In addition to being a successful singer-songwriter, Lionel Richie also has a substantial net worth of $200 million dollars.
Lionel Richie is a phenomenally talented musician and producer who originally came to public attention as a member of the group The Commodores. He also had a highly successful solo career during this time. He is currently 72 years old.
Lionel Richie's Early Life
Lionel Brockman is a well-known actor. Richie, Jr. was born on June 20, 1949, in the Alabama town of Tuskegee. He grew up on the campus of Tuskegee Institute, which he attended.
He received his high school diploma from Joliet Township High School in Joliet, Illinois, where he was a standout tennis player and earned all-state honors. He attended the Tuskegee Institute on a tennis scholarship and graduated with a B.S. in economics from the institution in 1966.
Richie created a variety of R&B groups during his time as a student at Tuskegee University in the mid-1960s. Richie spent a brief period of time in graduate school at Auburn University.
Career
Richie became a member of the Commodores in 1968, where he sang and played saxophone. In 1968, the trio secured a one-record recording contract with Atlantic Records, which they later transferred to Motown Records.
With the songs “Brick House,” “Machine Gun,” “Easy,” and “Three Times a Lady.” the Commodores established themselves as a popular R&B group. Richie began writing songs for other musicians in the late 1970s, and he has continued to do so to this day. He penned the song “Lady” for Kenny Rogers, which went on to become his first number one hit in 1980.
It was a duet with Diana Ross that Richie recorded the theme song for the movie “Endless Love,” which was released in 1981. Among Motown's biggest hits, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Richie was inspired by his success to strike out on his own and pursue a solo career.
It was 1982 when Richie published his first solo album, “Lionel Richie,” which had the hits “Truly,” “You Are,” and”My Love.” Richie's second solo album, “The Best of Lionel Richie,” was released in 1993 and included the hits “Truly,” “You Are,” and”My Love.” The music was stylistically comparable to that of the Commodores.
The album peaked at number three on the charts and went on to sell more than four million copies worldwide. In 1983, he launched the single “Can't Slow Down” which went on to sell twice as many albums as “Lionel Richie.”
“Can't Slow Down” was also nominated for two Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for its debut album. The album's standout single was “All Night Long,” which Richie played during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles as part of the closing ceremony.
“Hello,” “Stuck on You,” “Running with the Night,” and “Penny Lover.” were some of Richie's Top 10 successes during the 1980s, among them. He penned and recorded the title song for the 1981 film “Endless Love.”
It was directed by Richard Linklater. As a duet with Diana Ross, the song was nominated for an Academy Award in 1982 for Best Original Song for its originality.
Personal Life
On October 18, 1975, Richie tied the knot with Brenda Harvey, his college love. Nicole Camille Escovedo, two years old, is the daughter of Sheila E's niece, who also happens to be a member of Lionel Richie's band.
They have adopted Nicole Camille Escovedo on an informal basis. Nicole was nine years old when Richie finalized the adoption.
In 1986, Richie began a relationship with Diane Alexander, who would become his wife. Brenda Harvey, his wife, was still by his side. After 18 years of marriage, Richie and Harvey decided to separate in 1993.
Richie and Alexander were married in December 1995. They have two children: a son named Miles and a girl named Sofia. They separated in the spring of 2004.
The year 2008 saw the birth of Nicole Richie's daughter with her husband Joel Madden, the lead vocalist of the band Good Charlotte.
Richie became a grandfather for the first time in 2008. Nicole and Joel welcomed their second child, Richie's second grandson, into the world in 2009.
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