In the 1980s, Lionel Ritchie reigned in the world musical Olympus. At that time he was no less popular than Michael Jackson. All thirty singles of the artist, released between 1981 and 1987, were in the top ten of the hit chart "Hot Hundred Billboard", five of them took first place. Let's find out what was the road to the fame of Lionel Richie.
Biography and the beginning of creative activity
The singer was born in the USA, in a small town in Alabama, 06/20/1949. As a child, the boy spent a lot of time on the student campus, since almost all of his closest relatives worked at the Taskiji Institute. Lionel was interested in the saxophone and, when he entered college, he began to play in local soul groups.
In 1967, Richie was accepted into the band The Commodores as a saxophonist, but he soon became the main vocalist. The team successfully performed in Alabama, then there were performances in New York, first in small clubs, and then in large venues, which served as the beginning of a successful career. The Commodores has become a very popular rhythm and blues band.
Over time, Lionel Richie began to try himself as a composer. In 1980, he wrote the song Lady for country singer Kenny Rogers, which became a very big hit and for many weeks occupied a leading position in Billboard's Hot Hundred. A year later, the singer recorded a duet with Diane Ross - the song Endless Love for the film "Endless Love". The single became one of the highest grossing in pop music of the 1980s. Then Lionel Richie decided to leave the group and start performing independently.
Solo career
In 1981, the artist began to create a debut album called Lionel Richie. His release took place at the end of 1982. The disc was a resounding success, the title track Truly quickly soared to the leading positions of the American charts, three more singles settled in the top five charts. Listeners liked both the compositions themselves and the incomparable vocals of Lionel Richie. The Truly song was awarded a Grammy nomination.
If the debut disc made Richie a star, then the second album turned him into a superstar. It included both energetic and incendiary compositions, and soulful ballads. The listeners ’song“ Hello ”by Lionel Richie with the accompanying video clip about the life of a blind girl received the greatest love from the audience.
The singer became so popular that he was even invited to speak at the closing ceremony of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
In 1985, Lionel Richie released several other major hits, including a joint single with Michael Jackson We Are the World, published as part of the charity project "USA for Africa."
Fall in popularity
In 1987, the third album of the musician was released, but he did not have the due success. At that time, rock and techno began to enter into fashion, and sugary ballads were supplanted from the charts. Richie announced a break in creativity. He was going to rest a bit, but it turned out that the break was delayed for five years. In 1988, information appeared in the press that his wife had attacked Lionel, catching him with a mistress. This story caused a negative reaction from the public. In 1989, doctors discovered polyps on the ligaments of the singer, and for the next three years he underwent treatment.
He returned to the scene in 1996 with a new album in the style of new jack swing. But the disc did not have much success, as did the three subsequent disks. The most successful of late Lionel Richie's albums was Coming Home, released in 2006. But the singer could not merge with the new musical trends of the 21st century. Unfortunately, the best moments of his career are in the distant past.