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Lionel Ritchie's descent

pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
edited March 2012 in Strut Central
i know it's an easy target but seriously
this guy made an appearance on this local singing contest and i thought of where his career is at now
compared to someone like sade whose reupped and refreshed her appeal and cats like prince constantly killing it throughout
ritchie has fallen dramatically
although wack, the transfer from commodores to $ongwriting and solo venture was quite sucessful but recently he's quite stale

he just released an album of country version's of his songs


and this


his live voice is cringeworthy also..i just don't think people would be paying to a sold out big venue

what say ye

  Comments

  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts


    Love this record???. Has that Thriller vibe.
  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    ^^^^
    i saw a career recap and for a moment he was riding the jackson wave
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    For a minute he was eating at the same table as MJ.

    It never really panned out for the long run. And like Whitney Houston, dude stayed w/ that crossover nonsense.

    We cats can hatt on his solo career's longevity, but his Commodores shit cements his Hall Of Fame vote...imo.
  • Big_ChanBig_Chan 5,088 Posts
    Dude sold something like 20 million plus solo records. Crazy. I have not checked for any of his music since the 80s.

    The Commodores had CLASSIC joints like this....



    His first couple solo records had some heat too...



  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,782 Posts
    Gonna hijack this thread and post Commodore bangers:

  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    commodores for sure
    but i mean he would have made the HOF on song writing alone
    however he can't sing anymore and this country shit is embarassing
    aging less gracefully than others
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    His run buffers him from the hatt. Hes not really worth the hatt.

    Jesus Is Love is my shit.

    Dude and his team has seminal breaks. I cant hatt him at 60 something for trying to get money.

    I recall the Motown doc where the exects we finally paid them attention ....calling them the Commanders.

    He put in his work w/ them and broke out at the right time and got his paper.
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts


    Im fuckin w/ Willie Nelson doin Easy.

    Smooth 101 Country Soul......im in........ fuck yall.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    I think a MAJOR reason for his descent is that after Dancing On The Ceiling came out, he didn't release a new album for another ten years. By which time he was in the "whatever happened to?" category.

    It's like a friend of mine said at the time: finding out, in the mid-nineties, that Lionel Richie had a new album was like finding out Gloria Gaynor had a new album.

    I think somewhere in there he went through a nasty, embarrasingly public divorce as well.

    pcmr said:
    this country shit is embarassing
    aging less gracefully than others

    To be fair, he flirted with the C&W market when he was in his prime: writing songs for Kenny Rogers, collaborating with Alabama on "Deep River Woman." And even though the Commodores'"Three Times A Lady" didn't make the country charts, at least one country station here in Chicago added it to their playlist.
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,958 Posts
    Def Jef got it right. "The Judas of Funk".

    Will ride all day for his good stuff, though. "Love Will Find A Way" is vg+.
  • The_NonThe_Non 5,691 Posts
    batmon said:


    Im fuckin w/ Willie Nelson doin Easy.

    Smooth 101 Country Soul......im in........ fuck yall.

    Yknow, I saw an infomercial for this the other day late nite and I was like what the fuck, but you know what? That dude Batmon is right. Fuck yall, Willie sounds good on Easy, and this isn't even 1/2 as embarrassing as I expected it to be.
  • Big_ChanBig_Chan 5,088 Posts
    J i m s t e r said:
    Def Jef got it right. "The Judas of Funk".

    Will ride all day for his good stuff, though. "Love Will Find A Way" is vg+.

  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    batmon said:


    Im fuckin w/ Willie Nelson doin Easy.

    Smooth 101 Country Soul......im in........ fuck yall.

    Get that old Jamaican folks money.
  • DocMcCoyDocMcCoy "Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
    pickwick33 said:
    I think somewhere in there he went through a nasty, embarrasingly public divorce as well.

    He's been through two. His first wife went out like No Face and took half his publishing as part of their divorce settlement. His second wife took him to the cleaners in similar fashion, although I think he managed to keep her away from his publishing this time.
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,958 Posts
    Big_Chan said:
    J i m s t e r said:
    Def Jef got it right. "The Judas of Funk".

    Will ride all day for his good stuff, though. "Love Will Find A Way" is vg+.


    Liking this too:
  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts
    Personally I never really saw Richie as being "in" so can't really see him as selling out. He always struck me as someone who was happy to adjust his sound to whatever was selling at the time. Not meant as a diss though, I ride for a fair bit of the Commodores stuff, particularly their heavily Sly influenced debut. Plus Richie ballads are a fundamental part of my introduction to the wooing of the opposite sex (school disco-related).

    On with the Commodores bangers:



  • skelskel You can't cheat karma 5,033 Posts
    Surely the nadir of dude's career was playing fall guy to Lineker in those Walkers Crisps ads.

    Or did I imagineer that?
  • magpaulmagpaul 1,314 Posts
    skel said:
    Surely the nadir of dude's career was playing fall guy to Lineker in those Walkers Crisps ads.

    Or did I imagineer that?

  • FlomotionFlomotion 2,391 Posts
    pcmr said:

    his live voice is cringeworthy also..i just don't think people would be paying to a sold out big venue

    what say ye

    Nah, he's still selling out major stadiums and headlining shows all over the world. Difference is he now does one or two dates in a venue instead of four or five. I've worked on some of his UK shows and in soundchecks his voice sounds good although the big songs in his repertoire are strong enough to withstanding a vocal mauling every now and again. Also, possibly the nicest guy in the business. And, no, I don't own a single Lionel-related record.
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,958 Posts
    IIRC, dude also had a serious problem with his throat which practically stopped him singing for a long time, hence the absence of material for long periods. I think, as a result, he can no longer do his big hits justice so he's had to change his game, stylistically. Dude must be 60 and still in the public eye so fair play. 2 divorces to pay for and that, man say 'im a ting, 'im a ting.

    I knew his daughter Nicole was adopted but it turns out she's related to Sheila E and Coke Escovedo too.
  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    thanks for the discussion folks
    the throat thing makes sense
  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,473 Posts
    pickwick33 said:
    And even though the Commodores'"Three Times A Lady" didn't make the country charts, at least one country station here in Chicago added it to their playlist.

    Newman does the definitive "Three Times a Lady" cover:

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    copped
  • dukeofdelridgedukeofdelridge urgent.monkey.mice 2,453 Posts
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    I can deal with the remakes but some of the hits lack some signature unpinnings.

    Sail On is cool but when it peaks it uses a Country feel that doesnt match the strings and horns.

    Another joints lacks that Commodores background harmonies that they dont try to replicate.

    Willie Nelson on Easy is some old man gettin his shit.

    Starbucks steez.
  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    seems like he has not fallen off at all
    after poor sales for his last album he is now a top billboard album sales (beating adele)
    http://www.soultracks.com/story-lionel-richie-number-1
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,958 Posts
    2 sales = gold disc these days, doe.

    I wouldn't waste the bandwidth skanking it.
  • OptimusLimeOptimusLime 227 Posts
    His 10 year silence had to do with the death in the family, his divorce and just fatigue. Just saw a documentary on this dude. He recognises he's a cheeseball, but seems to just love what he does. Seems supernice.

    And soccer superstar Lionel Messi is named after Richie. Awesome.



    Also young girls are my weakness... :feelin_it:
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