Richie brings sweet songs to town
Print Edition
LADIES, gentlemen, and lovers of all stripes, Lionel Richie is here for you. Are you ready to open your heart to him?
The 64-year-old pop maestro will perform at the Mercedes-Benz Arena (1200 Expo Ave, near Shangnan Rd) in the Pudong New Area on Tuesday. Tickets range from 380 yuan (US$61.12) to 2,500 yuan.
Richie was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, a small town that has played a big role in American black history — 1950s civil rights activist Rosa Parks was also born there.
Richie grew up in a tight-knit family focused on education with his mother eventually becoming a school principal in Joliet, Illinois. Tuskegee called for its native son, however, and Richie went back to the city’s university.
Serves and volleys were not to be his true calling, and after singing and playing saxophone in a series of pick-up groups, Richie formed The Commodores with a few students.
This part of Richie’s career is often overlooked, but this period contains some of his least dated work. 1974’s “Gonna Blow Your Mind” is straight from the school of Parliament-Funkadelic architect George Clinton, combining an indelibly funky guitar with borderline psychedelic lyrics.
With Richie continuing to refine his craft, he moved the group in more of a pop direction. For example, songs almost certainly to be heard at his upcoming Shanghai concert are “Easy” and “Three Times a Lady,” both breezy, sweet ballads from his late-1970s Commodores period.
That said, this period also featured perhaps Richie’s most acclaimed dance tune, “Brick House,” a staple of funk and disco parties and probably his most recognized non-collaborative tune to young people today.
In 1982, Richie commandeered his career from the Commodores and went solo. This launched his career into the stratosphere — commercially, at least — becoming one of the most ubiquitous pop presences through the decade. “Say You, Say Me,” “All Night Long,” and “Stuck On You” were all massive hits, and that’s just a sampling.
At this point, Richie’s career paralleled that of fellow former Motown records singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson. Both were handsome singers (if slightly older than their 1980s pop contemporaries) who maintained credibility with their music roots but were not above slathering it in the most egregious of commercial ways.
Hollow drums, ziggy keyboards, and ultra airy vocals with just the tinges of soul became the trademark, and thus the “quiet storm” sub-genre of pop was born.
It’s impossible to not mention 1985’s massive “We Are the World,” a song Richie co-wrote with Michael Jackson and performed with an army of American pop stars to raise money for famine in Ethiopia.
That song might be heard, as might a song or two from Richie’s early hard funk career. But the love songs will be the theme of the evening, so get the puree ready because it’s hand-holding time.
(Brian Offenther is a Shanghai-based DJ and music promoter.)
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