Lionel Richie

At 74 years old, Lionel Richie has this physical status:

Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, composer, actor, and record producer.

He was one of the 1980s' most influential balladeers thanks to his work with the Commodores and in his solo career. Richie, who appeared in 1968, was a member of the Commodores, a funk and soul group.

The Commodores became a well-known soul band, with danceable, funky music on their first two albums, as in "Machine Gun" and "Brick House." Richie wrote and performed more sophisticated, easy-listening ballads such as "Easy," "Three Times a Lady," "Still," and "Still," the breakup ballad "Sail On" as time progressed.

Richie began as a solo performer in 1982 and his 1982 debut solo album, Lionel Richie, featured three hit singles: "You Are" and "My Love," two of the top five hits.

The album debuted at No. 3 on the charts and has sold more than 4 million copies.

Can't Slow Down, his 1983 follow-up album, sold over twice as many copies, boosting him to the first spot on the international charts.

He also co-wrote Michael Jackson's 1985 charity single "We Are the World," which has sold over 20 million copies. Richie has recorded over 90 million albums worldwide, making him one of the world's top-selling artists of all time.

He received the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Can't Slow Down, and his other Grammy Honors include Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) in 1985 and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Unfortunately" in 1983.

Richie has also been nominated for two Golden Globe awards and received one.

He was nominated for Best Original Song for the film Endless Love in 1982.

In 1986, he received the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "Say You, Say Me," which was included in the film White Nights.

The song also received the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Richie received the Johnny Mercer Award, the highest accolade in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016.

Early life

Richie was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, the son of Lionel Brockman Richie Sr., a US Army systems analyst, and Alberta R. Foster, a principal and tutor. Adelaide Mary Brown, his grandmother, was a classical pianist. He appeared on NBC's Who Do You Think You Are? on March 4, 2011. It was discovered that his maternal great-grandfather was the national leader of an early African-American fraternal association. J. Louis Brown, notably, was: J. Louis Brown:

Richie grew up on Tuskegee University's campus. Booker T. Washington gave his grandparents a gift. He graduated from Joliet Township High School, East Campus in Joliet, Illinois. He accepted a tennis scholarship to attend Tuskegee University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with a minor in accounting.

Richie considered studying divinity to become a priest in the Episcopal Church, but he later found that he was not "priest" to continue his musical ministry, despite not knowing how to read or write music. He is a member of Kappa Psi, a national honor fraternity for band members, and an active life member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Personal life

Richie married Brenda Harvey, his college sweetheart, on October 18, 1975. Nicole Camille Escovedo (now Nicole Richie), the two-year-old daughter of a Lionel's band who was also the niece of drummer Sheila E. Richie, raised Nicole as their niece and adopted her legally when she was nine years old.

After discovering Richie at Diane Alexander's Beverly Hills apartment in June 1988, she was arrested and charged with corporal injury to a spouse, resisting capture, trespassing, vandalism, battery, and disrupting the peace. After nearly 18 years of marriage, Richie and Harvey divorced on August 9, 1993. Richie married Diane Alexander on December 21, 1995. Miles Brockman (born May 27, 1994) and Sofia Richie (born August 24, 1998). In 2004, the marriage took place.

Richie had chronic throat issues and underwent surgery four times in four years before being told by conventional doctors that he would not recover his singing career. He then turned to a holistic doctor who said that the root of the disease was simply acid reflux caused by Richie's diet before going to bed.

Richie became a grandfather in 2008 when Nicole Richie gave birth to a baby girl with the lead singer of Good Charlotte, Joel Madden. Richie's second grandchild was born in 2009 to the couple.

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Career

Richie, a Tuskegee, student, formed a line of R&B clubs in the mid-1960s. He debuted as a member of the Commodores in 1968 as a composer and saxophonist. They signed a recording deal with Atlantic Records in 1968 for one record before transferring to Motown Records in 1968 as a support act to The Jackson 5. The Commodores were then known as a well-known soul group. As in songs including "Machine Gun" and "Brick House," their first two albums had a danceable, funky sound. Richie wrote and performed more sophisticated, easy-listening ballads like "Easy," "Three Times a Lady," "Still," and the breakup ballad "Sail On."

Richie co-wrote with Jeffrey Bowen and Donald Baldwin in 1974, achieving his first commercial success as a songwriter. It was originally planned as a Commodores' track, according to The Temptations, who had their penultimate No. 1 R&B with the song. Richie began to receive songwriting commissions from other artists by the late 1970s. Kenny Rogers' "Lady" was his first hit No. 1 on the charts. 1. One in 1980 and the following year, Rogers' album Share Your Love followed. Richie and Rogers developed a close friendship in later years. La Palabra, a Latin jazz composer and salsa romantica legend, had international success with his interpretation of "Lady," which had been performed in Latin dance clubs. Richie performed the title theme song for the film Endless Love in 1981, a duet with Diana Ross. The song debuted on singles in Canada, Brazil, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and American pop music charts, and it became one of Motown's most popular hits. Richie began to work as a full-fledged solo in 1982. In 1983, Skyler Jett took over lead singer for the Commodores.

Richie's debut solo album, "With the Commodores," continued his ballads' style and launched his career as one of the 1980s' most popular balladeers, as well as "You Are" and "My Love." The album debuted at No. 1 on the charts. 3 on the charts and over 4 million copies were sold. Can't Slow Down, his 1983 sequel, sold over twice as many copies and received two Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, propelling him to the first position in the international superstar rankings. The album featured the number one hit "All Night Long," a Caribbean-flavored dance number that was marketed by former Monkee Michael Nesmith's colorful music video. At the closing ceremony of the XXIII Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984, he performed "All Night Long."

Several more Top ten hits followed, the most popular of which was ballad "Hello" (1984), a sentimental love song that showcased how far he had travelled from his R&B roots. "Stuck on You" was Richie's third top ten hits in 1984. (No. ) "Running with the Night" (No. 3), No. (No. 7) and "Penny Lover" (No. (No. 8), as well as writing and presenting "Missing You" for former labelmate and duet partner Diana Ross (No. 8) (No. No. 10 pop. 1 R&B;s: For the film White Nights in 1985, he wrote and performed "Say You, Say Me." The song received an Academy Award and debuted at No. 1 in the United States and gained No. 1 in its debut. According to Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 chart, Dionne and Friends' "That's What Friends Are For" has remained at number one on the US charts, making it the country's number one song of 1986. He also collaborated with Michael Jackson on the charity single "We Are the World" by the United States for Africa, another top-one hit.

Richie released Dancing on the Ceiling, his last widely distributed album, "Say You, Say Me" has a string of five US and UK hits, leading to a run of five hits, including one in the United States. No. No. 1: "Dancing on the Ceiling": "Dancing on the Ceiling" (U.S. No. 1) 2) "Love Will Conquer All" (U.S. No. 2) (U.S. No. 9), "Ballerina Girl" (U.S. No. 93). "Se La" is the u.S. No. 7), and "Se La" is the pluralization of "Se La" in the United States. (22), a.k.a. 20) Following the unveiling of his first greatest-hits collection, Back to Front, in 1992, he returned to performing and performing.

Since then, his ever-relaxed schedule has kept his recording and live shows to a minimum. Louder Than Words, the 1996 singer who broke the silence on which he resisted any change of style or the musical fashion hopping of the past decade, opting instead for well-crafted soul music, which has since been referred to as contemporary R&B.

Richie's albums in the late 1990s, including Louder Than Words and Time, failed to meet his earlier work's commercial success. Renaissance and Just for You, two of his latest albums, have returned to his older style and gained traction in Europe, but not so much in the United States.

Richie was the headliner at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's 2006 Fourth of July tribute concert with Fantasia Barrino. Richie performed on the main stage (Acura Stage) at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 7, 2006, replacing Antoine "Fats" Domino, who had fallen ill. Richie's eighth studio album titled "Coming Home" followed him on May 7, 2006. "I Call It Love" the album's first single was released in July 2006, becoming the biggest hit in the United States in ten years. Richie's album was a huge success in the United States, peaking at No. 67. 6.

Richie was the 21st recipient of the George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Achievement Award at UCLA's annual Spring Sing on May 2, 2008. "Forget about spending 30 or odd years in the music business," Richie said in accepting the award. Lionel Richie lived through 27 years of Nicole Richie.

Richie said in May 2009 that he wants to bring the Commodores back to order. In 2009, Just Go!, an album, was released. Richie sang "Jesus is Love" at Michael Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009.

Richie returned to Australia in 2011 when he and guest artist Guy Sebastian toured the country and New Zealand with concert dates throughout March and April. Richie and Guy Sebastian's 1983 number-one hit "All Night Long" brought together funds for Australian floods and New Zealand earthquake relief.

Richie's tenth studio album, Tuskegee, a collection of his hit songs performed as duets with country stars on March 26, 2012. The album returned him to the top of the Billboard 200 chart, his first top-one album since Dancing on the Ceiling, and has achieved platinum status within six weeks of its introduction.

Richie appeared before an audience of between 100,000 and 120,000 people at the Glastonbury Festival, England, on June 28, 2015. By the BBC, his show was dubbed "triumphant" and was followed by his reissued compilation album of his soloist and with the Commodores. Richie will be a judge on the revival of American Idol in September 2017. Richie has been a judge on the reboot for four seasons, and he will appear in 2022 for his fifth.

Richie was honoured at Berklee College of Music during its 2017 commencement concert when graduating students performed a medley of his discography. Richie was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music. Richie received the Kennedy Center Honor on December 3, 2017.

Richie had won the rights to produce a Curtis Mayfield biopic, according to the publication in October 2017.

Richie announced a 33-date tour of North America for the summer on March 25, 2019. His 'Hello Tour' began on May 10 at Arlington's KAABOO Festival and ran through August.

Richie has appeared in Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Libya and is a popular musician in several Arab states. "Grown Iraqi men get mistymied by the mere mention of his name," ABC News' John Berman said in 2006. 'I love Lionel Richie,' they say.' They can perform a complete Lionel Richie song." Richie said he was told that Iraqi civilians were playing "All Night Long" the night US tanks had invaded Baghdad, according to Berman. Richie was against the war and has announced that he would like to perform in Baghdad someday.

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