He has danced on the ceiling.
Partied all night long.
Asked if he was, by chance, the romantic prospect that you have been in search of.
Is it me youre looking for?
LIONEL RICHIE:A hundred.
No, I would say probably 80.
Is it me youre looking for?
And whats your response?
Or: What the hell is wrong with you?
Why take so many years off the road here?
Did you only just now finish counting how many hits you have?
We kept saying, Well, when we get a new record, well come back to America… We can still tour America.
Well, that took 10 years to figure out, okay?
And one day I just walked in the door and said, The hell with it.
… We did a warm-up tour [last fall], just to see to it.
Is the crowd showing up?
And of course, the overwhelming response was: Wheres Lionel Richie?
Hello, is it me youre looking for.
Thats when I realized how many songs we actually had.
That should be your goal: Always leave someone disappointed.
Are you worried that Bonnaroo is an outdoor festival and there is no ceiling?
We did Austin City Limits, weve done Hyde Park, weve done festivals in Germany.
Are you kidding me?
Its the next level come on, baby!
Dancing on the Sky!
Youre one of the featured performers at Bonnaroo with Kanye West, Jack White, and Elton John.
Whose set are you most willing to crash for an impromptu duet?
Well, hey, come on now, Im ready foranyone of them.
Are you kidding me?
Listen, I know my homework, baby!
Just in case they say, Yo!
Lionel, come on stage!, Im ready, babes!
… Im pretty much prepared for just about anything.
Hopefully, theyll do something really cool, like let me come on stage and sing my song.
Thats when you really did it right: Hey, yo!
Hell do All Night Long.
Thank you very much!
Because it never fails that I will come on stage it happened to me with Eric Clapton.
And the crowd was going, Man… were wethathigh?
What kind of artisan crafts will you be shopping for at the festival booths?
Its important to have a plan.
I have to cut em up.
And they go, Dad, what are you doing with the Jack White T-shirt?
and I go, Well, its simple, I gotta wash the car.
Is three the maximum number of times that someone can be a lady?
Ever seen a woman hit four or even five?
Yes, I have.
I can answer that question for you: any lady that has more than three kids.
Because I have three, and were about to die with the three we have.
I mean, I cant imagine eight children.
You mean eight times a car?
Eight times a prom?
Eight times a wedding?
What are you talking about?
Youre going to die!
Well always get together as a band for off-and-on things.
But I think I lost the spark of that fantasy, of all of us crazy guys on stage.
You wrote Lady for Kenny Rogers.
Which seemed more unlikely at the time: that the song would go on to hit No.
1 or that he would go on to start Kenny Rogers Roasters?
Well, at the time, Im… [Laughs] thats good, thatsverygood!
Im going to tell Kenny about this one… Well, the phenomenon was Kennys chicken.
Kenny Rogers Roasters was a bit out of the box, I must say.
You have no failures, so its perfect.
Your first solo album,Lionel Richie, contains three top five hits, including You Are.
Were you too busy or too lazy to finish the song title?
If you go back and look at all of my songs, I dont like long titles.
You Are was too long.
It was going to be just You.
All Night Long (All Night) has a nice Caribbean vibe.
How does it feel to be responsible for helping estranged couples rediscover each other at Sandals?
Even my own record company said to me, Are you out of your mind?
And I said, Guys, Ive traveled the world.
This is the rhythm that the whole world dances to on vacation.
And to answer your question: Absolutely.
We have populated theworld.
Well, you sawthe video, thats for sure!
[Laughs] If they have the batons out, were already in trouble.
If theyre dancing up the street, coming up the sidewalk, then we have a different situation.
But if they have the batons out and theyre not smiling, we have a problem.
You are crazy popular in Middle Eastern countries.
Do you think its the mustache?
Somebody said that to me.
Now its funny you would say that.
There are places in the world where Western music was considered bad.
You cant play it.
And the [driver] said, I dont have the papers.
He said, Who do you have in the car?
And he said, Lionel Richie.
Is it me youre looking for?
And then he turns around and goes, Its Lionel Richie!
And the guy comes off the tank and were taking pictures!
In the middle of the desert!
But it was at that point that I realized that we were definitely on some different kind of steroids.
The U.S. military told you that Iraqi civilians were playing All Night Long when we invaded Baghdad.
Did they say whether or not we used NickelbacksAll the Right Reasonsto drive out their soldiers?
Oh, you arecruel!
Okay, so heres the real answer you ready for this?
How about: They were playing All Night Long as the troops were coming in.
Thats from the shop owners point of view.
You want to hear what the other half was?
I met a commander who said they put speakers on top of Humvees.
Dancing on the Ceiling was being played by the troops.
They wanted to check that that they knew that they were friendly.
Im not running for any public office, by the way.
(laughs) I will deal with world peace away from the political scene.
You co-wrote We are the World with Michael Jackson.
If you show up in Africa, do the people immediately hoist you on their shoulders?
I am a member of every tribe in Africa.
And he was right.
I go there and I just must tell you, its a welcome home.
Its not like Im a visitor.
Tell us something you probably shouldnt from the video shoot.
You share the record for the most consecutive years writing a No.
Lets say Id like to write a No.
Gimme three cant-miss tips.
All right, No.
1 cant-miss tip: confirm its about love.
Dont go political, okay?
Make it anything that has to do with love.
2: Somewhere in the line, use the word forever.
Forever is a great word, right?
For example, dont do a title with 2014 in it.
As soon as 2015 comes, youre over.
What is your customary way of celebrating a No.
Do you call up the artists in the No.
2 through 10 slots, shout You okay down there????
and then hang up?
The real answer is: Immediately you go back in the studio and get another one.
Because theres nothing like being ice cold with a No.
So what you end up doing is going, I gotta go back in and get another one.
I was thinking you would say chaps!
Okay, so you left that one off.
The 10-gallon hat Ill tell you why.
And everybody backstage overheard me ask the question and all I heard was No!!!!
(laughs) It came from every artist who was backstage.
Then it came time for us to do the show, and everybody wore Prada, everybody wore Gucci.
I kept looking: Wheres the country stuff?
Youve dealt with tragedy in your life.
Remember, now, she was the first.
And so my expectation of that was going to be: disaster.
Or as I say, Every time I fall in love, I lose a house.
Those two songs will be coming out soon.
