If you think music history is boring, wait until you see how one love song became No. 1 everywhere and led to a very real confession.
On November 29, 1981, one song quietly did something no record of the 1980s had done before. “Lady,” written by Lionel Richie, reached No. 1 on country, Hot 100, adult contemporary, and Top Black Singles at the same time. Every chart moved together that week, and every audience claimed the song as its own. One writer and one song sat at the top in four very different worlds.
That kind of crossover power does not happen by accident. It comes from someone who understands melody, story, and feeling so well that the music slips past every label. For many fans, that week in 1981 is when Lionel stopped being just a star and became a legend.
One chapter explains why Quincy Jones started calling Michael Jackson “Smelly,” and it is not the polite story people have repeated for years. Richie describes how extreme fame made even simple things, like doing laundry or going shopping, nearly impossible for Michael.
The TRUTH behind Lionel Richie Calling Michael Jackson ‘Smelly’
In a classic visit to David Letterman, he talks about Michael in the same warm, teasing way. He laughs about a pet snake loose in the bedroom, tells how their friendship began when The Commodores opened for The Jackson 5, and still sounds full of respect.
Lionel Richie On Michael Jackson, The Commodores | David Letterman
The “Smelly” years reach their peak inside the studio for We Are The World, with Lionel, Michael, and Quincy locked in long sessions that blur night and day. This documentary drops you right into that room. You watch Quincy act like the calm boss, while Lionel and Michael look tired, silly, and brilliant at the same time.