Free | 23/6
Posted: 5/29/2012
Lionel Richie has another hit on his hands. Renowned for his storied career in soul and R&B, Richie recently released an ode to his southern roots 'Tuskegee' -- named for his hometown in Alabama. The album features 13 of Richie's timeless hits, performed this time as duets with today's country stars. Richie asked each of his collaborators to create new arrangements without making the song unrecognizable. The result: a new twist on old favorites that has rocketed to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Top 200. Richie joins Ray Charles as the only other artist in history to have a No. 1 album on both the Billboard Country Albums and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.Richie's career began over 40 years ago as the front man for the Commodores, the popular 1970s Motown band. With hits like 'Brick House,' 'Three Times a Lady,' 'Sail On' and 'Still,' Richie catapulted to stardom, with three platinum albums, five Grammy awards and an Academy Award in 1984 for Best Original Song. The Huffington Post caught up with Richie to find out what it's like to be back at the top of the charts at age 62.With so many accolades, I imagine some artists would kick back at this point in their careers. Why try again with 'Tuskegee'?A lot of people ask me that and my answer is 'this is all I know how to do.' If you ask me what my hobby was when growing up, I would tell you 'writing songs.' And probably the best part of what I do is taking it one step further, reinventing every day. For example, when I wrote 'Three Times A Lady,' they said, 'Oh my god, you can never write anything better than that.' So I wrote 'All Night Long' -- something totally different. And they said the same thing. So that's what I do, even after all these years. I try to find another avenue. I'm from Alabama and it was time for me to go back and discover my country roots. Of your many