Lionel Richie sat down with reporters at the 2008 Antigua and Barbuda Romantic Rhythms Music Festival on Friday, June 13 before performing on stage at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. The former front man for The Commodores and solo artist talked about the Caribbean and his friendships with Kenny Rogers, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye and Tina Turner.
Q: What was your first impression of Antigua?
Lionel Richie (LR): I've never been able to walk down a beach where there are not a lot of people on the beach. And where I'm staying, it's fantastic. I have my own little beach, and there's my own little section, and when you go around everyone's so friendly… it's wonderful…I don't know why it's taken me this long to get here.
You can't help but be inspired. That's the wonderful part about this. I've been traveling the world, and I'm amazed that I can come to a place and it still fascinates me. How did I miss this? And how can you have a different vibe than the last Caribbean place I went? You keep thinking 'Ok the Bahamas, and it's all the same…' No, it's not. It really isn't. You probably can't tell it because you live here, but it's really a vibe.
Everyone has its own unique vibe. Every time I take it back with me to L.A. or to Alabama, it comes out as some form of a song… Remember now, all music writing is a vibe. If you feel the vibe, you'll write the song. If you're around movie people, all they want to do is see what that existence is, and they'll go back and make a movie out of it, or use it as a destination. I use it as a song. So just understand me that this vibe here is something that will trigger something in me that will come back and end up in a song.
Q: So is this where you got the vibe for All Night Long, in the Caribbean?
LR: Believe it or not, that's where the vibe came from. I'm one of those guys that—I don't look for something new. I look for what people do everyday. And I noticed that, anytime I would come on vacation, everybody who can rap is on vacation doing a calypso dance. Everybody who's singing Opera, they conform to some form of calypso or some form of reggae. So when I went back to do All Night Long it was very simple. All I had to do was find that beat that everybody dances to when they go on vacation. That was All Night Long.
If I ever want to find out the history of Lionel Ritchie, or the history of any artist… Ask anybody—old, to brand new—when I say new I mean 7, 8, 9… I came here one year in the Caribbean, and a little boy about 8-9 years old came up to me and said, "Could you write an autograph for me, and could you put on there Easy?" And I said "Easy?" And he says, "Easy's my favorite song." And I said to him, "How do you know about Easy? You weren't even born when I wrote Easy." [laughter] And here's the answer. He said, "In my house, you would 'talk' to us." That's the answer.
In other words, in the Caribbean it's not just about having a hit record. If you have any legacy or career, the parents teach the next generation all about that musician or that artist. And that's why when you get here, when you go to resorts, they play every song from every era. It's just so familiar, and it's taught. Every generation of R&B, every generation of Pop, they know every song.
Q: Have you ever performed with Kenny Rogers?
LR: Actually I did twice, on the Country Music Awards, he didn't know I was coming, and I was hiding out in Dottie West House, 'cause remember now, Nashville-- I'm sure is just like here—if one person knows it on the island, the whole island knows it. Well Nashville is the same way. They wanted me to surprise him. So when this show started, I was living at Dottie West House for that day. And then that night they snuck me to the show. When he went out to sing Lady, at the 2nd verse, I came out from behind the curtain, and the crowd was just, you know, and I surprised Kenny. The 2nd time, I went to one of his concerts. And I'm sitting in the audience, trying to enjoy his show. And Kenny said, 'What are you doing out there, come on stage!'" [laughter]
But honestly, I'm so sorry I'm not going to be here tomorrow night, because truthfully, we are the best when it comes to kidding around on stage. I don't know if you've ever seen us on television together, but we're the biggest jokesters together. So we don't have to rehearse anything. We just go on stage, and you get to see the benefits of just friendship. Cause he's been that way since I've ever met him.
Q: What do you prefer, writing or singing?
LR: The writing is something that touches me because when people walk up to you and say, "I was engaged on your song," "I was married on your song," "I had kids on your song," "I got divorced on your song" … "My mother was buried on your song…" You have no idea how they've taken these songs and applied them to their lives. The writing is actually something where I write something that you would want to say, but didn't know how.
Three times a lady, exactly. Now the joke I tell all the time—I get more compliments from men than I do women. Women tell me what their experiences are. Men give me no words whatsoever. They go.. "Lionel…" [everyone laughs as he makes a gesture]. That means everything. I got it. They don't have to explain to their wives what that means. It just means "Thank you. I'm with you my brother."
Q: I'm sure you've had artists or particular songs that have influenced you. Anything in particular you'd like to share about songs or artists?
LR: Well, I lucked out. I'm the luckiest guy on the planet. Imagine being inspired by the music business and then someone said to you one day, "You're going to sign with Motown Records." And you walk through the door, and there's Marvin Gaye. And there's Stevie Wonder. And there's Smokey Robinson. And there's Berry Gordy. They're all there. Diana Ross. Holland-Dozier-Holland. They're all right there. The Jackson Five. They're all right there.
Not only did I get to see them, but "Marvin's recording tonight, right here." I could stop by. And Smokey's recording right here. I could stop by. And then I had a chance to walk across the street, and there's Quincy [Jones]. Who's not at Motown but down the street. Come on!
All you had to do was just think of it as a great university at that time. And I had the opportunity of just kind of being—no pressure, nobody feared me cause, don't keep him out, cause the answer was I wasn't a writer. Didn't know it. Until one day I walked in and started going 'You mean that's all he did?' All you have to do is see it. And I realized when I started doing my research papers-- I'm still going to the University of Tuskegee. So I'm writing my research papers with Marvin Gaye here, I thought I'd interview him. So I asked Marvin the first question that told me the answer for the rest of my life:
"What Conservatory did you graduate from?" He said, "What the hell is that?" [laughter] And I find out—"You mean, you can't read music?" "No." "You mean, you can't read music?" "No." Barry Gordy (Founder of Motown Records)—"What business school did you graduate from?"
"The GM Plant."
Thank you. Which means now I'm qualified to be a songwriter. And a businessman, and everything else. You just have to have permission in some way to see that you can do this. And that's the answer. Motown was fabulous. Great memories.
Q: One really big influence in the Caribbean has been Bob Marley. Has he had an influence on you?
LR: Absolutely. I've had the wonderful pleasure of not only playing with him but knowing him. Believe it or not—I feel like a 400-year-old man talking here—Bob Marley was the opening act of the Commodores at Madison Square Garden on our tour. We did four nights at Madison Square Gardens, and we had four nights of Bob Marley as the opening act, and it was magical. It was absolutely magical. He was spiritually there… I had never seen the guy and his traveling family—I don't call it a band- his traveling family—was just unbelievable. But spiritually, I can understand why he has touched the Carribean.
Q: How was it performing with Tina Turner?
LR: There is nothing like performing with Tina Turner. In other words, Rod Stewart, Mick Jaggar, before I went on stage with her, I had to ask somebody with experience, "What do I do?" And Rod and Mick both said, "when you walk out on stage, sit down." And I said, "sit down?" And they said, "Don't try to dance, sit down. " And I thought it was a joke. Until I walked on stage and Tina came up behind me, and I heard [starts making breathing noises] "Come on Lionel, give-it-to-me. Give-it-to-me Lionel, give-it-to-me." And the first thing I did was sit on the floor! [laughter] I got it. Don't try to dance, don't try to do anything, just get out of the way.
And she has so much energy on stage, she's like [Muhammad] Ali. A good Ali fight. She talks all the way through the song. So when it's your turn to sing, she sang her part, I would sing my part, she'd go "Come on Lionel, give-it-to-me. Sing-it-to-me." And I go, "Tina, you have got to stop talking because I can't concentrate." [laughter] That's Tina.
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