By Hannah Jane Farron
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recording the hit singles “Easy“, “Sail On“, “Three Times a Lady“, and “Still” with the group before his departure. In 1980, he wrote and produced the US Billboard Hot 100 number one single “Lady” for Kenny Rogers.
In 1981, Richie wrote and produced the single “Endless Love“, which he recorded as a duet with Diana Ross; it remains among the top 20 bestselling singles of all time, and the biggest career hit for both artists. In 1982, he officially launched his solo career with the album Lionel Richie, which sold over four million copies and spawned the singles “You Are“, “My Love“, and the number one single “Truly“.
Richie’s second album, Can’t Slow Down (1983), reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold over 20 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time; and spawned the number one singles “All Night Long (All Night)” and “Hello“. He then co-wrote the 1985 charity single “We Are the World” with Michael Jackson, which sold over 20 million copies.[2] His third album, Dancing on the Ceiling (1986), contained the number one single “Say You, Say Me” (from the 1985 film White Nights) and the No. 2 hit title track. From 1986 to 1996, Richie took a break from recording; he has since then released seven studio albums. He has joined the singing competition American Idol to serve as a judge, starting from its sixteenth season (2018 to present).
During his solo career, Richie became one of the most successful balladeers of the 1980s, and has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time. He has won four Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year for “We Are the World”, and Album of the Year for Can’t Slow Down. “Endless Love” was nominated for an Academy Award; while “Say You, Say Me” won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe award for Best Original Song. In 2016, Richie received the Songwriters Hall of Fame‘s highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award. In 2022, he received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by the Library of Congress; as well as the American Music Awards Icon Award. He was also inducted into Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
As a student in Tuskegee, Richie formed a succession of R&B groups in the mid-1960s. In 1968, he became a singer and saxophonist with the Commodores. They signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 1968 for one record before moving on to Motown Records initially as a support act to The Jackson 5. The Commodores then became established as a popular soul group. Their first several albums had a danceable, funky sound, as in such tracks as “Machine Gun” and “Brick House“. Over time, Richie wrote and sang more romantic, easy-listening ballads such as “Easy“, “Three Times a Lady“, “Still“, and the breakup ballad “Sail On”
On October 18, 1975, Richie married his college sweetheart, Brenda Harvey. In 1983, the couple informally adopted Nicole Camille Escovedo (now Nicole Richie), the two-year-old daughter of a member of Richie’s band, who is also the niece of drummer Sheila E. The Richies raised Nicole as their daughter and adopted her legally when she was nine years old.
Richie suffered prolonged throat problems and had surgery four times in four years before being told by conventional doctors that he could lose his singing career. He then turned to a holistic doctor who said the problem was simply acid reflux caused by foods Richie was eating before going to bed.
Richie became a grandfather in 2008 when Nicole Richie gave birth to a baby girl with Joel Madden, lead singer of the rock band Good Charlotte. Richie’s second grandchild was born to the couple in 2009.
Richie is a Freemason.
Richie helped to raise over $3.1 million for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Richie told the crowd that his grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 80s, but that she survived and lived until she was 103 years old. He stated that she was his enduring symbol of hope and his reason for becoming a breast cancer activist.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
actor James Tolkan in 1931 (age 94)
filmmaker Stephen Frears in 1941 (age 84)
musician Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) in 1942
musician Anne Murray in 1945 (age 80)
TV handyman Bob Vila in 1946 (age 79)
Xanana Gusmão, prime minister of Timor-Leste, in 1946 (age 79)
musician Lionel Richie in 1949 (age 76)
actor John Goodman in 1952 (age 73)
musician Michael Anthony (Van Halen) in 1954 (age 71)
musician John Taylor (Duran Duran) in 1960 (age 65)
musician Jerome Fontamillas (Switchfoot) in 1967 (age 58)
musician Murphy Karges (Sugar Ray) in 1967 (age 58)
musician Dan Tyminski (Alison Krauss & Union Station) in 1967 (age 58)
actress Nicole Kidman in 1967 (age 58)
filmmaker Robert Rodriguez in 1968 (age 57)
musician Twiggy Ramirez (Marilyn Manson/Perfect Circle) in 1971 (age 54)
actor Josh Lucas in 1971 (age 54)
musician Chino Moreno (Deftones) in 1973 (age 52)
actor Tom Wlaschiha in 1973 (age 52)
musician Amos Lee in 1977 (age 48)
actress Tika Sumpter in 1980 (age 45)
actress/musician Alisan Porter in 1981 (age 44)
musician Grace Potter in 1983 (age 42)
actor Mark Saul in 1985 (age 40)
actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse in 1989 (age 36)
actress Serayah McNeill in 1995 (age 30)
actor Julian Hilliard in 2011 (age 14)
TODAY’S ALMANAC
The summer solstice heralds the beginning of summer. The timing of the solstice depends on when the Sun reaches its farthest point north of the equator. The word solstice is from the Latin solstitium, from sol (sun) and stitium (to stop), reflecting the fact that the Sun appears to stop at this time (and again at the winter solstice). In temperate regions, we notice that the Sun is higher in the sky throughout the day, and its rays strike Earth at a more direct angle, causing the efficient warming we call summer. In the winter, just the opposite occurs: The Sun is at its southernmost point and is low in the sky. Its rays hit the Northern Hemisphere at an oblique angle, creating the feeble winter sunlight.
West Virginia Day celebrates the statehood of West Virginia. The 35th state was formed when several northwestern counties of Virginia objected to that state’s decision in 1861 to join the Confederacy during the Civil War. These counties worked for two years to form their own state and join the Union. They succeeded on June 20, 1863. Since 1927, West Virginians have officially celebrated this event on June 20 each year.
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
In 1893, a jury in Fall River, Mass., acquitted Lizzy Borden in the ax murders of her father and stepmother.
In 1898, the U.S. Navy seized Guam, the largest of the Mariana Islands in the Pacific, during the Spanish-American War. The people of Guam were granted U.S. citizenship in 1950.
In 1900, in response to widespread foreign encroachment upon China’s national affairs, Chinese nationalists launched the so-called Boxer Rebellion in Beijing.
In 1963, the United States and Soviet Union agreed to a hot line for a communications link between Washington and Moscow.
In 1967, the American Independence Party was formed to back George Wallace of Alabama for president.
In 1977, oil began to flow through the $7.7 billion, 789-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
In 1991, the German Parliament voted to move their capital from Bonn to Berlin.
In 2020, the town of Verkhoyansk, Russia, reached a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic Circle.
COURTESY www.almanac.com
