Lionel Richie is an American singer, songwriter, and music producer born June 20, 1949, in Tuskegee, Alabama. He began his career in the late 1960s as a founding member and saxophonist of the Commodores, a funk and soul group that achieved major success in the 1970s. Richie wrote several of the band's biggest hits, including "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady," while also launching his solo career in the early 1980s. Richie's solo debut album, released in 1982, produced the number-one single "Truly" and won him his first Grammy Award. His subsequent albums established him as an international star, with major hits including "All Night Long" (1983), "Hello" (1984), and "Say You, Say Me" (1985), which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He also co-wrote "We Are the World" with Michael Jackson in 1985 and recorded the duet "Endless Love" with Diana Ross, which remains one of the best-selling singles of all time. After a recording hiatus from 1986 to 1996, Richie returned with the album "Louder than Words" and has since released multiple studio albums. He has served as a judge on American Idol since 2018 and continues to perform, including touring with Earth, Wind & Fire.