Lionel Richie

Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (genus. All 13 singles, released by him in the period 1981-1987, hit the top 10 "Billboard Hot 100", 5 of which were in 1st place.

There are many interesting facts in the biography of Lionel Richie, which we will tell about in this article.

So, here is a short biography of Lionel Richie Jr.

Lionel Richie biography

Lionel Richie Jr. was born on June 20, 1949 in the US state of Alabama. He grew up and was raised in a family of teachers who worked at a local institute.

Childhood and youth

As a child, Lionel went to school with a sports bias. During this period of his biography, he was especially fond of tennis, showing a good game. As a result, after receiving the certificate, he was awarded a scholarship that allowed him to get higher education.

An interesting fact is that Richie originally planned to become a priest, but ultimately decided to connect his life with music. In the mid 60's he mastered the saxophone, joining the student group The Commodores.

Since Lionel possessed good vocal abilities, he was also entrusted with performing songs. It is worth noting that the musicians preferred to stick to the R&B genre.

In 1968 the collective signed a contract with the studio "Motown Records", thanks to which it reached a new level of popularity. Soon "The Commodores" acted as an opening act for the famous band "The Jackson 5".

Music

In the second half of the 70s, Lionel Richie himself began writing songs, as well as taking orders from various famous pop artists. In 1980 he wrote the hit "Lady" for Kenny Rogers, which for a long time was at the top of the American charts.

After that, Richie presented another hit "Endless Love", performing it in a duet with Diana Ross. The song became the soundtrack for the movie "Endless Love", and also one of the highest grossing in the history of pop music in the 80s.

Curiously, after the incredible success of Endless Love, Lionel decided to leave The Commodores and pursue a solo career. As a consequence, in 1982 he recorded his debut album, Lionel Richie.

This disc reached the top of the US charts, selling 4 million copies. The disc featured mainly lyrical compositions, which were well received by his compatriots.

As a result, Lionel Richie achieved no less popularity than pop singers like Prince and Michael Jackson. A year later, his second studio album "Can't Slow Down", which won 2 Grammy awards, premiered. The most successful song was "All Night Long", which was honored to be performed at the closing ceremony of the XXIII Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

In 1985 the musician took part in writing the soundtrack for the drama "White Nights" - "Say You Say Me". The song was a resounding success, garnering a large number of music awards, including an Oscar for Best Song for a Film.

At the same time, Lionel, together with Michael Jackson, composed the main composition for the charity project "We Are the World", which turned out to be the leader of the year in terms of sales. In 1986, Richie presented his next disc "Dancing on the Ceiling".

This disc was the last resounding success in the creative biography of Richie. In the late 1980s, rock music began to come into vogue, with roaring electric guitars and synthesizers. Largely for this reason, the artist decided to pause in his musical career, which he announced to his fans.

Over the next 10 years, Lionel was engaged in the processing and release of collections of the best hits, each year losing its popularity more and more. In the late 90s he recorded 2 albums - "Louder Than Words" and "Time".

In the new millennium, Richie presented 5 new records. And although there were fresh hits in his repertoire, he was far from being as famous as in his youth. However, he continued to give concerts and record songs with various performers, including Enrique Iglesias and Fantasia Bravo.

At the same time, the man took part in many charity events. He performed the track "Jesus is Love" at the farewell ceremony for Michael Jackson.

Then, for 2 years, Lionel Ritchie, along with Guy Sebastian, toured different states, raising funds to eliminate the consequences of natural disasters. In the summer of 2015, he appeared on the stage of the cult British festival "Glastonbury" in front of 120,000 spectators.

Personal life

When Richie was about 26 years old, he married a girl named Brenda Harvey. After 8 years of married life, the couple decided to take care of a girl whose parents were experiencing difficulties in relationships.

Lionel planned to pay attention to the child only for a while, but over time he realized that the girl would remain in his family forever. As a result, in 1989, 9-year-old Nicole Camilla Escovedo became the official daughter of the Richie family.

Later, the singer began an affair with designer Diana Alexander. When Brenda found her husband with his mistress, she made a loud scandal. The woman even had to be arrested for causing grievous bodily harm to her husband.

In 1993, the couple announced their divorce, after almost 18 years of marriage. A couple of years later, Lionel married Diana. For 8 years of marriage they had a girl Sophia and a boy Miles. This union broke up in 2004.

Lionel Richie today

The artist continues to tour different cities and countries, gathering armies of old fans. He has a page on Instagram, which has over 1.1 million subscribers.