Biographic - Sunday November 19, 2017 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

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Lionel Richie Lionel Richie was born in Tuskegee Alabama, on June 20, 1949. A star tennis player in High School and college, he seriously considered studying divinity to become an episcopal priest, but ultimately opted to pursue a music career. He first found success was a singer and saxophonist with The Commodores, with hit singles such as "Just To Be Close To You." "Brick House" and the chart-topping "Three Times A Lady." Lionel composed the No. 1 hit "Lady" for Kenny Rogers and duetted with Diana Ross on the worldwide hit "Endless Love" before embarking on a solo career in 1982. Lionel's first three studio albums were all certified multi-platinum and spawned the chart-topping singles "Truly" "All Night Long (All Night)" "Hello" and "Say You, Say Me" the latter, which was featured in the movie "White Nights," won the Academy Award for best original song and a Golden Globe. 1985's "We Are The World" which he co-wrote with Michael Jackson, sold 20 million copies and won the song of the year Grammy award. To date, Richie has sold more than 100 million records. In 2016, he received The Johnny Mercer Award, the highest honor bestowed by the songwriters hall of fame. Next year, he will join Katy Petty and Luke Bryan as a judge on the rebooted version of "American Idol"

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