2022 ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: LIONEL RICHIE

NEW YORK, NY(SMI-ENTERTAINMENT, MAY 04-08, 2022)-The Rock and Roll foundation announced today May 04, its 2022 Inductees in the following performers categories : Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie & Carly Simon, whom will be honor during an induction ceremony on November 05, 2022 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California.

"This diverse group of inductees each had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock & roll, " said John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. " Their music moved generations and influenced so many artists that followed ".

Performers: artists who have created music whose originality, impact, and influence has changed the course of rock & roll.

To be eligible, artists are required to have released their first record 25 years prior to Induction. Eminem, Duran Duran, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon were on the ballot for the first time. This is Eminem’s first year of eligibility. This is the first year in the Hall’s 37-year history that six female acts will be inducted in one class.
The 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, November 5, 2022 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. The Induction Ceremony will air at a later date on HBO and stream on HBO Max, along witha radio simulcast on SiriusXM’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Radio channel 310 and SiriusXM’s Volume channel 106.

Biography:

LIONEL RICHIE: Lionel Richie spent a decade as rock & roll’s King Midas –everything he touched turned to gold. With his finger firmly on the pulse of popular music, he crafted enduring love songs and joyous anthems that resonated deeply with listeners. Richie’s effortlessly smooth voice dominated the late 1970s and 1980s, his popularity rivaled only by Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Whitney Houston. His record six Grammy nominations for Song of the Year is an achievement only matched by Paul McCartney.

Richie’s path to solo superstardom was built on a string of massive hits, including his group the Commodores’ “Easy,” Kenny Rogers’ “Lady,” and Richie’s duet with Diana Ross, “Endless Love.” His solo debut earned his first Grammy, but his follow-up, Can’t Slow Down, rocketed him into the stratosphere, selling over 20 million copies and winning Album of the Year. The album’s two signature hits –the tug-at-your-heartstrings “Hello” and the Caribbean-influenced“All Night Long” –showcased Richie’s ability to write both the songs you fall in love to and the songs you close the party with. In 1985, Richie and Michael Jackson channeled their songwriting toward humanitarian efforts with “We Are the World,” raising millions for African hunger relief. A year later, “Say You, Say Me” earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Richie demonstrated his longevity and flexibility with the 2012 chart-topper Tuskegee, reimagining his hits as duets with country music’s biggest stars and introducing his music to a new generation. That same year, U.S. troops in Iraq used “All Night Long” as their unofficial anthem –the song’s jubilance bringing levity in the face of hardships.

The influence of Richie’s emotive storytelling can be heard in the music of Babyface, Mariah Carey, Tim McGraw, and the contemporary R&B of Ne-Yo. Recent recognition includes the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Kennedy Center Honors, and the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Richie writes about love the way we want to feel about love, his feel-good music providing a colorful landscape for life’s most significant memories and a soundtrack for celebrations all over the globe.

Selected discography:“Easy,” Commodores(1977) • “Three Times a Lady,” NaturalHigh(1978) • “Endless Love,” (with Diana Ross) Endless Love(1981) • “Truly,” Lionel Richie(1982) • “All Night Long (All Night),” “Hello,” Can’t Slow Down(1983) • “Say You, Say Me,” Dancing on the Ceiling(1986) • “My Destiny,” Back to Front(1992) • “Just for You,” Just for You(2004) • “Lady” (with Kenny Rogers), Tuskegee (2012).

Inductee: Lionel Richie