Laughing It Up With Lionel Richie and Kevin Spacey

As we move further into 2016, So Cal music fans annually rejoice as Grammy Week always kicks off days’ worth of activity celebrating the outstanding work of musicians worldwide. This year, the MusiCares Foundation honored Lionel Richie as their “Person Of The Year” which meant a flurry of events throughout the week highlighting the talented musician and humanitarian including a fundraising gala and tribute during Monday’s Grammy ceremony. I attended the first event of the week which featured Lionel Richie being interviewed by Kevin Spacey at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and I knew Lionel and Kevin were funny separately.

The combo of the two yielded an even more uproarious experience than I ever expected and I laughed more that night than I had in a long time. I’d been keenly interested in this conversation because Lionel always seemed like someone who’d have great stories to tell. Throwing in his on-point Johnny Carson impression, Kevin Spacey walked Lionel through the anecdote-filled discussion starting with questions about his childhood, developing his love for music early, pretending to read music but actually playing piano by ear at his grandma’s house close by to Tuskegee University’s campus. Lionel shared his experiences flying with the Tuskeegee Airmen and being sheltered in that campus bubble until visiting another city where he accidentally drank out of a “whites-only” fountain, which prompted comments from white men on the street who’d seen what he’d done. His father did nothing in response in an attempt to protect Lionel and Lionel, initially angry at the lack of response, later understood years later why.

Moving into his Commodore years, he explained how the group formed (with early screams from adoring females at a school talent show) and the decision he made to drop out of college his Senior year. By that time, The Commodores were with Motown and opening for The Jackson 5 and the dean of the school called him into his office. Expecting to be reprimanded, the dean instead told him that “college was a scheme to find a way to make money” and he’d already found one so he had his blessing. Continuing in the Commodore timeline, Lionel told a funny story about Bob Marley opening for them at Madison Square Garden, involving rolling and smoking a serious brown bag filled with 420 and passing it around without exception. In a haze, he walked onstage too early in front of a sold-out audience but was quickly pulled back, being saved from further embarrassment.

Later pursuing a solo career with a string of unforgettable hits we all know, Lionel shared the story of how “We Are The World” came to be. Stemming from a call from Harry Belafonte, concerned about the famine crisis in Africa, Lionel recruited Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson to produce and write the track while Ken Kragen assembled the rest of the crew. Written at Michael’s house which had many exotic animals including a large albino python that scared Lionel but Michael insisted “only wanted to play”, the legacy of that groundbreaking song endures. Going from hosting The American Music Awards, winning six of them that night, right into a studio with the most impacting artists of the decade is an experience Lionel will never forget.

Regaling the audience with songwriting stories of the origin of “Easy” and the catchy but nonsensical lyrics of “All Night Long”, the convo ultimately yielded the portrait of a talented artist who doesn’t always take himself too seriously. Those are always the best kind.