Lionel Richie made famous."[44] Alan Jones fromMusic Week gave it a score of four out of five, adding that the song "finds Vandross and Carey singing around each other, rather than with each other". He noted further, "They do so against a backing track that is almost identical to the original, and the result will be identical too – a Top 10 hit."[45]
On the USBillboard Hot 100, "Endless Love" debuted on September 10, 1994, at number 31 and peaked at number two. The song became Luther Vandross' highest-charting pop hit ever and gave Lionel Richie his first top-10 single as a songwriter in seven years. It became Vandross's fifth top-10 single and Carey's 12th. It remained in the top 40 for 13 weeks and was ranked number 56 on the Hot 100 1994 year-end chart. It was certified Platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[46]
The song was a success outside the United States, reaching the top of the chart in New Zealand (for five weeks) and the top five in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and the Netherlands. It also reached the top 20 in most of the countries. It was certified Platinum in Australia by theAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and in New Zealand by theRecording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). The song has sold and streamed over 400,000 units in the UK.[47]
Two music videos were released for the single; one features Carey and Vandross recording the song in a studio, and the other shows the two performing the song live atRoyal Albert Hall. The latter performance is included on theLuther Vandross: From Luther with Love music video collection inDVD format.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Lionel Richie re-recorded the song in 2011 as a duet with Canadiancountry pop singerShania Twain. It was released as the lead single from his albumTuskegee on February 7, 2012. The recording process of the song was documented in the final episode of Twain'srealitydocudrama series,Why Not? with Shania Twain, which aired on June 12, 2011.
Amusic video for the song was recorded inThe Bahamas in February 2012. Directed byPaul Boyd, the video was released to country music channelsCMT andGAC on March 23, 2012.
