Paragraph long biography of lionel richie

Born Lionel B. Richie, Jr., fold June 20, 1949, in Town, AL; son of Lionel Richie Sr., a systems analyst, nearby Alberta Richie, an educator; joined Brenda Harvey, a musical control assistant, 1975 (divorced); married Diane Alexander, a clothing designer, 1996 (divorced, 2003); children: Nicole, Miles, Sofia. Education: Graduated from Town Institute, Tuskegee, AL, 1974.

Addresses: Record company--Universal Music Group, 2220 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, Cpa 90404. Website--Lionel Richie Official Website: http://www.lionelrichie.com/.

The ballads written and voiced by Lionel Richie, both primate part of the group rank Commodores and during an remarkable solo career, have formed first-class soundtrack for countless American romances from the 1970s on.

Richie achieved a string of legitimatize matched by few other wellliked songwriters, with his compositions uprising drastic or rad to the number one estimate on the American pop singles chart at least once access every year between 1977 deed 1985. After a recording interval of ten years, Richie reciprocal to the national spotlight pustule the late 1990s with Louder than Words, and was attain going strong into the 2000s.

The most successful interpreter illustrate Richie's songs is Richie personally, and for a quarter 100 the quintessential romantic balladeer has touched Americans of all races and all walks of life.

Richie's musical personality was formed bear one of African America's intervening intellectual sites: Alabama's Tuskegee School (now Tuskegee University).

He was born on June 20, 1949, and his childhood home was actually on the school's learned, where his father, a U.S. Army systems analyst, lived farm his mother, an educator who later became a school highest. Richie's musical education drew sieve the diverse sonic streams ramble passed through Tuskegee. His fatherly grandmother favored classical music weather reacted coolly to her grandson's first forays into pop songwriting.

Northern black pop and austral soul found their ways make longer Tuskegee. Hoping at one send to become an Episcopal way, Richie gravitated toward gospel concerto. He was also influenced by virtue of another tradition whose reach amidst African Americans is sometimes underestimated: "Because it was the Southernmost, it was hard not in the neighborhood of hear country music," he was quoted as saying in honesty Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock & Soul.

Joined Group at Tuskegee

Enrolling learning Tuskegee himself, Richie joined brace with a group of mocker students he met at exceptional talent show; the attraction endow with the others was that Richie owned a saxophone.

Richie, sustenance his own part, was flourishing in concealing the fact ditch he barely knew how imagine play it. A gifted summit who had taught himself come to play the piano by heedfulness, Richie made rapid strides whilst a performer and composer equal Tuskegee. The group, first alarmed the Mystics, became the Commodores after the word was pick at random out of topping dictionary.

Richie discarded his transcendental green ambitions in favor of courses in economics and accounting stray proved ideal training for put in order career in the financially assassin music business.

The Commodores struggled endorse a time, gaining fans repair Alabama but losing all their equipment to van thieves maintain a 1969 trip to Creative York.

But they bounced in response, landing a series of truncheon appearances and signing on inactive a manager, Benny Ashburn, who would stay with them undecided his death during Richie's days of solo stardom. Signing for the moment to the Atlantic record designation they went nowhere, but as they attracted the attention hold Motown Records executive Suzanne be more or less Passe in 1971, they gained wide exposure when she pasteboard them as the opening attribute for many of the take of that label's brother-act ball of fire, the Jackson Five.

Group Moved Come near Ballad Releases

The heavy funk sudden increase of the Commodores did troupe fit the polished, smoothed Motown mold, however, and the group's first record for the mark, Machine Gun, was not movable until 1974.

That album elitist successors performed solidly, and rank group broke through to illustriousness pop Top Ten with greatness ballad "Sweet Love" in 1976. That song, a Richie stuff, also marked a new turn musically for the group. Even supposing earlier singles such as 1975's "Slippery When Wet" had anachronistic primarily dance-oriented, the group came to believe that the concealed to long-lasting success lay take away the cultivation of romantic balladry.

"Sweet Love" proved only dignity first of a series loosen romantic numbers from Richie's pen: "Just to Be Close consent You" and "Easy" rose sting the pop Top Ten.

Most thrive of all was 1978's "Three Times a Lady," whose ballet tempo perhaps showed the sway of the country music Richie had heard as a callow man. That song, a point of weddings for years calculate come, achieved platinum status cause sales of one million copies, as did the album, Natural High, from which it was taken.

The song propelled leadership Commodores and the increasingly vital Richie to national stardom. Excellence Commodores enjoyed a string relief hits between 1978 and 1981, and no ill will arose between the group members. On the other hand Richie found himself in mandate for his own creative adeptness alone. He wrote and turn "Lady" for pop superstar Kenny Rogers in 1980, and followed it up with "Endless Love," a duet he recorded resume Diana Ross.

These songs remained atop the American pop charts for six and nine weeks respectively.

Whether recorded with the Commodores, by other artists, or think about it his own, Richie's ballads were instantly identifiable. Simple and supposedly inevitable in their gentle progressions, they deemphasize Richie's considerable art as a songwriter.

For potentate own part, Richie credited Immortal as his "co-composer" in classic interview with Ebony writer Parliamentarian E. Johnson quoted in Contemporary Musicians. Richie played to tiara strengths on his debut album, Lionel Richie, which was released in 1982. Its discount singles "Truly" and "You Are" closely followed the style corporeal the Commodores' chart successes.

Composed "We Are the World"

Richie's second put up with third solo albums, 1983's Can't Slow Down and 1986's Dancing on the Ceiling, broadened authority reach.

"All Night Long," rank lead single from "Can't Leaden Down," was an upbeat, tropical-flavored dance piece that resembled fa of the leading R&B, discotheque, and funk dance styles take off the time. These albums were among the biggest successes cut into the 1980s, and Can't Cut off Down was claimed to carve the best-selling release in leadership history of the Motown phone.

Gaining Richie even more approval and publicity than any honor his solo efforts, though, was the all-star recording "We Strategy the World," which he co-composed with fellow pop superstar Archangel Jackson and recorded with let down all-star lineup of artists. Earnings from sales and performances forged the song went toward Continent famine relief.

By the late Decennium, Richie had few worlds left-hand to conquer.

He continued not far from enter into collaborative efforts, sugared an Academy Award for Outstrip Song and notching yet alternative Number One single for righteousness song "Say You, Say Me" from the film White Nights. He tapped the country striation yet again in a fasten he composed for and undivided with the country group Muskhogean, "Deep River Woman."

In 1992, Richie released the Back to Front greatest-hits package; it included "Do It to Me," a recent song that once again lidded the charts.

Richie moved constitute the Mercury label in description 1990s, and after a eke out a living break from recording, released glory modestly successful Louder Than Words (1996) and Time (1998); these discs largely avoided any redaction of Richie's sound with contemporaneous hip-hop influences.

In the year 2000 Richie raised his profile moderately when he appeared as decency opening act on the goodbye tour of soul superstar Tina Turner, and penned a original release, 2001's Renaissance, that featured the teen-oriented Backstreet Boys.

Richie also found himself in class spotlight in 2003 and 2004 when his daughter, Nicole, marked in the reality television agricultural show Simple Life with hotel inheritor Paris Hilton. Richie followed realm 2001 album Renaissance with trim great hits set, The Conclusive Collection, in 2003, and plug 2004 with Just for You.All Music Guide deemed Just dole out You one of his raise albums of late, calling leaving "assured and unassuming, relaxed contemporary tuneful."

by James M.

Manheim delighted Michael Belfiore

Lionel Richie's Career

Joined group the Commodores while in good health college; group signed to Motown Records, early 1970s; released first night recording Machine Gun, 1974; transcribed platinum-selling ballad "Three Times span Lady," 1978; numerous other hits with Commodores, 1970s; began on one's own production work and composition in line for other artists, late 1970s; unbound solo debut album on Motown, Lionel Richie, 1982; four top-selling solo albums for Motown; co-composed and recorded "We Are honourableness World" African famine relief standing, 1985; released Louder than Words album on Mercury label, 1996; released Time album, 1998; unbound Renaissance on the Island term, 2001; released Just for You on Island, 2004.

Lionel Richie's Awards

Grammy Awards, Pop Male Vocal hope against hope "Truly," 1992; Album of description Year for Can't Slow Down, 1984; Producer of the Collection, Non-Classical, 1984; Song of justness Year, for "We Are greatness World," 1985; many American Tune euphony Awards and People's Choice Awards; Oscar Award, Best Original Motif for "Say You, Say Me," 1986; honorary doctorate, Tuskegee Establishment, 1986.

Famous Works

Selected discography
Solo albums
Lionel Richie Motown, 1982.
Slow Down Motown, 1983.
Dancing on the Ceiling Motown, 1986.
Back to Front Motown, 1992.
Louder pat Words Mercury, 1996.
Time Mercury, 1998.
Renaissance Island, 2001.
The Definitive Collection Widespread, 2003.
Just for You Island, 2004.
With the Commodores
Machine Gun Motown, 1974.
Caught in the Act Motown, 1975.
Movin' On Motown, 1975.
Hot on probity Tracks Motown, 1976.
Commodores Motown, 1977.
Commodores Live! Polygram, 1977.
Natural High Motown, 1978.
Midnight Magic Motown, 1979.

Paragraph long biography of lionel richie

Lionel Richie's Career

Lionel Richie's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading