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Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. (born June 20,
1949) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, composer, producer and
occasional actor.
His fame began when he was the frontman for
the Commodores, a nationally popular Motown band during the 1970s. They
had several hits such as "Easy", "Three Times A Lady", and "Brick
House". Richie left the Commodores in 1981 for a solo career, becoming
one of the most successful artists of the Eighties with five number 1
hits and thirteen consecutive Top 10 hits in the U.S.
He released his self-titled debut in 1982.
The album hit #3 on the music charts and sold over 4 million copies. His
1983 follow up album, Can't Slow Down, sold over twice as many copies
and won the Grammy Award for the Album of the Year in 1984. His third
album, Dancing on the Ceiling, which was released in 1986, spawned such
hits as "Say You, Say Me," "Dancing on the Ceiling," and "Se La", but it
also signified the end of his large commercial success.
His albums in the '90s such as Louder Than
Words and Time all failed to achieve the previous decade's commercial
success. Some of his recent work such as the album Renaissance has
returned to his older style, achieving success in Europe, but little in
the United States.
****
Birth name Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr.
Born June 20, 1949
Origin Tuskegee, Alabama, United States
Genre(s) soul, pop, Motown
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter,
instrumentalist, record producer, actor
Instrument(s) Singing, piano/keyboards
Years active 1968–present
Label(s) Motown
Website LionelRichie.com
****
Biography
Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Lionel Richie
grew up on the campus of the Tuskegee Institute. His grandmother's house
was across the street from the home of the president of the Institute.
His family moved to Illinois where he graduated from high school in
Joliet. A star tennis player in Joliet, he accepted a tennis scholarship
back at Tuskegee Institute.
Back as a student in Tuskeegee, he formed a
succession of R&B groups in the mid-'60s. In 1968 he became the lead
singer and saxophonist with the Commodores. They signed a recording
contract with Atlantic Records in 1968 for one record before moving on
to Motown Records, being schooled as support act to the Jackson Five.
The Commodores became established as one of America's most popular soul
groups of the '70s, and Richie was responsible for writing and singing
many of their biggest hits. They specialized primarily in romantic,
easy-listening ballads such as "Three Times A Lady" and "Still".
His pleasing vocal tones established him as
the most prominent member of the group, and by the late '70s he had
begun to accept songwriting commissions from other artists. He composed
"Lady" for his friend Kenny Rogers which hit #1 in 1980, and he produced
Rogers' Share Your Love album the following year. Also in 1981, Richie
sang a duet with Diana Ross in the theme song for the film Endless Love.
Issued as a single, the song topped the UK and US pop music charts, and
it became one of Motown's biggest hits. The song was also featured in
the movie "Happy Gilmore" in a humorous spoof featuring the janitor of
the hockey rink mouthing the part of Ross. Its success encouraged Richie
to branch out into a full-fledged solo career in 1982. His debut album,
Lionel Richie, produced another chart-topping single, "Truly", which
continued the style of his ballads with the Commodores.
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In 1983, he released Can't Slow Down, which
shot him into the first rank of international superstars. The album also
won two Grammy Awards including Album Of The Year. It spawned the #1 hit
"All Night Long", a rock 'n' roll dance number that was promoted by a
startling music video produced by former Monkee, Michael Nesmith.
Several more Top 10 hits followed, the most
successful of which was "Hello", a sentimental love song that showed how
far Richie had moved from his R&B roots. Now described by one critic as
'the black Barry Manilow', Richie wrote and performed a suitably
soothing theme song, "Say You, Say Me", for the film White Nights,
winning an Oscar for his efforts. He also collaborated with Michael
Jackson on the charity single "We Are the World" by USA For Africa.
About 1984, Lionel and his wife Brenda
Richie informally adopted the three-year-old daughter of people
associated with Lionel's band. They raised her as their daughter, Nicole
Richie. Around 1990, they went through the legal formalities of adopting
her. Brenda and Lionel divorced after a 16-year marriage, and then
Lionel immediately married Diane Alexander. Lionel and Diane have two
children together, but they are no longer married.
In 1986, he released Dancing On The
Ceiling, another widely popular album that produced a run of US and UK
hits. The title track, which revived the lively dance sound of "All
Night Long", was accompanied by another striking video, a feature that
played an increasingly important role in Richie's solo career. The
critical consensus was that this album represented nothing more than a
consolidation of his previous work, though Richie's collaboration with
the country group Alabama on "Deep River Woman" did break new ground.
Since then, his ever-more relaxed schedule
has kept his recording and live work to a minimum. He broke the silence
in 1996 with Louder Than Words, on which he resisted any change of style
or the musical fashion-hopping of the past decade. Instead, he stayed
with his chosen path of well-crafted soul music, which in the
intervening years has become known as Urban R&B.
The albums Time" (1998), "Renaissance"
(2000), and "Just For You" (2004) failed to generate any hit singles in
the US and were considered sales disappointments compared to Richie's
previous efforts. However, "Renaissance" and "Just For You" reached both
the Top 10 in the UK, producing a total of six Top 40 singles in that
country.
In 2002 Richie's song "Running With the
Night" was featured on the Rockstar North video game "Grand Theft Auto:
Vice City".
In November 2005, Lionel Richie performed
with Kenny Rogers on a CMT Crossroads special. The show gave an
informative insight into their friendship both in and out of the music
world. Richie was also the headliner at a 2006 Fourth of July tribute
concert with Fantasia Barrino at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Richie
released his eighth studio album untitled "Coming Home" on September 12,
2006. The first single of the album was "I Call It Love" and was
premiered in July 2006, becaming his US biggest hit in ten years. The
album was an incredible success for Richie in the United States, peaking
at #6. His adopted daughter Nicole Richie stars in the video for this
track.
Discography
For a further discography of Lionel Richie,
please go to Lionel Richie discography
Studio albums
1982 - Lionel Richie
1983 - Can't Slow Down
1986 - Dancing on the Ceiling
1992 - Back to Front (Compilation album)
1996 - Louder Than Words
1997 - Truly: The Love Songs (Compilation
album)
1998 - Time
2000 - Renaissance
2002 - Encore (Live album)
2004 - Just for You
2006 - Coming Home
U.S. #1 Singles
1981 "Endless Love" (with Diana Ross) (9
weeks)
1982 "Truly" (2 weeks)
1983 "All Night Long (All Night)" (4 weeks)
1984 "Hello" (2 weeks)
1985 "Say You, Say Me" (4 weeks)
Filmography
Scott Joplin (1977) (w/ The Commodores)
Thank God It's Friday (1978) (w/ The
Commodores)
Truth or Dare (1991) (documentary)
The Preacher's Wife (1996)
Pariah (1998)
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Trivia
Richie appeared as a guest on the BBC Two
motoring show Top Gear, in the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car"
segment, in which celebrities compete for the fastest lap time around
the Dunsfold Park circuit in a Suzuki Liana. While on a practice lap,
Richie lost a wheel in the middle of a fast corner. The incident was
screened as part of the UK edition of the show.
While at Tuskeegee University, Richie
pledged Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc.
Richie is a honorary member of Alpha Phi
Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for
African Americans.
He performed a live concert at the Tennis
Stadium/Aviation Club in Dubai on December 15, 2005.
Richie's song "All Night Long (All Night)"
was featured in a 2006 television commercial for the energy drink,
Mountain Dew MDX. The commercial features nocturnal animals singing the
song at night.
Richie is surprisingly wildly popular in
developing countries such as Iraq, Burundi etc.
Richie is mentioned in a HomestarRunner.com
character-toon. Homestar Runner is told by Strong Bad that one word to
describe him would be "Lionel Richie." This is only one of three words
that Strong Bad could say.
Lionel's song "Running With The Night" was
featured on Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack on
the radio station Flash FM.
In the 2001 film Rush Hour 2, Chris
Tucker's character quips that Richie "ain't been black since the
Commodores!"
Richie is referenced in the comic strip
Bloom County. The fictional metal band Deathtöngue writes a song called
"Let's Run Over Lionel Ritchie With A Tank".
****
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URL of Original Article:
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Date Article Copied:
September, 2006
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