0:00:04 > 0:00:08It's 1974 and the predominantly white audience
0:00:08 > 0:00:12of American TV's Rock Concert dance to the sound of the Commodores'
0:00:12 > 0:00:14breakthrough single Machine Gun.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23Tucked at the back of the stage, sometimes playing keyboards,
0:00:23 > 0:00:28sometimes sax, often just dancing around, is Lionel Brockman Richie Junior.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32It had taken the band six years
0:00:32 > 0:00:34to make it into the US Billboard Top 100,
0:00:34 > 0:00:39joining the likes of Wings, Eric Clapton and John Denver.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42We were like a big melting pot. Tom was into rock 'n' roll,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Walter was into more funk, I was more pop.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49Marlon was into jazz and blues.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54We had a slogan - we take our music form one end of the music spectrum to the other.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02This tight funk outfit wasn't from the urban ghettos of Detroit,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Chicago, New York or even New Orleans.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08These were country boys out of Tuskegee, Alabama,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11right in the heart of the Bible Belt of America's Deep South.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19# Ow! She's a brick...house! #
0:01:23 > 0:01:26So how did the Commodores' backline sax player step into the spotlight
0:01:26 > 0:01:30and become one of the biggest singer songwriters of the 1980s?
0:01:34 > 0:01:37# When you feel you lost your way
0:01:37 > 0:01:41# You've got someone there to say
0:01:41 > 0:01:44# I'll show you
0:01:46 > 0:01:49# Say you Say me... #
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Lionel Richie was an overnight success after 12 years.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01His music transcends time.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04It transcends race.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07His music is an international music.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13He's had an amazing career and he's an immense songwriter.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20This world is shit sometimes but you put on one of his songs
0:02:20 > 0:02:24and think, "It's not all bad". He makes the sun shine.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27# Three times... #
0:02:27 > 0:02:31It's just so simple and you hear it and go, "Why didn't I think of that?"
0:02:31 > 0:02:36# Your once, twice
0:02:38 > 0:02:40# Three times a lady
0:02:42 > 0:02:46# And I love you... #
0:02:46 > 0:02:48He is a country boy at heart
0:02:48 > 0:02:51but I think he's found a place for himself now.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56# I love you... #
0:03:04 > 0:03:06From the late 1970s through the '80s,
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Lionel was rarely absent from the top of the charts.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12A master of the romantic ballad, he wrote a string of hits
0:03:12 > 0:03:16that packed the dance floor and had the world 'Dancing on the Ceiling'!
0:03:20 > 0:03:24My absolute joy is in what I do.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37# Southern trees
0:03:37 > 0:03:42# Bear a strange fruit
0:03:42 > 0:03:44# Blood on the leaves
0:03:46 > 0:03:49# And blood at the root... #
0:03:49 > 0:03:53When Lionel Richie was born on the 20th June 1949,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56the murder and oppression of black people
0:03:56 > 0:03:59was still commonplace in America's southern states,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02and his home town of Tuskegee, Alabama
0:04:02 > 0:04:05was at the heart of the struggle for Civil Rights.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11It was the birthplace of Rosa Parks,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man in 1955
0:04:15 > 0:04:18sparked a revolution.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21The Tuskegee Airmen, the country's first black air squadron
0:04:21 > 0:04:24were based near the town, and as well as seeing action
0:04:24 > 0:04:28in Second World War, they led the fight against racism
0:04:28 > 0:04:30in the US armed forces.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33And in 1966, when Lionel was still at high school,
0:04:33 > 0:04:38a student from the Tuskegee Institute named Samuel Young Junior
0:04:38 > 0:04:40was murdered for using a whites only rest room
0:04:40 > 0:04:43following a civil rights march in neighbouring Montgomery.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48It would have been an incredible time to witness the kind of things
0:04:48 > 0:04:52that were going on with regard to race relations in the south.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55Tuskegee is unique because it's a place
0:04:55 > 0:04:58that had an unusually large number
0:04:58 > 0:05:00of African American professionals,
0:05:00 > 0:05:04and this allows educated black people
0:05:04 > 0:05:07to mobilise and actually offer an eloquent response
0:05:07 > 0:05:09to white oppression.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Lionel was raised in the leafy surroundings
0:05:12 > 0:05:14of the Tuskegee Institute campus.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17His father was a retired army captain
0:05:17 > 0:05:19and his mother taught at the local school.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21Together they lived in this house
0:05:21 > 0:05:24along with Lionel's sister and grandmother.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29Being middle class most certainly effected Lionel Ritchie.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31His understanding of what he could be
0:05:31 > 0:05:36was going to be completely different than most black people in the south.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Two great things happened in my life.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42Number one, I had a great family, great support group, lots of love.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47And secondly, I was born and raised on a university campus -
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Tuskegee University.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Founded in 1881, shortly after the end of the American Civil War,
0:05:55 > 0:06:00Tuskegee Institute was built on the site of a former plantation,
0:06:00 > 0:06:04and established specifically for the education of African Americans.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07The most wonderful thing about being from Tuskegee,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09it was in the foremost of everything,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11that you had to have an education.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15In Lionel's position, his family could afford to send him to college.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19You had to have that want to go on to be a better person.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22You didn't stop, you had to go on.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23This university accomplished things
0:06:23 > 0:06:27that were not attainable at the time.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Whatever you could dream, you could make that a reality.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33So reaching for the stars was not out of the realm,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35that was part of his being.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40When Lionel took the short walk down the road
0:06:40 > 0:06:42to the Institute in September 1968,
0:06:42 > 0:06:47it was to study economics - apparently on a tennis scholarship!
0:06:47 > 0:06:48Who told you that?
0:06:51 > 0:06:54If he got a tennis scholarship somebody bought it for him!
0:06:54 > 0:06:56I won't say anything!
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Whatever the extent of his sporting prowess,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05it wasn't tennis or economics that grabbed Lionel's attention
0:07:05 > 0:07:07it was music.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Although his grandmother, a classically trained pianist,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15had tried to teach him to read music she'd long lost patience.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17It was just not in my realm,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21but I could listen to everything and play what I heard.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Finally one day I played from beginning to end, and she said "You're not reading music."
0:07:25 > 0:07:30And I said "Yes I am." She says "No you're not, I didn't turn the page!"
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Undeterred, Lionel refused to let his lack of formal training
0:07:35 > 0:07:38stand as a barrier to the kind of music he wanted to make.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45He formed a band with five fellow students,
0:07:45 > 0:07:49swapped his racket for the sax and the Commodores were born.
0:07:56 > 0:08:02My mother had one idea in her mind - I was to become this great lawyer,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06settle down, get married, have kids, and be a respectable person.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10I showed up at my house with five guys with afros,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13and braids, and rollers in their hair,
0:08:13 > 0:08:15and they were talking some crazy nonsense about
0:08:15 > 0:08:17"We're going to take over the world."
0:08:17 > 0:08:22We had our eyes on the prize, and that was doing our music.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Hoping one day that we would get a record deal.
0:08:26 > 0:08:27That's right.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31But we set out to do one thing that other bands weren't doing -
0:08:31 > 0:08:33they were not doing shows.
0:08:36 > 0:08:37With a set list of covers,
0:08:37 > 0:08:41the student band was soon picking up gigs off campus.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49During the summer we would leave Tuskegee and go up to New York.
0:08:49 > 0:08:5218-hour drive, I remember it like it was yesterday!
0:08:52 > 0:08:54And we would enjoy getting lost along the way.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58Especially if I was driving! We was bound to get lost. "Where are we? Texas!"
0:09:02 > 0:09:07We spent more hours in that van than anywhere else on God's earth!
0:09:07 > 0:09:10- Than any stage? - Than any stage we ever played on!
0:09:12 > 0:09:14I could tell you moments of changing tyres
0:09:14 > 0:09:19on the side of the New Jersey Turnpike at around February.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23It's snowing outside! Oh my God the spare tyre is now flat!
0:09:25 > 0:09:30You know one thing, we were loving what we were doing.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32We were getting attention!
0:09:32 > 0:09:35We say we got together to meet girls!
0:09:35 > 0:09:40There's something about being 19-years-old, you can do anything.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43You can hop in a van, you can have all of your equipment,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46six guys, and you can drive anywhere in the world.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54Driven and ambitious, the band desperately needed a manager.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57After meeting former Coca-Cola marketing executive Benny Ashburn
0:09:57 > 0:09:59at one of their New York gigs,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03they eventually persuaded him to take the band on.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07He wasn't simply a manager who had only grown up in the music business,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10he was someone who had experience outside the business,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13so he both understood, and would have understood even more,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16how to develop someone's career.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20He was really, really trying to get a recording deal for them.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25He had found work for them at Small's Paradise in Harlem.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28They drew all of the New York crowd.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31People would come from all over the east coast
0:10:31 > 0:10:35to hear this amazing group - the Commodores.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37He was an amazing guy.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41And was really responsible for making the transition
0:10:41 > 0:10:44from a small-time funk outfit
0:10:44 > 0:10:47to the very major American stars that they were.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50With Benny behind them,
0:10:50 > 0:10:55the band started securing work far beyond their established circuit.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59We played white colleges, black colleges. We played the clubs.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01We played for frat fraternities,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05and sororities, and private parties,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07and all of those things that were going on.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Then it led into the year of,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12you know, The Jackson 5.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21In 1971 Benny convinced Motown that the Commodores should support
0:11:21 > 0:11:26the label's latest pop sensation, the Jackson 5, on their US tour.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32On the road for two-and-a-half years,
0:11:32 > 0:11:34they played everywhere from Hawaii to New York,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38including a sell-out concert at Madison Square Gardens.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46It wasn't until they saw the Jacksons
0:11:46 > 0:11:49that they realised what it took to be up on a big stage
0:11:49 > 0:11:52at Madison Square Garden, and what you needed to do,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55how you needed to respond to an audience,
0:11:55 > 0:12:00how you needed to communicate, handle yourself.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04But it wasn't the Jacksons the Commodores wanted to emulate
0:12:04 > 0:12:07instead they looked across the Atlantic to a white British band.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13# Get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged... #
0:12:13 > 0:12:17We studied The Beatles. We liked the concept of what they were doing,
0:12:17 > 0:12:21the harmonies that they were doing, they had their own sound.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26There were three things that they wanted to copy The Beatles for,
0:12:26 > 0:12:30and that was - friendship, music and creativity.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34But the stupid thing was that as the Commodores were getting successful,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36The Beatles were splitting up.
0:12:38 > 0:12:39Now a well-drilled live act,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42the Commodores were still performing covers,
0:12:42 > 0:12:44and still officially students.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47But now they were armed with a plan.
0:12:47 > 0:12:48Unfortunately for Lionel's parents,
0:12:48 > 0:12:52it wasn't the same plan they'd had in mind when they paid for him
0:12:52 > 0:12:55to study at the Tuskegee Institute.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58I'm quitting school in my senior year.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01I'm quitting school, I am joining the Commodores,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04we're going to be the black Beatles, we're going to take over the world!
0:13:06 > 0:13:12To choose it as a career-path, I mean, even then it was extraordinary.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Even then he must have had the confidence in his own talents,
0:13:16 > 0:13:19and also, as many musicians say,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23to have something inside of you that is burning, and you have to do it.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27There is no way that you can't do it, you've gotta do this thing.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36In 1972 Benny finally signed a record deal with Motown.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39So far the band had been performing covers
0:13:39 > 0:13:42of the mainstream hits of the day, songs by artists like -
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Sly and the Family Stone and Glenn Campbell.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47But Benny realised that for the band
0:13:47 > 0:13:49to emulate the success of the label's big guns
0:13:49 > 0:13:53such as Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55and more importantly their idols, The Beatles,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58they would have to start writing their own songs,
0:13:58 > 0:14:02not just accept those written by Motown's in-house songwriters.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08When you say "You're gonna write your own music"
0:14:08 > 0:14:15and we looked at each other and "Write what? We don't write music."
0:14:15 > 0:14:18He said "I don't care if it's nothing more than
0:14:18 > 0:14:22"'roses are red, violets are blue, something I love you'
0:14:22 > 0:14:25"you're going to learn to write your own music!" Gee whizz!
0:14:25 > 0:14:29As Motown artists, the Commodores were in good company
0:14:29 > 0:14:31to learn the songwriting craft.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34We went to Motown, and I found there's Marvin Gaye right there,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36so I asked him a very simple question -
0:14:36 > 0:14:40"What conservatory did you graduate from?"
0:14:40 > 0:14:45And he said "What?" End of discussion.
0:14:45 > 0:14:46I went to Smokey Robinson and said
0:14:46 > 0:14:49"What school of music did you graduate from?"
0:14:49 > 0:14:51"I didn't, I didn't graduate."
0:14:51 > 0:14:56"Well how do you write music?" He said "Can you hum?"
0:14:56 > 0:14:59I grabbed a tape recorder and have been humming ever since.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04All the band members were encouraged to write their own material,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08and each song was auditioned in front of the rest of the band.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13At that time, there were eight songs that were put on an album.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16There were six of us in the band.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Who was going to be the most powerful writer
0:15:19 > 0:15:21to get the other two songs?
0:15:22 > 0:15:26And it had to catch them within five seconds of that tape being on.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30If it didn't catch them within five seconds, they'd start yawning.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33Start looking around, shuffling.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35It's over, but they'd just say,
0:15:35 > 0:15:39"That's enough, stop the tape. Next!"
0:15:44 > 0:15:48It was Lionel who soon emerged as the band's most prolific songwriter,
0:15:48 > 0:15:52demonstrating an early talent for writing catchy love songs,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55in contrast to the band's mainly funk sound.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59# Show me a mountain so high
0:15:59 > 0:16:04# I'll show you love that'll last forever
0:16:04 > 0:16:08# Flyin' high So high
0:16:08 > 0:16:11# Oh oh oh ohhh... #
0:16:11 > 0:16:13As time went on, they asked me to sing the songs,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16and asked me to be the vocalist, and one song after the next,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19I developed more confidence with that than the horn,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22so I put the horn down and picked up the microphone.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26# Ohhh
0:16:26 > 0:16:28# Wooo... #
0:16:28 > 0:16:33The reason that I asked Lionel to sing lead vocal,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37which was not really approved by everyone,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40was his feeling. That was the magic.
0:16:40 > 0:16:46# The world is filled with all the lonely people
0:16:46 > 0:16:50# Trying to find their way
0:16:50 > 0:16:55# All they need is a hand to guide them
0:16:55 > 0:16:58# To a brighter day... #
0:17:00 > 0:17:03The inspiration for many of Lionel's early love songs
0:17:03 > 0:17:06was childhood sweetheart Brenda Harvey.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10After marrying in 1975, they set up a second house in LA,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13but Tuskegee always remained their home.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17With the Commodores now established Motown artists,
0:17:17 > 0:17:22and their 1976 album Hot On The Tracks receiving favourable reviews,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26manager Benny Ashburn started looking to tour beyond the USA.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32In 1977, they reached the UK, with Brenda at Lionel's side.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37The tour was to promote their latest album, simply titled Commodores.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39But still without a big hit in the UK,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43where the charts featured acts like ABBA, Wings and Leo Sayer,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46the band struggled to get radio airplay.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50I still remember talking to a Radio One producer at the time
0:17:50 > 0:17:52who was reluctant to play the Commodores,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55and he said to me, "We're already playing Earth, Wind & Fire,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58"so that's going to be enough of that kind of music."
0:17:58 > 0:18:02And I couldn't really see a lot of similarity between the Commodores and Earth, Wind & Fire,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05except that it was more than three or four black people.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08So, I guess that probably puts it in context.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13Even without airplay, word was spreading about their live shows.
0:18:13 > 0:18:14What's happenin'?!
0:18:14 > 0:18:16APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:18:16 > 0:18:20When they came over in 1977 for their first tour,
0:18:20 > 0:18:24they had the big afros, but they also had brightly coloured clothes,
0:18:24 > 0:18:26they had sequins, they had plastic bits.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30And these outfits were so heavy
0:18:30 > 0:18:33that it used to take two or three of them to get them off
0:18:33 > 0:18:35and put them back on again and hang them up.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42I particularly remember Leeds. I just couldn't believe it.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45I'd never seen an act be that professional
0:18:45 > 0:18:49when it came to the fact they had no audience, no atmosphere.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53You honestly wouldn't tell whether they were playing
0:18:53 > 0:18:57in front of 100,000 or in front of 100, and it was amazing to me.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00It was really quite a spectacular show.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03I'd never seen confetti cannons, and that kind of stuff,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06which they were using at that time.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Although their first UK tour failed to sell out,
0:19:13 > 0:19:17it helped gain the band their first UK top ten single.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Taken from the album Commodores, and written by Lionel,
0:19:20 > 0:19:22the lyrics were his response to the pressures
0:19:22 > 0:19:24and expectations of touring.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27It's now one of his best-loved ballads.
0:19:29 > 0:19:34Someone had just given me a book with 366 pages in it,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37and it described where we were going to be for the next year.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Every day for the next year, and I kept thinking,
0:19:40 > 0:19:44"Why would anybody put chains on me? I've paid my dues to make it.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46"Everybody wants me to be what they want me to be.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50"I'm not happy when I try to fake it. Leave me alone."
0:19:50 > 0:19:52And I thought for a moment,
0:19:52 > 0:19:56"Hmm, everything is great about this lyrically except 'leave me alone'."
0:19:57 > 0:20:02# Why in the world would anybody put chains on me?
0:20:02 > 0:20:04# Tell me why?
0:20:04 > 0:20:09# I've paid my dues to make it
0:20:11 > 0:20:16# Everybody wants me to be what they want me to be
0:20:19 > 0:20:24# I'm not happy when I try to fake it
0:20:24 > 0:20:26# No
0:20:26 > 0:20:30# Ooh, that's why I'm easy... #
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Surprisingly, Easy didn't make it to number one at the time.
0:20:34 > 0:20:40# I'm easy like Sunday morning... #
0:20:40 > 0:20:4430 years later, it's one of the most covered songs ever,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48from boy band Westlife to Californian rockers Faith No More,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50to hundreds of budding pop stars on YouTube.
0:20:50 > 0:20:56# ..Mo-o-orning. #
0:20:57 > 0:21:03# Why in the world would anybody put chains on me?
0:21:05 > 0:21:09# I've paid my dues to make it... #
0:21:11 > 0:21:18# Everybody wants me to be what they want me to be... #
0:21:18 > 0:21:20With the success of Easy,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23the band's international reputation was growing.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28They were now building a following in Europe, Africa and Japan.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32But they were still a long way from achieving superstardom.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37# I'm easy like Sunday morning... #
0:21:37 > 0:21:40They recognised there was a kind of missing ingredient.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43They actually wanted to be a household name.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46They were starting to talk about whether or not
0:21:46 > 0:21:50they didn't need to push one person forward as the face of the band
0:21:50 > 0:21:53so that people could kind of identify with,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56and thought that might help them make that next step.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58They wanted to be the black Beatles.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01I always remember Lionel for being a charmer.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Even then, he knew how to work a room, he remembered everyone's name.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10He was just, he was very, very effective
0:22:10 > 0:22:12and very impressive in that sense.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17Now the face of the band, it was Lionel's music,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20and specifically his ability to write love songs,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23that would take the Commodores to the top of the American charts.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26# Lady
0:22:28 > 0:22:34# Morning's just a moment away
0:22:34 > 0:22:41# And I'm without you once again... #
0:22:41 > 0:22:44They hadn't really crossed over.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48They had been thought of as another funky band and not as,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50necessarily, pop hit-makers.
0:22:50 > 0:22:56What it took was some ballads, that's really what I think transformed that situation.
0:22:56 > 0:23:04# I wonder if you need me now?
0:23:05 > 0:23:11# We play the games that people play... #
0:23:11 > 0:23:15'Corny, syrupy, sappy, schmaltzy.'
0:23:15 > 0:23:19These words have covered my career forever.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21But I have found that, over the years,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24the only word that does not go out of style is love.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27# I know deep in my heart... #
0:23:27 > 0:23:30He writes honest stuff
0:23:30 > 0:23:33about good people,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37about honest situations and relationships.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42# Remembering the pain if I must say... #
0:23:42 > 0:23:44When people are writing songs sometimes,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48say, the sun comes in front of the moon,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51and when the star sparkles it hits the glow of the thing
0:23:51 > 0:23:52and warms your face, you know?
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Whereas sometimes it can be much easier, more direct,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58and more of a connection when you say, "I love you."
0:23:58 > 0:24:01# I do love you... #
0:24:01 > 0:24:04'Love would fall in three categories.'
0:24:04 > 0:24:08You lost someone, you found someone, or you're lonely. That's love.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11# Still. #
0:24:17 > 0:24:20He puts the ballad together.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22He's like Smokey Robinson, he's a poet,
0:24:22 > 0:24:29and the way he styles his phrases and his clever play of words.
0:24:29 > 0:24:37# Somehow I know deep in my heart
0:24:37 > 0:24:43# You needed me
0:24:43 > 0:24:51# Cos I needed you so desperately
0:24:54 > 0:24:58# But we were too blind to see
0:25:00 > 0:25:06# But then most of all
0:25:06 > 0:25:12# I do love you
0:25:18 > 0:25:20# Still. #
0:25:26 > 0:25:27How do you write a good song?
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Well, first of all, it's where do you want to take it?
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Do you want to take it from the heart,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37or do you want to take it from the organic,
0:25:37 > 0:25:41or do you just want to take it from safety?
0:25:41 > 0:25:44And I think Lionel took it from the heart.
0:25:44 > 0:25:50See, he's the master of conversational music.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54He doesn't write glossy lyrics, he writes conversations,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57and I think that's what makes his stuff so special.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02# You're once, twice
0:26:04 > 0:26:09# Three times a lady
0:26:09 > 0:26:16# And I love you... #
0:26:16 > 0:26:19My father got up and said, "I'd like to give a toast to your mother.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22"She's a fantastic lady, she's an incredible mother
0:26:22 > 0:26:26"and a wonderful friend, and I just want to say thank you
0:26:26 > 0:26:29"for being there for me for all these years."
0:26:29 > 0:26:37# And I love yo-o-ou
0:26:39 > 0:26:44# I lo-o-o-ove you... #
0:26:44 > 0:26:51I'd learned a lot about soul, as opposed to technique,
0:26:51 > 0:26:53he possesses both.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57But, for me, I learned that's it's got to come from here,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59you've got to care what you're singing about,
0:26:59 > 0:27:01and sing what you care about.
0:27:01 > 0:27:08# With every beat of my heart... #
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Released in 1978,
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Three Times A Lady is the song
0:27:13 > 0:27:17that made the Commodores international superstars.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21A number one in the UK, and in the Billboard Hot 100,
0:27:21 > 0:27:23it was a worldwide hit,
0:27:23 > 0:27:27with the press now hailing them "the black Beatles."
0:27:28 > 0:27:32By that point, Lionel had been very much pushed as the front person.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37He was very much the key writer, especially on those ballads.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40You know, Three Times A Lady, Sail On, Still,
0:27:40 > 0:27:45which was very much the vein that the Commodores had started to move into.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49So, I think you could see that Lionel was going to be
0:27:49 > 0:27:51kind of spun off from the band.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56# Sail on
0:27:56 > 0:27:59# Honey
0:28:01 > 0:28:06# Good times never felt so good
0:28:06 > 0:28:09# Sail on
0:28:09 > 0:28:12# Honey
0:28:14 > 0:28:19# Good times never felt so good
0:28:19 > 0:28:21# Sail on... #
0:28:21 > 0:28:25With seven top ten hits, including three number ones,
0:28:25 > 0:28:29the Commodores were now the top black act in the USA.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35But their 1980 album Heroes received a cool reception
0:28:35 > 0:28:37from critics and public alike.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40They did a tour in America,
0:28:40 > 0:28:43and it was the first time a Commodores tour was not successful.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46And, of course, with any band,
0:28:46 > 0:28:49when they've been as big as they were,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52the first time there's a lack of success,
0:28:52 > 0:28:54that's when you tend to get strife.
0:28:54 > 0:28:59There's a group dynamic, having been in about six groups,
0:28:59 > 0:29:03that you really have about five or six good years
0:29:03 > 0:29:07before one guy starts saying, "My wife doesn't want me to travel anymore,"
0:29:07 > 0:29:11and another says, "How come you get to stay in a better room than I am?
0:29:11 > 0:29:13"The group's paying for mine..."
0:29:13 > 0:29:17And it just starts falling apart, piece by piece.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20# Lady
0:29:20 > 0:29:24# You bring me up when I'm down
0:29:25 > 0:29:27# And maybe... #
0:29:27 > 0:29:30With the band keen to try out different ideas
0:29:30 > 0:29:32and find their sound for the new decade,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35there was little room for Lionel's ballads.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38I became this elephant...
0:29:38 > 0:29:42in the middle of this house of cards, if you will.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46It...It was...I was just not...
0:29:46 > 0:29:49I tried to fit in in every possible way.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51I even bought, "Here's another hit record,"
0:29:51 > 0:29:54and it got to the point, "We don't want the hit record."
0:29:54 > 0:29:57In a group like that, you audition your songs.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00You come in and you say, "Do you like this song?"
0:30:00 > 0:30:04They say, "No." That song's gone. A little part of your heart is gone
0:30:04 > 0:30:07because there must have been some reason to start writing that
0:30:07 > 0:30:10and I think that's what bothered him most.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14With the Commodores turning away his music,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17an approach from country superstar Kenny Rogers asking Lionel
0:30:17 > 0:30:19to write a song for him to record,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22could hardly have come at a better time.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29# Lady
0:30:29 > 0:30:33# I'm your knight in shining armour
0:30:33 > 0:30:36# And I love you
0:30:36 > 0:30:40# You have made me what I am
0:30:40 > 0:30:45# And I am yours
0:30:45 > 0:30:49# In my eyes
0:30:49 > 0:30:53# I see no-one else but you
0:30:54 > 0:31:00# There's no other love like our love
0:31:00 > 0:31:03# And yes
0:31:03 > 0:31:04# Oh yes
0:31:04 > 0:31:08# I'll always want you with me
0:31:08 > 0:31:10# I've waited for you
0:31:10 > 0:31:15# For so long... #
0:31:16 > 0:31:19When he produced Lady, he said he made more money
0:31:19 > 0:31:22off of producing, writing and publishing
0:31:22 > 0:31:26than he had made with the Commodores the whole ten years he'd been there
0:31:26 > 0:31:28cos it was a whole new world.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32As well as reaching number one on America's Country Music Chart,
0:31:32 > 0:31:35Lady also topped the Adult Contemporary Chart,
0:31:35 > 0:31:39the Billboard Hot 100 and the Black Singles Chart.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42With members of the Commodores making up the backing band,
0:31:42 > 0:31:45the song received two Grammy Award nominations.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48# Cos my love
0:31:51 > 0:31:53# There's something
0:31:53 > 0:31:58# I want you to know... #
0:31:58 > 0:32:00Following the success of Lady,
0:32:00 > 0:32:02Lionel was asked to write the theme song
0:32:02 > 0:32:06for a new Franco Zeffirelli film starring Brooke Shields.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09He offered a song which had been rejected by the Commodores.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13The song was Endless Love.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16# You know I don't mind...
0:32:16 > 0:32:21# You know I don't mind... #
0:32:23 > 0:32:26His duet with Motown stablemate Diana Ross
0:32:26 > 0:32:29became the label's biggest selling single,
0:32:29 > 0:32:32staying at number one on the Billboard Hot 100
0:32:32 > 0:32:35for nine weeks.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40# This love I have inside
0:32:40 > 0:32:44# And I'll give it all to you... #
0:32:44 > 0:32:49One morning I woke up to the radio station in Tuskegee, Alabama,
0:32:49 > 0:32:54listening to Endless Love, Lionel Richie and Diana Ross. Who?!
0:32:57 > 0:32:59Lionel Richie and who?!
0:32:59 > 0:33:03Benny always understood that Lionel would go forward.
0:33:05 > 0:33:10But wouldn't it be nice if you could stay together as a unit?
0:33:11 > 0:33:15In an attempt to keep Lionel on board, the Commodores' manager,
0:33:15 > 0:33:19Benny Ashburn, offered him the chance to record a solo album
0:33:19 > 0:33:21while remaining in the band.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26# Girl
0:33:26 > 0:33:28# Tell me only this
0:33:29 > 0:33:32# That I have your heart
0:33:34 > 0:33:37# For always... #
0:33:38 > 0:33:41In 1982, Motown released Truly,
0:33:41 > 0:33:45the first single from Lionel's self-titled debut album,
0:33:45 > 0:33:49the label delaying the release of the next Commodores album
0:33:49 > 0:33:51to launch him as a solo act.
0:33:54 > 0:33:58# And forever
0:34:00 > 0:34:06# I will be your lover
0:34:07 > 0:34:12# And I feel if you... #
0:34:12 > 0:34:16By the time Lionel had finished recording the album in August 1982,
0:34:16 > 0:34:21Benny Ashburn, the father of the Commodores, had died.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24Lionel dedicated the album to Benny and the Commodores.
0:34:24 > 0:34:29# Truly
0:34:29 > 0:34:32# Truly in love
0:34:32 > 0:34:36# With you girl
0:34:36 > 0:34:43# I'm truly
0:34:43 > 0:34:49# Head over heels with your love
0:34:51 > 0:34:57# I need you
0:34:58 > 0:35:00# And with your love
0:35:00 > 0:35:05# I am free
0:35:05 > 0:35:11# And truly
0:35:11 > 0:35:16# You know you're all right
0:35:18 > 0:35:26# With me... #
0:35:27 > 0:35:30APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:35:30 > 0:35:34With his first solo release, Lionel was back at the top of the charts.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37But his time with the Commodores was at an end.
0:35:37 > 0:35:42He made an exit in front of 22,000 people out in Texas.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45After the third or the fourth song in the show,
0:35:45 > 0:35:48he couldn't sing any more.
0:35:48 > 0:35:53And the next night, we're in Miami, Florida,
0:35:53 > 0:35:58and he didn't perform. Then I knew something was up.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02And it turned out that Richie wanted to pursue his own career.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06It was a very difficult decision for Lionel. These were his friends.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09They weren't very happy about him leaving.
0:36:09 > 0:36:15He had a manager already that was a lovely guy
0:36:15 > 0:36:18and Lionel was very reluctant about leaving.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23Lionel and the Commodores would never share a stage again.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27Like their role models, The Beatles, the band's ideals of friendship,
0:36:27 > 0:36:30music and creativity seemed long forgotten.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32The band continues to this day
0:36:32 > 0:36:38but it's never achieved the success of those early years with Lionel.
0:36:38 > 0:36:39# Well my friends
0:36:39 > 0:36:42# The time has come... #
0:36:42 > 0:36:47He decided that he really had to leave the Commodores.
0:36:47 > 0:36:48He wanted a solo career.
0:36:48 > 0:36:54I immediately started to facilitate that. We had very quick success.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Lionel's first solo album was a hit worldwide
0:36:58 > 0:37:02and confirmed his status as a solo artist.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05His second album was even bigger, selling over eight million copies
0:37:05 > 0:37:08and receiving favourable critical reviews
0:37:08 > 0:37:12for its blend of up-tempo numbers and ballads.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16Can't Slow Down, released in 1983, reached number one
0:37:16 > 0:37:21on both sides of the Atlantic and won two Grammy awards.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23# All night long
0:37:23 > 0:37:25# All night
0:37:25 > 0:37:28# All night long
0:37:28 > 0:37:30# All night
0:37:30 > 0:37:32# All night long... #
0:37:32 > 0:37:36Lionel was now up there with the superstars of the '80s...
0:37:36 > 0:37:39Michael Jackson, his sister, Janet, Madonna,
0:37:39 > 0:37:41Bruce Springsteen and Prince.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43# Once you get started
0:37:43 > 0:37:45# You can't sit down
0:37:48 > 0:37:50# Come join the fun
0:37:50 > 0:37:52# It's a merry-go-round
0:37:56 > 0:37:58# Everyone's dancing
0:37:58 > 0:38:01# Their troubles away... #
0:38:01 > 0:38:07Launched in 1981, MTV was now the shop window for pop music.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10The music video channel had access to a huge audience.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14But at first, it was aimed primarily at white rock music fans.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16We had broken the barrier.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19Michael Jackson, Beat It
0:38:19 > 0:38:23and Billie Jean, two videos thrown down in front of MTV
0:38:23 > 0:38:28and say, "Go ahead, put them in. Play this. Look at this.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31Tell us you're going to keep this station for white, suburban kids
0:38:31 > 0:38:34and they're not going to get a chance to listen or see this music.
0:38:34 > 0:38:39# Playing in the shadows
0:38:39 > 0:38:42# Just you and I
0:38:42 > 0:38:45# Till the morning light... #
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Following in Michael's footsteps,
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Lionel was one of the first black artists
0:38:56 > 0:38:58to gain airplay on the channel.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02# So in love
0:39:02 > 0:39:04# You and me
0:39:04 > 0:39:06# On the boulevard
0:39:06 > 0:39:07# Wild and free
0:39:07 > 0:39:09# Giving all we got
0:39:09 > 0:39:12# We laid it down
0:39:12 > 0:39:13# Taken every shot
0:39:13 > 0:39:16# Took the town... #
0:39:16 > 0:39:20With the MTV age, we have
0:39:20 > 0:39:24a very limited category, a very limited number of black artists
0:39:24 > 0:39:26that are standing in for black music.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30But then, also, as Lionel Richie develops his own style,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33MTV and also promoters and the corporations
0:39:33 > 0:39:38that are running these labels also whiten up his music a little.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42My favourite Lionel Richie songs are favourites of mine
0:39:42 > 0:39:44more because of what we did with them
0:39:44 > 0:39:47than maybe the songs themselves.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49# I've been alone with you
0:39:49 > 0:39:54# Inside my mind... #
0:39:54 > 0:39:59When the video to his 1984 single Hello was first shown on MTV,
0:39:59 > 0:40:02the storyline provoked different reactions.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06It remains one of the most memorable videos from the '80s
0:40:06 > 0:40:08and still gets people talking.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12# Hello
0:40:12 > 0:40:17# Is it me you're looking for?
0:40:17 > 0:40:20Bob Giraldi came to me and said,
0:40:20 > 0:40:23"We have a lovely actress and she's a teacher student.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27"Oh my God, she loves you. and my God, what a great story.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29"We're going to make her blind."
0:40:29 > 0:40:33'I thought that was the worst suggestion ever on the planet.'
0:40:33 > 0:40:36# Cos you know just what to say... #
0:40:36 > 0:40:39I had this vision coming from the lyrics,
0:40:39 > 0:40:42"Hello, is it me you are looking for?",
0:40:42 > 0:40:47that it was a love story between an instructor and a blind girl.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50# I love you... #
0:40:50 > 0:40:54Hello is one of the most beautiful recordings of all time.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57I love the way that song is written, the way it's produced,
0:40:57 > 0:40:59the way he sings out with such emotion.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02I remember the video with the blind girl.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04It's just really incredible.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08The promo video for Hello was appalling. Absolutely appalling.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12My God, you've never seen anything so gross. Anyway...
0:41:13 > 0:41:16I mean, that sculpture was so dire.
0:41:16 > 0:41:24I said, "Bob, the bust looks nothing like me, it's kind of off."
0:41:24 > 0:41:26He says, "Lionel, she's blind."
0:41:26 > 0:41:29To this day, people will not remember the name of the song.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33They'll say, "What's the song with the blind girl in it?"
0:41:33 > 0:41:34And that's the hook.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38# Cos I wonder where you are
0:41:38 > 0:41:41# And I wonder what you do
0:41:41 > 0:41:45# Are you somewhere feeling lonely
0:41:45 > 0:41:48# Or is someone loving you?
0:41:48 > 0:41:52# Tell me how to win your heart
0:41:52 > 0:41:57# For I haven't got a clue
0:41:57 > 0:42:02# But let me start by saying
0:42:02 > 0:42:04# I love you. #
0:42:04 > 0:42:07Although the video for Hello divided opinion,
0:42:07 > 0:42:10the track is regarded by many as Lionel's signature song.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14While a long way from his funk and soul roots, it shares the approach
0:42:14 > 0:42:18to song writing he'd developed with the Commodores.
0:42:18 > 0:42:23Emotive lyrics and simple, unforgettable melodies.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26I could take the blame for co-writing one of the only songs
0:42:26 > 0:42:27on the album that wasn't a hit.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30I have written songs that are so damn complicated
0:42:30 > 0:42:33that even I can't sing them and I wrote them.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37He just, I guess...
0:42:37 > 0:42:41He's kind of like Neil Diamond, he made the most out of three chords.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Literally, Lionel's songs are so simple.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46That song that I wrote with Lionel...
0:42:52 > 0:42:53It's very complicated
0:42:53 > 0:42:58and probably not the easiest song to sing along with. As opposed to...
0:42:58 > 0:42:59# Hello. #
0:42:59 > 0:43:02Jeez, Lionel. Or...
0:43:02 > 0:43:04# You're once
0:43:04 > 0:43:06# Twice
0:43:06 > 0:43:09# Three times a lady. #
0:43:09 > 0:43:10I mean, it's just so simple
0:43:10 > 0:43:13and you hear it and you go, why didn't I think of that?
0:43:13 > 0:43:16# All night long
0:43:16 > 0:43:18# All night... #
0:43:18 > 0:43:22Lionel's status as a pop superstar was confirmed in 1984
0:43:22 > 0:43:24when he was invited to perform
0:43:24 > 0:43:29at the closing ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33My name changed from Lionel Richie to Lionel Richie All Night Long
0:43:33 > 0:43:37in every country in the world just because of that one song.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44Six months later, Lionel Richie hosted the American Music Awards.
0:43:44 > 0:43:48He was on the cover of TV Guide that week.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50He won six American Music Awards
0:43:50 > 0:43:53and about three weeks later, he won three Grammy awards
0:43:53 > 0:43:56and was on the Grammys. Those multiple exposures
0:43:56 > 0:44:02in that concentrated period of time exploded Lionel's career.
0:44:02 > 0:44:03Later the same year,
0:44:03 > 0:44:07when Harry Belafonte called for an African American response
0:44:07 > 0:44:12to the famine in Ethiopia, Lionel was the first person he approached.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14Now in a position to make things happen,
0:44:14 > 0:44:18Lionel co-wrote We Are The World with Michael Jackson.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21The single, produced by Quincy Jones,
0:44:21 > 0:44:24was recorded in January 1985
0:44:24 > 0:44:27on the night of the American Music Awards which Lionel was hosting.
0:44:27 > 0:44:29# We'll make a better day
0:44:29 > 0:44:31# Just you and me
0:44:31 > 0:44:35# We are the world... #
0:44:35 > 0:44:38Quincy was in charge, there was no question about that,
0:44:38 > 0:44:42but the person you saw everywhere that night, moving people around,
0:44:42 > 0:44:46making suggestions, just in control, was Lionel.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49When the other person comes in, when you duet with someone,
0:44:49 > 0:44:51when your part comes up, lean in.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53'It was organised chaos.'
0:44:53 > 0:44:57We had five different groups all together trying to work on...
0:44:57 > 0:45:00Some over here in Swahili, some with the gospel version...
0:45:02 > 0:45:06My job was to, kind of, keep it policed.
0:45:10 > 0:45:16I thought it'll never happen tonight but surely, it came together.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18# There comes a time
0:45:19 > 0:45:22# When we heed a certain call
0:45:22 > 0:45:27- # When the world Must come together as one.- #
0:45:27 > 0:45:30It was very significant for black America
0:45:30 > 0:45:33but it was also significant for white America
0:45:33 > 0:45:37to see all of those artists together on the stage
0:45:37 > 0:45:43and to see people who previously you felt like had only got their just do
0:45:43 > 0:45:47in black circuits, but here they are on a worldwide stage.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49This meant so much to us as a people.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51# It's true We'll make a better day
0:45:51 > 0:45:54# Just you and me
0:45:54 > 0:45:55# Hooo!
0:45:55 > 0:45:58# We are the world
0:45:58 > 0:46:02# We are the children
0:46:02 > 0:46:05To date, We Are The World, the single and subsequent album,
0:46:05 > 0:46:09has raised more than 60 million for charity.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12Hot on its heels,
0:46:12 > 0:46:16Lionel was asked to write the theme song for Hollywood blockbuster White Nights.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25# Say you Say me
0:46:28 > 0:46:31# Say it for always
0:46:32 > 0:46:35# That's the way it should be. #
0:46:35 > 0:46:38Say You Say Me delivered Lionel his ninth US number one.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40But for some long-time fans,
0:46:40 > 0:46:43his music was heading in the wrong direction.
0:46:43 > 0:46:44I lost interest in him.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48I think the song that did it was Say You Say Me.
0:46:48 > 0:46:50When I heard that I was like, you know what,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53this is a little too middle of the road for me!
0:46:53 > 0:46:55# Say you Say me
0:46:57 > 0:47:00# Say it together... #
0:47:00 > 0:47:03For all the talk of selling out,
0:47:03 > 0:47:08Lionel walked away with an Oscar for Best Original Song.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11He followed it up with a dance floor filler from the same album.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15# Oh, what a feeling
0:47:15 > 0:47:18# When you're dancing on the ceiling... #
0:47:18 > 0:47:21Inspired by a Fred Astaire dance routine,
0:47:21 > 0:47:23the video became an instant MTV classic.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30# Oh, oh, what a feeling
0:47:30 > 0:47:32# When you're dancing on the ceiling. #
0:47:32 > 0:47:37We used techniques that had been used back in the '30s and '40s
0:47:37 > 0:47:39to film Fred Astaire and others
0:47:39 > 0:47:42coming up and dancing around a room.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45We had Stanley Donen direct the video.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48He was one of the great directors of all time.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51In 1986, Lionel embarked on a world tour,
0:47:51 > 0:47:54which would keep him on the road for more than a year,
0:47:54 > 0:47:59playing to over 1.5 million people in the United States alone.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03His three solo albums had sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07But despite his commercial success, Lionel craved more.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10It's hard for artists as they get really successful
0:48:10 > 0:48:14not to yearningly look to be something else.
0:48:14 > 0:48:19He was a great songwriter, a great live performer,
0:48:19 > 0:48:22and a straight commercial pop artist.
0:48:22 > 0:48:28And after a while, I think he became a little unhappy with that.
0:48:28 > 0:48:29He had it and he wanted more.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34The three top acts at the charts in the early '80s
0:48:34 > 0:48:37were Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Prince.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39And they were very competitive with each other
0:48:39 > 0:48:43and they worried about what the other one was doing
0:48:43 > 0:48:48and there was a certain jealousy of the cachet that Prince had
0:48:48 > 0:48:52to be more of a hipper artist, that his music was harder edged
0:48:52 > 0:48:56and that he was doing experimental kind of things.
0:48:56 > 0:48:57MUSIC: "When Doves Cry" by Prince
0:48:57 > 0:49:01Lionel, edgy? That's not possible.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05If I was producing him now, I would say, just put that away.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08You have the thing that everybody wants.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11Everybody wants what Lionel Richie has.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14Like I said, he wrote songs that the whole world sings.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17After five lucrative years together,
0:49:17 > 0:49:20Lionel ditched his manager, Ken Kragen.
0:49:20 > 0:49:25He left me to go to Madonna's manager, Freddy DeMann.
0:49:25 > 0:49:30The only problem was he had some other issues in his life
0:49:30 > 0:49:32and he kind of disappeared from the scene.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34It made me look kind of good.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37Everybody thought, "He's no longer with you, he's not..."
0:49:37 > 0:49:40but there were a lot of other factors involved.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44# All the walls are falling down. #
0:49:45 > 0:49:49It was Lionel's private life, which he'd always been at pains to protect,
0:49:49 > 0:49:52that now became the focus of his attention.
0:49:53 > 0:49:57I received a phonecall from my father and he said,
0:49:57 > 0:50:01"Son, I'm going to see the doctor. I want you to come with me."
0:50:01 > 0:50:04This is a military man, who - you have to understand -
0:50:04 > 0:50:07I've never seen my father sick a day in his life.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11This is a man that would always say to me, "Shake it off, boy. Shake it off."
0:50:11 > 0:50:16I've never had him ever lean on me.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19The record company called and said, "It's time to go back to work."
0:50:19 > 0:50:21I couldn't do it.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24In 1987, Lionel took time out from his career
0:50:24 > 0:50:27to look after his father in Tuskegee.
0:50:31 > 0:50:32SONG: "Love Oh Love"
0:50:34 > 0:50:37The following year, his private life hit the headlines
0:50:37 > 0:50:40with tabloid revelations of an affair.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44His marriage to his childhood sweetheart Brenda fell apart.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46It was a time to take stock.
0:50:47 > 0:50:54How many Christmases did I miss? Wow. How many Thanksgivings did I miss?
0:50:54 > 0:50:58And now you start thinking back 17 years in a row,
0:50:58 > 0:51:00from the time I was with the Commodores
0:51:00 > 0:51:04to this wonderful All Night Long, Dancing on the Ceiling.
0:51:04 > 0:51:05Hmmm.
0:51:05 > 0:51:10And I'd never really stopped to take a look over my shoulder to see that.
0:51:10 > 0:51:15# Make it clear today. #
0:51:18 > 0:51:21After five years out of the spotlight,
0:51:21 > 0:51:24Lionel returned to the public eye in 1992.
0:51:24 > 0:51:25CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:51:25 > 0:51:27- Thank you.- Thank you for coming.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35Where have you been for the last five years?
0:51:35 > 0:51:38It's been five years of... I started out with a vacation.
0:51:38 > 0:51:43The greatest feeling in the world is after 14 years of album, tour, album, tour,
0:51:43 > 0:51:45it's time for a vacation.
0:51:45 > 0:51:50Well, I took maybe a six-week vacation. My father became very ill.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53I had about two and half years of his life before he died.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56Nothing... It was just gradual, nothing serious,
0:51:56 > 0:51:58other than just dying - I guess that's pretty heavy.
0:51:58 > 0:52:03From there, we went to throat surgery for a while. That scared me to death.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05When someone walks up to you and says,
0:52:05 > 0:52:10"Lionel, it's very minor surgery but you may never be able to sing again."
0:52:10 > 0:52:12And then a divorce, the end of my marriage.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15So I'm so happy to be back here with you.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19# Times are hard
0:52:19 > 0:52:21# Spirit's weak
0:52:21 > 0:52:23# Oh yeah
0:52:23 > 0:52:27# Everything seems to be going wrong
0:52:27 > 0:52:29# Outlook's bleak
0:52:31 > 0:52:34# You know, I fooled around
0:52:34 > 0:52:37# Playing the field... #
0:52:37 > 0:52:42My absolute joy is in what I do.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45I'm now doing this because I like to do it.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49# Hold on to the love We have together. #
0:52:49 > 0:52:52In 1993, he signed to Mercury Records,
0:52:52 > 0:52:56ending a 20-year association with Motown, the label he'd started with,
0:52:56 > 0:53:00as a backline sax player in the Commodores.
0:53:00 > 0:53:04Two years later, he married second wife Diane
0:53:04 > 0:53:09and they had two children together, but the marriage failed in 2003.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14Meanwhile Nicole, his adopted daughter from his first marriage,
0:53:14 > 0:53:17found her own fame and a very public drug problem.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Kids don't come with manuals.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25Marriage does not come with an instruction manual.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27You want to get it right,
0:53:27 > 0:53:30but you keep failing miserably at certain areas.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33# I don't want to lose you now. #
0:53:33 > 0:53:38Lionel's professional success has, it seems, come at a price.
0:53:39 > 0:53:44When I'm into an album or if I'm into a tour, I either have to focus all the way or I can't do it.
0:53:44 > 0:53:48You can always tell when I'm putting full force back into my career.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51My personal life goes straight to hell.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56Since his come-back, Lionel has released eight studio albums,
0:53:56 > 0:54:01performed sell-out tours and remains a regular guest on chat shows.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04But to date, he's not made it back to the top of the charts.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06# I love you so
0:54:06 > 0:54:10# And I don't wanna lose you baby
0:54:10 > 0:54:12# Don't wanna lose you
0:54:12 > 0:54:15# Don't wanna lose you baby... #
0:54:15 > 0:54:17He will have influenced others.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20You talk about how the Commodores watched The Beatles
0:54:20 > 0:54:24but there will be plenty of young artists who watched the Commodores
0:54:24 > 0:54:27and who watched Lionel and who wanted to be him
0:54:27 > 0:54:30or wanted to learn lessons from how they succeeded.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33More recently, he's been happy to share his experience
0:54:33 > 0:54:36and his songs with a new generation of singers.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38Back over to Lionel.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41# That's why I'm easy
0:54:41 > 0:54:44# Ah, ah, ah
0:54:44 > 0:54:48# I'm easy like Sunday morning. #
0:54:49 > 0:54:51Over to Lemar.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54# I wanna be high...#
0:54:54 > 0:54:59Lemar was absolutely electrifying from day one.
0:54:59 > 0:55:04And as I told him, I don't really care whether you win or lose.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07# I wanna be free
0:55:07 > 0:55:10# Just me...#
0:55:10 > 0:55:13He said, just don't win. And I was like, huh?
0:55:13 > 0:55:17He said, if you win, the pressure's on you. You have to deliver.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21But if you forget about winning, just enjoy the experience,
0:55:21 > 0:55:24learn something from it and when you come out,
0:55:24 > 0:55:26just focus on the music and try and find an identity.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30Find who you are and what you're about.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34# I know it sounds funny But I just can't stand the pain
0:55:34 > 0:55:35CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:55:35 > 0:55:39The air of confidence, you know, the relaxed manner, you know,
0:55:39 > 0:55:43was for me the biggest thing that I took from that performance.
0:55:43 > 0:55:44I was like, wow!
0:55:44 > 0:55:47I'm there slogging along and he's just like, "This is easy".
0:55:49 > 0:55:55# Yes, I begged, stole And I borrowed
0:55:55 > 0:55:57# Yeah, ooh
0:55:57 > 0:55:59# That's why I'm easy. #
0:56:01 > 0:56:06He's grown so much in his music and he's in such a better place
0:56:06 > 0:56:09than he's been for a long time.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11His marriage and his divorce was bringing him down,
0:56:11 > 0:56:14his mom dying, his dad passing away.
0:56:15 > 0:56:19All that stuff weighs heavy on a country boy.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21And he is a country boy at heart.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24But I think he's kind of found a place for himself now.
0:56:24 > 0:56:29# Why in the world would anybody put chains on me? #
0:56:32 > 0:56:36Four decades after his parents paid for him to go to Tuskegee Institute,
0:56:36 > 0:56:39Lionel still hasn't made it as a lawyer.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42Nor is he writing number one hits anymore.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46But there's no doubting his place in the history of popular music.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50The classic songs he wrote in the '70s and '80s have
0:56:50 > 0:56:53and still serve him well.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56# That's why I'm easy
0:56:58 > 0:57:03# I'm easy like Sunday morning. #
0:57:03 > 0:57:07He's always had this need to go back to his roots
0:57:07 > 0:57:09cos I think that's what he's all about.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11It is not about money to him.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14It's about having this stuff pent up inside him
0:57:14 > 0:57:17that must have happened in Tuskegee.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21Over four decades after starting out with the Commodores,
0:57:21 > 0:57:24Lionel's been back in the studio re-visiting his classic songs.
0:57:24 > 0:57:28He's recorded duets with some of country music's biggest stars,
0:57:28 > 0:57:33including Shania Twain, Willie Nelson and close friend, Kenny Rogers.
0:57:33 > 0:57:37The album's title - quite simply, Tuskegee.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42# My endless love. #
0:57:43 > 0:57:45I was in the bank a little while ago
0:57:45 > 0:57:48and a lady I thought was daydreaming but she wasn't,
0:57:48 > 0:57:51she was following the lyrics of Three Times A Lady,
0:57:51 > 0:57:53a classic Lionel song,
0:57:53 > 0:57:58so you've got to be impressed with the way his music transcends time.
0:57:58 > 0:58:03His music transcends generations, it transcends race,
0:58:03 > 0:58:05it transcends nationalities.
0:58:05 > 0:58:07His music is an international music.
0:58:09 > 0:58:13# What a feeling
0:58:13 > 0:58:14# Dancing on the ceiling. #
0:58:14 > 0:58:18Someone asks, "In your next life, who do you want to come back as?"
0:58:18 > 0:58:20My answer - Lionel Richie.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29# Oh, what a feeling
0:58:29 > 0:58:32# When you're dancing on the ceiling... #
0:58:36 > 0:58:40Subtitling by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:40 > 0:58:44E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk