The life behind the music

Lionel Richie brought a songwriter’s sense of direct communication from the Commodores into a solo recording career. The self-titled Lionel Richie album arrived in 1982; Can’t Slow Down followed in 1983. The same singer could make a ballad feel conversational and invite a crowd into a celebratory refrain. His collaborations also connected him with artists already represented in the Past Tunes archive, including Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

Richie’s recognisable ease should not be mistaken for an absence of craft. A melodic line is often designed to feel inevitable, and the arrangement establishes when to hold the listener close and when to open outward. His voice gives those changes a stable point of reference. The emotional scale grows, but the address remains personal.

Start with Truly, follow the contrasting moods of Can’t Slow Down, then hear how All Night Long and Hello use very different kinds of space. The final story turns to We Are the World and the challenge of building one recording from many distinctive performers. Together, the features offer a portrait of pop songwriting as an art of invitation.

Five ways into the music