Biography

Lionel Richie (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer who has sold (solo or as group member) more than 100 million records. In 1968 he became a singer and saxophonist with the Commodores. The Commodores became established as a popular soul group and over the time Richie wrote and sang more romantic, easy-listening ballads such as "Easy", "Three Times a Lady" and "Still" and the tragic break-up ballad, "Sail On." He composed "Lady" for Kenny Rogers, which hit #1 in 1980 and sang a duet with Diana Ross in the theme song for the film Endless Love. Richie released Dancing on the Ceiling, his last widely popular album, which produced a run of US and UK hits including "Say You, Say Me" (U.S. #1), "Dancing on the Ceiling" (U.S. #2),"Ballerina Girl" (U.S. #7) and "Se La" (U.S. #20)

The Commodores is an American funk/soul band of the 1970s and 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for The Jackson 5 while on tour. The Commodores have sold over 75 million records worldwide. This group is best known for their ballads, such as "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady", but, for the most part, the group mainly recorded funky, driven dance-floor hits which include "Brick House", "The Bump", "Fancy Dancer", and "Too Hot ta Trot".