June 20, 1949

Singer-songwriter and musician Lionel Richie was born in Tuskegee. Richie started his career as a member of the funk and soul group the Commodores, with whom he wrote and sang hits such as “Three Times a Lady” and “Still.” As a solo artist, Richie became one of the best-selling artists of all time with sales of over 100 million records. He has won five Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year in 1985 for “We Are the World” and Album of the Year in 1984 for “Can’t Slow Down.” Richie was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1997 and received the Songwriters Hall of Fame‘s Johnny Mercer Award in 2016.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Alabama-born singer and songwriter Lionel Richie was born on this day. (Contributed)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.