Lionel Richie has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. As front man for the Commodores they had several hits such as Easy, Three Times a Lady, and probably the Commodores’ most famous hit, Brick House.
Richie quit the Commodores in 1981 and his solo career exploded. He released his self-titled debut in 1982. The album hit No. 3 on the charts and sold over 4 million copies. His follow up album, Can’t Slow Down, sold over twice as many copies and won the Grammy for Album of the Year in ’84. His third album, ’86’s Dancing On The Ceiling spawned such hits as Say You, Say Me and Dancing on the Ceiling.
In 2012, Lionel went back to his Tuskegee roots by re-working some of his biggest hits as duets with country superstars such as Shania Twain, Willie Nelson and Tim McGraw. The album was one the biggest of his career reaching #1 on the Billboard Top 200 list and garnering huge critical acclaim. Tuskegee also received a national two-hour CBS television special with performances by Richie and the album’s country duet partners that was the top-rated show of the night with more than 8 million viewers. “I realized that my songs perfectly translated to the country genre,” said Richie about the album. “I was born and raised in Tuskegee, Alabama. I am a country boy and proud of it. To do this project just felt natural.”
On the heels of the success of the Tuskegee album, in 2013 Lionel launched a global tour entitled “All The Hits, All Night Long” and he has proved to fans that he can deliver exactly that. A two hour set spanning his entire catalog of music has lead to a fan frenzy and high praise from press around the world. Lionel has take the tour to every part of the planet including Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and North America.
You would think that Lionel would be content with his career, which has spanned over three decades, but Lionel insists on pushing forward and marking new territory in his musical legacy. It is of utmost importance to Lionel to maintain a personal growing relationship with his fans, who he definitely values as one of the many reasons for his continuing success.