An American singer and songwriter, Lionel Richie was one of the original members of the 70s group Commodores, which initially concentrated on funk and soul music.
Eventually, Richie decided to write songs for the group that is more of a romantic nature. These included the songs “Still,” “Three Times A Lady,” “Easy,” and many others.
In 1982, Richie embarked on a solo singing career, which proved to be immensely successful. His debut album Lionel Richie produced three hit songs, one of which won the singer the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The song was “Truly.”
A year later, Richie came up with his second album, “Can’t Slow Dance,” which was doubly fruitful. Apart from selling 8 million copies (double the sale of the first album), Can’t Slow Down was awarded Album of the Year.
Several other recognitions came Richie’s way in the years that followed. Along with the late Michael Jackson, he wrote “We Are The World,” the 1985 Grammy winner for Song of the Year. A year after that, Richie recorded “Say You Say Me,” the Golden Globe Awards winner for Best Original Song and the soundtrack of the movie White Nights.
Three years ago, Richie received the Johnny Mercer Award, the highest honor that can be bestowed on any musician by the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame
Eary Life
His complete name is Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. he took birth on the 20th of June, in the year 1949, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Richie is the child of Alberta R. (Foster) and Lionel Brockman Richie in Tuskegee, Alabama.
He studied with the major subjects in Economics and graduated from university. When he was a pupil in the university, he took an interest in a number of upcoming R&B groups in the year 1960s.
He is an energetic member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, as well as Kappa Kappa Psi, a national honor fraternity for band members. Richie is present at the graduate school briefly at Auburn University. He well-thought-out himself becoming a priest in the Episcopal Church but, at the end of the day, decided to continue with his music.
Career
In the year 1968, he was contracted on as a singer and a saxophonist with the ‘Commodores.’ The same year, he signed a deal of record contract with Atlantic Records for just one record and then progressed on to Motown Records.
He sang the signature tune for the film, ‘Endless Love’ along with Diana Ross in the year 1981. The song becomes a big hit in the UK, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. It is also well-thought-out as one of Motown Records’ greatest hits.
He released his very next solo, ‘Can’t Slow Down’ in the year 1983, under the label of Motown Records. The album sold twice of his first album and also went on to win a couple of Grammy Awards.
From 2002 to the year 2005, Richie’s song ‘Running with the Night’ was featured on the video game, ‘Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.’ During this time, he worked British tv series, ‘Top Gear’ and on a ‘CMT Crossroads’ episode.
In the year 2010, he did at the National Memorial Day Concert in Washington DC. Moreover, he performed at the AFL Grand Final Replay.
Awards And Achievements
Lionel Richie has gained four Grammy Awards, together with a song of the year award in 1985 for his song “We Are the World,” which he wrote in collaboration with Micheal Jackson.
He also accomplished the Album of the Year in 1984 for “Can’t Slow Down,” Producer of the Year (in the Non-Classical category) in 1984, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Truly” in 1982. Richie was the first individual to get an RIAA Diamond album award.
Discography
Following are the discographies of Lionel Richie:
- Lionel Richie in the year 1982
- Can’t Slow Down in the year 1983
- Dancing on the Ceiling in the year 1986
- Louder Than Words in the year 1996
- Time in the year 1998
- Renaissance in the year 2000
- Just for You in the year 2004
- Coming Home in the year 2006
- Just Go in the year 2009
- Tuskegee in the year 2012
Filmography
Following are the filmographies of Lionel Richie:
- The year 1977: Scott Joplin (with The Commodores)
- The year 1978: Thank God It’s Friday (with The Commodores)
- The year 1991: Truth or Dare (documentary)
- The year 1996: The Preacher’s Wife
- The year 1998: Pariah
- The year 2007: The Simpsons (episode: “He Loves to Fly and He D’ohs”)
- The year 2011: Who Do You Think You Are?
- The year 2011: Lionel Richie: Dancing On the Ceiling (Part of the BBC Four documentary series, Black Music Legends of the 1980s)
- The year 2014: Oprah Winfrey’s Master Class
- The year 2018 American Idol
- The year 2019 American Idol
- The year 2020 Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time
Lionel Richie Net Worth
Аs of January 2021, Тhе tоtаl presumed net wоrth оf Lіоnеl Rісhіеіѕ а almost $230 mіllіоn, а luck thаt hе hаѕ gathered thrоugh hіѕ anormously ѕuссеѕѕful muѕіс саrееr, аnd luсrаtіvе еndоrѕеmеnt dеаlѕ wіth рорulаr brаndѕ, lіkе Lіоn Nаthаn.
He is one of the musicians in the industry who proved themselves and maintained their name throughout.
Source of Income of Lionel Richie
The major source of income of Lionel Richie was his music. Moreover, luсrаtіvе еndоrѕеmеnt dеаlѕ wіth рорulаr brаndѕ, as well as the TV, shows he has performed.
Conclusion
Lionel Richie’s flattering tones have wreathed the radio frequencies of millions of soul and R&B music stations all over the place and around the world. Richie is well-thought-out as one of the most prosperous singer-songwriters of the 20th century, with most of his songs hit the highest points on important music charts.
Lіоnеl Rісhіе іѕ оnе оf thе fеw аrtіѕtѕ whоѕе muѕіс hаѕ ѕuссеѕѕfullу ѕtооd thе tіmе of test, which helped hіm developing himself аѕ оnе оf thе grеаtеѕt ѕіngеrѕ оf аll tіmе.