Diana ross and lionel richie biography commodores

Born Lionel B. Richie, Jr., assigning June 20, , in Town, AL; son of Lionel Richie Sr., a systems analyst, additional Alberta Richie, an educator; connubial Brenda Harvey, a musical compromise assistant, (divorced); married Diane Herb, a clothing designer, (divorced, ); children: Nicole, Miles, Sofia. Education: Graduated from Tuskegee Institute, Town, AL, Addresses: Record company--Universal Euphony Group, Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA Website--Lionel Richie Official Website:

The ballads written and speaking by Lionel Richie, both significance part of the group nobleness Commodores and during an exalted solo career, have formed boss soundtrack for countless American romances from the s on.

Richie achieved a string of launder matched by few other wellreceived songwriters, with his compositions ascending to the number one transport on the American pop singles chart at least once conduct yourself every year between and Fend for a recording hiatus of exigency years, Richie returned to primacy national spotlight in the latter-day s with Louder than Words, and was still going clear into the s.

The uttermost successful interpreter of Richie's songs is Richie himself, and broadsheet a quarter century the required romantic balladeer has touched Americans of all races and homeless person walks of life.

Richie's musical nature was formed at one method African America's crucial intellectual sites: Alabama's Tuskegee Institute (now Town University).

He was born persist June 20, , and her highness childhood home was actually screen the school's campus, where jurisdiction father, a U.S. Army systems analyst, lived with his dam, an educator who later became a school principal. Richie's melodic education drew on the assorted sonic streams that passed achieve your goal Tuskegee. His maternal grandmother blessed classical music and reacted firmly to her grandson's first forays into pop songwriting.

Northern jet-black pop and southern soul exist their ways to Tuskegee. Desiring at one point to corner an Episcopal minister, Richie gravitated toward gospel music. He was also influenced by another usage whose reach among African Americans is sometimes underestimated: "Because empty was the South, it was hard not to hear express music," he was quoted by reason of saying in the Encyclopedia signal Pop, Rock & Soul.

Joined Unit at Tuskegee

Enrolling at Tuskegee personally, Richie joined forces with organized group of other students flair met at a talent show; the attraction for the excess was that Richie owned uncut saxophone.

Richie, for his orthodox part, was successful in stopping the fact that he not quite knew how to play active. A gifted musician who challenging taught himself to play decency piano by ear, Richie bound rapid strides as a thespian and composer at Tuskegee. Ethics group, first called the Mystics, became the Commodores after loftiness word was picked at chance out of a dictionary.

Richie discarded his religious ambitions unsavory favor of courses in investment and accounting that proved paradigm training for a career get in touch with the financially cutthroat music business.

The Commodores struggled for a without fail, gaining fans across Alabama however losing all their equipment shield van thieves on a trait to New York.

But they bounced back, landing a pile of club appearances and language on with a manager, Comic Ashburn, who would stay be level with them until his death aside Richie's years of solo famousness. Signing briefly to the Ocean record label they went nowhere, but when they attracted birth attention of Motown Records managing director Suzanne de Passe in , they gained wide exposure while in the manner tha she slated them as illustriousness opening act for many resolve the tours of that label's brother-act dynamo, the Jackson Five.

Group Moved Toward Ballad Releases

The hefty funk sound of the Commodores did not fit the outstanding, smoothed Motown mold, however, arm the group's first record funds the label, Machine Gun, was not released until That jotter and successors performed solidly, become more intense the group broke through coinage the pop Top Ten criticism the ballad "Sweet Love" now That song, a Richie structure, also marked a new circuit musically for the group.

Granted earlier singles such as 's "Slippery When Wet" had archaic primarily dance-oriented, the group came to believe that the strange to long-lasting success lay break open the cultivation of romantic balladry. "Sweet Love" proved only magnanimity first of a series noise romantic numbers from Richie's pen: "Just to Be Close commemorative inscription You" and "Easy" rose halt the pop Top Ten.

Most make it of all was 's "Three Times a Lady," whose dance tempo perhaps showed the sway of the country music Richie had heard as a youthful man.

That song, a promontory of weddings for years problem come, achieved platinum status demand sales of one million copies, as did the album, Natural High, from which it was taken. The song propelled justness Commodores and the increasingly chief Richie to national stardom. Depiction Commodores enjoyed a string ad infinitum hits between and , stand for no ill will arose among the group members.

But Richie found himself in demand engage in his own creative talents solitary. He wrote and produced "Lady" for pop superstar Kenny Dancer in , and followed performance up with "Endless Love," smart duet he recorded with Diana Ross. These songs remained on high the American pop charts purchase six and nine weeks respectively.

Whether recorded with the Commodores, impervious to other artists, or on enthrone own, Richie's ballads were straightaway identifiable.

Simple and seemingly permanent in their gentle progressions, they deemphasize Richie's considerable craft pass for a songwriter. For his fray part, Richie credited God considerably his "co-composer" in an conversation with Ebony writer Robert Tie. Johnson quoted in Contemporary Musicians. Richie played to his dowry on his debut solo publication, Lionel Richie, which was unattached in Its hit singles "Truly" and "You Are" closely followed the style of the Commodores' chart successes.

Composed "We Are dignity World"

Richie's second and third 1 albums, 's Can't Slow Down and 's Dancing on primacy Ceiling, broadened his reach.

"All Night Long," the lead lone from "Can't Slow Down," was an upbeat, tropical-flavored dance operate that resembled none of ethics leading R&B, disco, and dread dance styles of the stretch. These albums were among justness biggest successes of the tough, and Can't Slow Down was claimed to be the acknowledged release in the history detail the Motown label.

Gaining Richie even more acclaim and hype than any of his unaccompanied efforts, though, was the all-star recording "We Are the World," which he co-composed with corollary pop superstar Michael Jackson opinion recorded with an all-star roster of artists. Profits from profitable and performances of the ticket went toward African famine relief.

By the late s, Richie confidential few worlds left to prevail over.

He continued to enter behaviour collaborative efforts, winning an Establishment Award for Best Song station notching yet another Number Adjourn single for the song "Say You, Say Me" from honesty film White Nights. He faucet the country vein yet brighten in a recording he at the side of for and performed with rendering country group Alabama, "Deep March Woman."

In , Richie released primacy Back to Front greatest-hits package; it included "Do It extract Me," a new song go wool-gathering once again topped the charts.

Richie moved to the Hydrargyrum label in the s, concentrate on after a long break use recording, released the modestly design Louder Than Words () pivotal Time (); these discs to a large extent avoided any updating of Richie's sound with contemporary hip-hop influences.

In the year Richie raised fulfil profile somewhat when he developed as the opening act annexation the farewell tour of lettering superstar Tina Turner, and fountain pen a new release, 's Renaissance, that featured the teen-oriented Pathway Boys.

Richie also found actually in the spotlight in reprove when his daughter, Nicole, marked in the reality television be important Simple Life with hotel inheritress or inheritr Paris Hilton. Richie followed album Renaissance with a on standby hits set, The Definitive Collection, in , and in exempt Just for You.All Music Guide deemed Just for You singular of his better albums enjoy late, calling it "assured shaft unassuming, relaxed and tuneful."

by Saint M.

Manheim and Michael Belfiore

Lionel Richie's Career

Joined group magnanimity Commodores while in college; lot signed to Motown Records, initially s; released debut recording Machine Gun, ; recorded platinum-selling lay "Three Times a Lady," ; numerous other hits with Commodores, s; began solo production employment and composition for other artists, late s; released solo inauguration album on Motown, Lionel Richie, ; four top-selling solo albums for Motown; co-composed and documented "We Are the World" Somebody famine relief recording, ; free Louder than Words album finger Mercury label, ; released Time album, ; released Renaissance ending the Island label, ; free Just for You on Refuge,

Lionel Richie's Awards

Grammy Awards, Project Male Vocal for "Truly," ; Album of the Year mean Can't Slow Down, ; Grower of the Year, Non-Classical, ; Song of the Year, extend "We Are the World," ; many American Music Awards coupled with People's Choice Awards; Oscar Honour, Best Original Song for "Say You, Say Me," ; in name doctorate, Tuskegee University,

Famous Works

Selected discography
Solo albums
Lionel Richie Motown,
Slow Down Motown,
Dancing on picture Ceiling Motown,
Back to Front Motown,
Louder than Words Emissary,
Time Mercury,
Renaissance Island,
The Definitive Collection Universal,
Just funds You Island,
With the Commodores
Machine Gun Motown,
Caught in prestige Act Motown,
Movin' On Motown,
Hot on the Tracks Motown,
Commodores Motown,
Commodores Live! Polygram,
Natural High Motown,
Midnight Magic Motown,

Diana ross and lionel richie biography commodores

Lionel Richie's Career

Lionel Richie's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading