Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie
a.k.a. Lionel Brockman Richie Jr.

• Read the Artist Biography
• See all CDs by this artist
• Artist Awards & Nominations

THREE TIMES A SUPERSTAR
From His Commodores Days to His Solo Glory to His Renaissance, Lionel Ritchie Can't Stop
Lionel Richie has had an enviable career twice over -- first as frontman of the '70s funk and R&B group the Commodores and then as one of the top-selling artists of the '80s. But if the 2001 release of his seventh solo disc, Renaissance, is any indication, Richie still Can't Slow Down. While younger pop and R&B artists are busy trying to reinvent old-school soul, Richie continues to do what comes naturally -- write hit songs. "Angel," the first single from Renaissance, became an international and domestic club hit, allowing Richie to reclaim his spot on the pop charts. While he's pleased with his new millennium success, however, he hasn't forgotten his glory days with the Commodores. Prior to the release of the Commodores' retrospective disc, Anthology, the charismatic Richie reminisced with Barnes & Noble.com's R&B and Hip-Hop editor, Tracy E. Hopkins.

Barnes & Noble.com: How is Renaissance different from your last disc?

Lionel Richie: This was the one where I could feel it right away. The last two albums [1996's Louder than Words and 1998's Back to Front] were great therapy. I traveled through the valley of the shadow of death. When you go through a period in your life when you're going through a crisis and searching [for answers], it's very difficult to deal with anything other than that. I was in a transition in my life. But with this album, the transition must be over, because the record came so fast. I approached it with a sense of freedom. I didn't care about rules or guidelines. I just wanted to be as much a part of the business as possible. That's why I worked and wrote songs with Rodney Jerkins and his brother Fred. I decided to experiment. This is the old way I used to do things -- to write with an "I don't care" attitude. And it really worked out well.

B&N.com: At the peak of your success in the late '80s you fell off the radar. What happened?

LR: I would never have stopped [recording], but my father got sick. And then my divorce rolled into it. Then I had several throat surgeries. But now that I look back on that period, [taking a break] was probably the best thing that could have happened, because I would have probably crashed and burned. Before [those events], the idea of stopping did not enter my head. It took something like that to make me stop.

B&N.com: Maybe that's why one of your bestselling discs was called Can't Slow Down.

LR: Exactly. And the other one was called Dancing on the Ceiling, because I was hanging off the ceiling. [laughs] But the time off did some amazing things for me. I had a chance to live real life, and most importantly, it gave me a chance to recharge my battery. As a songwriter, you need to live it a little bit to know what you're writing about. In this case, I didn't plan to take off seven or eight years, but it was much appreciated. I have a renewed vibrancy about what I want and where I want to go.

B&N.com: You were one of the most successful artists of the '80s. When you started your musical career, did you ever fathom that you would become one of the biggest pop stars of all time?

LR: Not at all. My vision was to make the Commodores the black Beatles. I didn't see anything beyond the Commodores. But I surprised myself at a certain point [in my career] when I gave "Lady" to Kenny Rogers. That [song] opened up another door. Then it became quite clear that there was a possibility that [my music] could go to another level. But it was a surprise to me. Remember, I wasn't the [original] writer or lead vocalist for the Commodores. I discovered my strength as a singer and songwriter after I was in the Commodores for about six or seven years. Thank God for them, or I would have never discovered Lionel Richie. I did a lot of experimentation within the group. I got to practice being a producer, singer, songwriter, and performer.

B&N.com: You've had so many memorable musical moments. What's been the highlight?

LR: That's so hard. Normally that's an easy answer to give, because there is probably one highlight in your career. But in this case, I've been pretty lucky and blessed. I'm thinking of [performing] at the Olympics with 2.6 billion watching and at the Academy Awards; being a part of "We Are the World"; and hosting the American Music Awards, which was outrageous. Prince had half of his pants missing in the back, which was hilarious. Those experiences were heavy highlights.

B&N.com: What prompted you to make Renaissance more dance-oriented?

LR: I met with [producer] Brian Rollins and his camp. And all they were talking about was the '70s and the '80s. And then I went to Rodney Jerkins and asked him what was new [musically]. He asked, "What did you and the Commodores do?" Then I realized that the old sound is the new sound. Someone told me to grow my hair out and wear an Afro again. I said, "Excuse me!" [laughs] Then I went to a Gucci store, and they wanted to sell me a pair of bell-bottoms for $1,800. I used to have a pair that I bought for $159, and they looked just like those. And they wanted to sell me a tie-dyed T-shirt. So I was thinking that I've done this before. They asked me, "What do you think of today's new boy bands?" I was like, "You mean the [new] Jacksons and Temptations?" Nothing is new. It's just a hybrid of what it was before. With Renaissance, I knew where to go. [Critics] said, "Lionel Richie as a club guy, that's not going to work." And I said, "What are you talking about? The Commodores was a club band."

B&N.com: How do you feel about the younger generation of artists?

LR: I love Mary J. Blige to death. I also like Macy Gray and Moby. They're doing a hybrid of an R&B track with a pop vocal on top. Then there's Wyclef [Jean], who's giving you a bunch of flavor on the bottom and a lot of reggae on top and hybrids of maybe three or four different things -- R&B, pop, and country. I've also been following Shaggy and Mos Def.

B&N.com: As a songwriter, where do you draw inspiration?

LR: I listen to it all -- a little bit of classical, a little R&B and pop. I try to make the ground floor R&B, but it ends up a pop track. I tried to write "All Night Long" as a slow R&B song, but tell me how I got there [up-tempo], I'll never know. In the process of writing an up-tempo pop song, I wrote "Jesus Is Love." So, there are some days you sit down to write and you don't know how you got there. My inspiration is basically from traveling around the world once or twice a year and sitting in clubs around the world. A lot of times I don't experience it. I just interpret it. That's where all the stories come from.

B&N.com: Do you have a favorite Commodores hit?

LR: The one that sums me up would be "Easy." The one that I vibe on is "Zoom." And the one that I play to death is "Brick House." But which one -- that's a tough one.

B&N.com: When you were coming up, who were some of the artists that inspired you?

LR: Definitely Stevie [Wonder] and Marvin [Gaye].

B&N.com: It's funny that you mention them. A lot of the contemporary artists I've interviewed have said the same thing.

LR: You can tell by everyone's vocal. If you listen to every vocal that has come out of the '90s to where we are right now, that's Stevie Wonder. Now the only person who can't pull off Stevie Wonder is Stevie. The joke is, Stevie is trying to find a new vocal sound. I told him, "Man, you better use the one you've got." It's funny that they all went [in the studio] one day and decided they were going to adopt Stevie's sound as the way R&B is sung from now on. These days, if you can't riff, your not singing R&B.

B&N.com: Any other influences?

LR: I'll also throw in Smokey [Robinson]. He was huge. He was a poet. And of course the other guy [who influenced me] was [Paul] McCartney because of his universality. He knows how to slow the track down, speed the track up. In fact, he inspired me during "Say You, Say Me" to stop in the middle of the song and speed it up.

B&N.com: Is there any artist out there who reminds you of yourself?

LR: As far as the boldness of what he's doing, probably Wyclef. In fact, we're very good friends, so every time I see him he says, "OK, I'm getting ready to take another chance. I'm putting Kenny Rogers on my record." He's trying his best to broaden his horizons. He's mixing a little classical with a little Marley. Then he'll come by with Mary J. and do something [like the duet "911" from The Ecleftic]. I love that crazy guy. He definitely reminds me a lot of myself. In this business they will put you in a box, and you will be that person for the rest of your career. I didn't like that box. The Commodores went from being [labeled as] a soul band to a soul-funk band. We are such a diverse group of people that we cannot allow this business to put us in a category when we can do everything.

B&N.com: Are you already working on material for your next disc?

LR: I do it every day. Even when I was off all those years, I was still writing. Some people get up and jog. I get up and write.

B&N.com: Would you say that you're a happier person than you were five or six years ago?

LR: Most definitely. You take the ups and the downs. The interesting part about what I went through was that [at the time], I thought I was the only person going through it. But now I walk down the street and other people are like, my father died too. It's like group therapy. [With the divorce], women don't [seem to] suffer as much because when one woman is mad with a man, 15 other women are angry at that guy too. Women tell everybody. If guys ask each other if they're having problems at home, we're like, "Naw, I'm cool." But I dealt with it and kept moving. In the words of my father, "Winning doesn't determine character. Losing and then winning determines character." It's who are you going to be in a crisis, not who are you when you're a winner. I found out what I was about, and I feel better about myself.

B&N.com: And your throat condition is better now?

LR: Yes, I was suffering from [acid] reflux. I would eat late at night, and my stomach acid burned my vocal cords. Since then, I've changed my diet, and I try to eat earlier. But when I'm in New York, everybody eats from 11:30 p.m. until 2 a.m. -- because we can.

B&N.com: You have a happy family life now.

LR: I have a 2-year-old daughter, a 7-year-old son, and a 19-year-old daughter who's going on 49. [laughs] My younger kids don't know what I'm talking about when I mention the Commodores. The only thing they think I've done that was brilliant was introducing them to the Backstreet Boys. The 19-year-old is my fashion coordinator. She's kind of baffled now because she goes out of the house to a party and they're playing my music. Now all of her friends want to stop by the house to meet me. That messes her up. [laughs] She's like, "You want to meet my dad. Why?"

May, 2001

Awards & Nominations