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Lionel Richie
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Lionel Richie was born in 1949 in Tuskegee, Alabama, and grew up on the campus of the Tuskegee Institute. His grandmother was a pianist. He received a tennis scholarship to the institute and played in the marching band. He abandoned studies for the priesthood and chose music, although he could not read or write music. In the 1970s he became known as a songwriter and co-singer of the Motown group the Commodores, with hits such as Easy, Sail On, Three Times a Lady and Still.
Music and breakthrough
In 1981 he wrote and produced Endless Love, a duet with Diana Ross that is among the best-selling singles of all time. His solo career began in 1982 with the album Lionel Richie. The second album, Can't Slow Down from 1983, reached number one on the Billboard 200 and contained the songs All Night Long (All Night) and Hello. In 1985 he co-wrote the charity single We Are the World with Michael Jackson, which won the Grammy for Song of the Year. Can't Slow Down won the Grammy for Album of the Year. Other records include Dancing on the Ceiling in 1985 and Tuskegee in 2012.
Influence
Richie became the most important ballad singer of the 1980s, with a warm, soft voice and smooth, melodic arrangements that were both soul and pop. In 2022 he received the Gershwin Prize and a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 1982Lionel Richie
- 1983Can’t Slow Down
- 1985Dancing on the Ceiling
- 1996Louder Than Words
- 1998Time
- 2000Renaissance
- 2003Just for You
- 2006Coming Home
- 2009Just Go
- 2012Tuskegee