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to pursue a solo career. Richie quickly became one of the most successful artists of the 1980s with five major number one singles "Endless Love", "Truly", "All Night Long (All Night)", "Hello", "Say You, Say Me" and ten consecutive top ten hits. Born June 20, 1949 in Tuskegee, Alabama, Lionel grew up on the Tuskegee Institute campus where he later became a student on a tennis scholarship. There he formed several R&B groups and eventually became the lead vocalist and saxophonist for the Commodores in 1968. In 1980, Richie composed Kenny Rogers' number one hit "Lady" as well as contributed his producing skills on Kenny's album Share Your Love a year later. Richie and Diana Ross' smash duet "Endless Love" appeared in 1981 spending an impressive nine weeks at number one. The success encouraged Lionel to disband from the Commodores later that year.

His self-titled debut saw release in 1982 featuring his first solo number one hit "Truly" which also earned a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The album itself peaked in the third spot on the charts and sold over four million copies. Can't Slow Down followed in 1983 peaking at number one on the Billboard 200. Featuring the hit singles "All Night Long (All Night)" and "Hello", the album reached sales of over 10 million winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, while Richie earned the Producer of the Year Award, Non-Classical. In 1985, he co-wrote the charity single "We Are the World" with Michael Jackson for USA for Africa. His third album, Dancing on the Ceiling spawned the popular singles "Say You, Say Me" and "Se La" and was certified 4x platinum.

Following the success of Richie's first compilation album, Front to Back in 1992, his commercial appeal began to diminish with the release of Louder than Words in 1996 which only managed to reach the Top 30. His fifth studio album, Time in 1998, failed to generate any hit singles while disappearing from the charts after only a few weeks. Although the 2000 release, Renaissance, performed well in the UK peaking at number six, it failed to leave an impression in the US. Afterwards Richie issued two more compilations and returned with his seventh studio album Just For You in 2004. His most recent effort, Coming Home saw release in September 2006 and includes the single "I Call It Love".