Profession: Singer and TV personality
Biography: Starting his music career in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the R&B band the Commodores ("Easy"; "Three Times a Lady"), he made his solo debut in 1982 with the album "Lionel Richie" and number-one hit "Truly". He co-wrote, with Michael Jackson, the all-star charity single "We Are The World" in 1985. Richie has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.
More recently he has been a judge on TV reality show "American Idol" since 2018.
Richie has won 4 Grammy Awards and one Oscar. In 2022 he was awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Born: June 20, 1949
Birthplace: Tuskegee, Alabama, USA
Age: 75 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Chinese Zodiac: Ox
Star Sign: Gemini
Married Life
- 1975-10-18 American pop singer Lionel Richie (26) weds college sweetheart Brenda Harvey; divorce in 1993
- 1993-08-09 American pop singer Lionel Richie (44) divorces Brenda Harvey, after nearly 18 years of marriage
- 1996-12-21 American pop singer Lionel Richie (47) weds clothing designer Diane Alexander (30) at Metropolitan Club in New York; divorce in 2004
Historical Events
- 1981-08-01 "Endless Love" single released by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (Billboard Song of the Year 1981, Billboard Greatest Song Duet of All-Time)
- 1983-06-11 "My Love" by Lionel Richie peaks at #5
- 1983-10-11 "Can't Slow Down" second studio album by Lionel Richie is released
- 1985-01-28 12th American Music Awards: Cyndi Lauper & Lionel Richie win
- 1987-01-26 14th American Music Awards: Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie & Alabama win
- 2015-06-24 Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, England opens: Kanye West, and The Who headline; other performers include Lionel Richie, Motörhead, Burt Bacharach, The Libertines, and Pharrell Williams
- 2022-03-09 American singer-songwriter Lionel Richie receives Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
- 2022-11-05 37th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo; Duran Duran; Eminem; Eurythmics; Dolly Parton; Lionel Richie; Carly Simon; Judas Priest; Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis; Harry Belafonte; Elizabeth Cotten; Allen Grubman; Jimmy Iovine; and Sylvia Robinson