Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie is an American performer, producer and composer, whose fame came in the mid-1980s. Having written dozens of hits that occupied the top lines of the charts, the musician won many prestigious awards, the most valuable of which were the Oscar and Golden Globe for the song Say You, Say Me.

Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. was born on June 20, 1949, into a family of teachers at the Tuskegee Institute, located in the state of Alabama in the southeastern United States. Parents, African American, lived on a student campus, historically intended for black people, and therefore Lionel's childhood was cloudless and calm.

The future artist entered the Joliet Township High School, where the training program included many sports disciplines. The boy discovered a talent for tennis and upon graduation received a scholarship that allowed him to continue his education at a local university. Choosing a faculty, Lionel seriously thought about a career as a priest and planned to take a course in theology. But membership in the Kappa Kappa Psi fraternity made the young man change his mind.

In the mid-1960s, Richie became interested in music and learned to play the saxophone. He joined the student group The Commodores and took the place of the vocalist of the group, performing compositions in the R&B style.

In 1968, the dance-tuned ensemble signed to Motown Records and soon gained public sympathy as the opening act for the then popular The Jackson 5.

By the late 1970s, Richie began to independently compose songs and take orders from such famous artists as Kenny Rogers. He wrote the song "Lady", which hit the top of the charts and made the world talk about the young talented author.

In 1981, Lionel released a duet with Diana Ross, used in the film "Endless Love", and after the resounding success of the composition, he realized that he needed to leave the group and start a full-fledged solo career.

After Richie left The Commodores, his biography changed dramatically. The debut solo album "Lionel Richie", recorded in 1982, peaked at # 3 on the music charts and has sold over 4 million copies. While working on the disc, Lionel abandoned dance rhythms, preferring musical works of the lyric genre, thanks to which he became famous overnight and equaled in popularity with such world pop stars as Prince and Michael Jackson.

This came after the release of their 2nd album, Can't Slow Down, which won 2 Grammy awards and included a hit such as All Night Long. Subsequently, it was illustrated with a colorful clip and performed at the closing ceremony of the XXIII Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

This was followed by several more top hits, the most successful of which were the sentimental ballads "Hello", "Stuck on You", "Running with the Night" and "Penny Lover", as well as the song "Say You, Say Me". Its musician composed for the film "White Nights", the composition won the "Oscar" and "Golden Globe" awards for the best original soundtrack.

In 1986, Richie recorded the album "Dancing on the Ceiling", which included new compositions and became the last resounding success of the performer. After that, for 10 years Lionel worked on processing existing material and releasing compilations of the greatest hits, minimizing live studio work.

Despite the fact that the audience liked Richie's old compositions, the lack of fresh hits affected the singer's popularity. In 1996, he decided to remind of himself with the album "Louder Than Words" and showed a return to the R&B dance style. Lack of commercial success forced Lionel back on track and release the lyric album "Renaissance" with the title hit "How Long", which entered the top 40 in the US and UK.

In the 2000s, the singer, who preferred to work in the studio and rarely appeared at large-scale events, began to actively tour the country and star in video clips. In 2003, the movie directed by Simon Brand “To Love a Woman” was released, where the famous Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias joined Lionel.

On July 4, 2006, a concert took place at the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts, where Richie performed with the American singer Fantazia Bravo. Then he was invited to the main stage of the jazz festival "New Orleans Jazz & Heritage".

In the same year, after taking a break from his concert activities, the musician presented another album called "Coming Home" to the public. The composition "I Call It Love", the first single from the disc, became Richie's most successful hit over the past 10 years and won 6th place in the US charts.

In the UK, the singer presented the album as part of the television show "An Audience with Lionel Richie", and 2 months later, the American Recording Academy invited Lionel to perform the song "Hello" at the 49th Grammy Awards.

In the late 2000s, Richie recorded the album "Just Go" and participated in a number of charity and community events. He sang the song "Jesus is Love" at the farewell ceremony with Michael Jackson, and then toured for 2 years with Australian performer Guy Sebastian, raising funds for the elimination of the consequences of natural disasters.

After the release of his 10th LP, Tuskegee, Richie embarked on a full-scale American tour. On June 28, 2015 he played on the stage of the legendary British festival Glastonbury in front of 120 thousand spectators.

In 1975, Richie married college friend Brenda Harvey. 8 years after the wedding, the couple took care of a minor girl, who was first seen at a concert with the participation of her musician parents who were experiencing difficulties in relationships. Lionel decided to temporarily take care of the unfortunate child, but over time he realized that the baby would stay with him forever, and in 1989 Nicole Camilla Escovedo officially became the daughter of the Richie couple.

Outwardly, the personal life of a couple who did not have children of their own looked happy and harmonious. But her secret side was the musician's romance with a fashion designer named Diana Alexander. Catching lovers in a hotel room at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Brenda made a terrible scandal and was arrested for illegal entry and grievous bodily harm to her husband.

Richie was unable to convince his wife to get through the situation, and in 1993 they divorced. For the next few years, the musician avoided public displays of feelings, appearing in the photo only in the company of his adopted daughter. However, he continued to date Diana and in 1995 legalized the relationship that ruined his first marriage.

The couple lived together for 8 years and became the parents of a girl who was born in 1998. All this time, Richie, who devoted most of his time to his family, was an exemplary husband and father. He helped Nicole solve drug problems and happily raised little Sophia.

In the 2000s, when the musician decided to resume his creative career, there was simply not enough time for his wife, and, citing irreconcilable differences, the couple broke up. Lionel and Diana are now on friendly terms. The fashion designer's Instagram often features photos of children spending time with their father.

Richie spent the end of 2018 in Hawaii performing in local clubs. In addition, the musician became a judge in the 2nd season of the American Idol project and auditioned for contestants in Denver County and Colorado.

In 2019, the artist plans to appear on television in the final stages of the show, as well as organizing a spring tour, which includes Atlantic City, Orlando, Miami and Tuckerville.

1982 - "Lionel Richie" 1983 - "Can't Slow Down" 1986 - "Dancing on the Ceiling" 1996 - "Louder Than Words" 1998 - "Time" 2001 - "Renaissance" 2004 - "Just for You" 2006 - " Coming Home "2009 -" Just Go "2012 -" Tuskegee "

Lionel Richie 's estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below.

Let's check, How Rich is Lionel Richie in 2020 ?

Lionel Richie Net Worth 2021

Lionel Richie 's revenue is $1.5M in 2021. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Lionel Richie and could vary in the range between $913.3K - $2M.

Lionel Richie Net Worth 2020

Lionel Richie 's revenue is $1.9M in 2020. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Lionel Richie and could vary in the range between $930.5K - $1.9M.

Lionel Richie Net Worth 2019

Lionel Richie 's revenue is $1.1M in 2019. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Lionel Richie and could vary in the range between $581.3K - $1.3M.

Lionel Richie Net Worth 2018

Lionel Richie 's revenue is $1.4M in 2018. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Lionel Richie and could vary in the range between $742.2K - $1.1M.

Lionel Richie Net Worth 2017

Lionel Richie 's revenue is $2M in 2017. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Lionel Richie and could vary in the range between $854.2K - $1.6M.

Lionel Richie Net Worth 2016

Lionel Richie 's revenue is $1.8M in 2016. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Lionel Richie and could vary in the range between $575.1K - $1.7M.

Lionel Richie Net Worth 2015

Lionel Richie 's revenue is $1.6M in 2015. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Lionel Richie and could vary in the range between $960.1K - $1.1M.

It is an overall forecast for the net worth of Lionel Richie. The evaluation covers the latest 5 years and an approximation for next year. See above to learn how much money does Lionel Richie make a year.

The range above shows an estimation based on evaluation generated by public information about sponsorships or other sources found on the internet. It's summarized data from Lionel Richie' projects existing in AidWiki's repository. It's an approximation of the revenue compiled by AidWiki and may not correspond with the real amount.