It had three songs, including one of the artist’s most famous tracks Truly, in Top 5. The record ranked third in the pop charts and sold a million copies. He released his first album, Lionel Richie, in 1982 to make a huge step forward. He decided to stay with the Motown label, a long time partner of The Commodores. Since that moment, Lionel has been working as a sole artist.
This happened after he succeeded significantly as a producer and author of several big hits by the outside performers, which made him the most interesting person for the press compared to the rest of The Commodores.
Although, The Commodores had developed friendly relations inside the group, Richie had to quit. As a member of this formation, he played saxophone, performed backing vocals and co-wrote some songs.
During his study at the local college, Lionel joined The Commodores, a band that gained a momentum in the late seventies. He grew up in the Tuskegee Institute campus where his parents and grandparents had been working. Lionel Brockman Richie was born on Jin Tuskegee, Alabama.
