Comprehensive information and links about Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie (born June 20, 1949 in Tuskegee, AlabamaLionel Richie is an American singer who got his start as the front man for the Commodores, a nationally popular Motown band during the 70's. He quit the band in '81 for a solo career. He released his self-titled debut in 1982. The album hit No. 3 on the charts and sold over 4 million copies. His follow up album, , sold over twice as many copies and won the Grammy for Album of the Year in '84. His third album, '86's spawned such hits as "Say You, Say Me," "Dancing on the Ceiling," and "Se La", but would be the end of his commercial success. His 90's albums such as all failed to achieve the previous decade's commercial success. Some of his recent work, such as the album

Biography

Richie grew up on the campus of Tuskegee Institute, where he formed a succession of RB groups in the mid-60's. In 1968, he became the lead singer and saxophonist with the Commodores. They signed to Atlantic Records in 1968 for a one-record contract, before moving to Motown Records, being schooled as support act to the Jackson Five. The Commodores became established as America's most popular soul group of the 70's, and Richie was responsible for writing and singing many of their biggest hits, specializing in romantic, easy-listening ballads such as "Easy", "Three Times A Lady" and "Still".

"The Original Commodores;l-r top; Walter 'Clyde' Orange, Milan 'Quickdraw' Williams, William 'WAK' King, l-r bottom; Thomas McCleary, Ronald LaPread, The Original Commodores;l-r top; Walter 'Clyde' Orange, Milan 'Quickdraw' Williams, William 'WAK' King, l-r bottom; Thomas McCleary, Ronald LaPread,

His pleasing vocal tones established him as the most prominent member of the group, and by the late 70's he had begun to accept songwriting commissions from other artists. He composed "Lady" for his friend Kenny Rogers (which hit number 1 in 1980) and produced his . Issued as a single, the track topped the UK and US charts, and became one of Motown's biggest hits to date. Its success encouraged Richie to branch out into a fully fledged solo career in 1982. His debut, , which catapulted him into the first rank of international superstars. The set also won two Grammy awards, including Album Of The Year. It spawned the number 1 hit "All Night Long", a gently rhythmic dance number that was promoted by a startling 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 RB 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 , winning an Oscar for his pains. He also collaborated with Michael Jackson on the charity single "We Are The World" by USA For Africa.

In 1986, he released , another phenomenally popular album that produced a run of US and UK hits. The title track, which revived the sedate dance feel of "All Night Long", was accompanied by another striking video, a feature that has 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 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 RB'.

In November 2005 he performed with Kenny Rogers on a CMT "Crossroads" special. The show (a concertdocumentary) gave an informative insight into their friendship both in and out of the music world.

While Richie was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, he was a graduate of Joliet East High School in Joliet, Illinois, where he lived with family for 2 years before returning to Tuskegee.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.Richie is a prominent member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the oldest intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.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.