When people talk about the best decades for music, there’s a rock-solid case for the one that introduced the Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and Motown.

Hail to the ’60s.

However, if you jump to the mid-to-late ’70s, there were the titans of hard rock (Zeppelin, Aerosmith, etc.), the beginnings of punk and New Wave, and, at your high school prom, there was “Let’s Groove” and “Brick House.”

The gentlemen behind those party classics and many more were in our midst Sunday night at PPG Paints Arena on the very funky Lionel Richie! Earth, Wind & Fire Sing A Song All Night Long Tour.

EWF is a brave choice as an opener, as the Chicago band brings all the elements of rock to the party. They came out hot, with the three original members — singer Philip Bailey, glammed-out bassist Verdine White and percussionist Ralph Johnson — taking a stroll on the front ramp with throwdown “Shining Star.”

They travel 12 strong, guided by musical director Myron McKinley, to create a brassy, full-bodied, unstoppable funk sound.

Bailey, at 72, still has a golden falsetto (with a wee bit of strain) and Philip Bailey Jr. and B. David Whitworth stepped up to share leads on the songs sung by the late co-founder/frontman Maurice White (seen on screen a few times). All told, the glorious harmonies were coming from about six of them.

EWF didn’t just bring the funk to those ’70s proms. They brought the love too, especially in breathtaking “Reasons,” a stellar moment for Bailey, and “That's the Way of the World,” a beautiful group effort on a White vocal. Brother Verdine was a force on bass for the full hour.

For a finish, how about kicking it up and making the arena bounce with a run of “Boogie Wonderland;” “Let's Groove,” the billion-plus-streamed “September” and crazy outro? You can almost go home happy after that.

But there was a headliner to go, and, having not been here in 38 years, the demand was high for Lionel Richie.

After an intermission that ran almost an hour, he rose out of the floor in a formal white tux jacket with “Hello.” He did the hit in a stark, dramatic talk-sing.

Richie was the ballad man in the “Brick House” band, the Commodores, so that’s a big part of what he came to do.

Although his voice may not be as polished as it once was, he’s still a forceful singer and a lively, good-natured host as well. He joked about having to remember the words, whether the sax player was showing him up and his mistake of saying our team was the Ducks not the Penguins.

With his five-piece band giving everything some extra juice, he got the crowd to help out with the singing of wall-to-wall hits — from his Commodores days (“Easy,” “Sail On,” “Three Times a Lady”) to his early ’80s solo career in the adult contemporary zone (“Penny Lover,” “Stuck On You,” “You Are”).

He went uptempo with the dance-pop songs “Running With the Night” and “Dancing on the Ceiling,” on which the band toyed with Van Halen’s “Jump.”

“I’m gonna do a song right now that should have put the Commodores in jail,” he said, introducing a showstopping version of “Brick House” appended with the Ohio Players' “Fire” and blasts of pyro.

Back in a ballad mode, he sat at the piano for “Still,” one of the prettiest moments in the set, and rose up with that piano for a soaring “Say You, Say Me.”

He still wasn’t out of hits. He had this little song called “We Are the World.” He prefaced it with a well-spoken plea for unity and humanity, and then everyone swayed and sang along with their phone lights glowing.

The long night ended joyfully with “All Night Long.”

“I knew a lot more of his songs than I thought I would,” a woman said on the way out.

There was no way to live through the ’80s without hearing them. And he did them justice on Sunday night.

Lionel Richie setlist

Hello

Running With the Night

Easy / My Love (Commodores song/Lionel Richie song)

Penny Lover

Stuck on You

Sail On (Commodores song)

You Are

Dancing on the Ceiling (With a snippet of Van Halen's “Jump”)

Three Times a Lady (Commodores song)

Fancy Dancer / Sweet Love / Lady (You Bring Me Up) (Commodores song)

Just to Be Close to You (Commodores song)

Brick House (Commodores song)

Still (Commodores song)

Say You, Say Me

We Are the World (USA for Africa cover)

Encore

All Night Long (All Night)

EWF Setlist

Shining Star

Let Your Feelings Show

System of Survival

Serpentine Fire

Verdine White Bass Solo

Sing a Song

Got to Get You Into My Life (The Beatles cover)

Devotion

After the Love Has Gone (David Foster cover)

Reasons

That's the Way of the World

Fantasy

Boogie Wonderland

Let's Groove

September

First Published: June 17, 2024, 3:21 a.m.
Updated: June 17, 2024, 7:16 p.m.