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Lionel Richie - Back To Front
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Artist...............: Lionel Richie
Album................: Back To Front
Genre................: Pop
Source...............: CD
Year.................: 1992
Ripper...............: Exact Audio Copy (Secure mode) / Level 8 & TSSTcorp CDDVD SE-S204N
Codec................: (FLAC)
Version..............: 1.2.1 20070917
Quality..............: Lossless, (avg. compression: 63 %)
Channels.............: Stereo / 44100 HZ / 16 Bit
Tags.................: VorbisComment
Information..........:
Ripped by............: FLAWL3SS on 8/20/2008
Posted by............: FLAWL3SS on 8/21/2008
News Server..........: None
News Group(s)........:
Included.............: NFO, M3U, LOG, CUE
Covers...............: Front Back
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Tracklisting
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1. (00:06:03) Lionel Richie - Do It To Me
2. (00:04:50) Lionel Richie - My Destiny
3. (00:05:48) Lionel Richie - Love, Oh Love
4. (00:04:20) Lionel Richie - All Night Long
5. (00:04:18) Lionel Richie - Easy
6. (00:03:46) Lionel Richie - Still
7. (00:04:28) Lionel Richie - Endless Love
8. (00:04:10) Lionel Richie - Running With The Night
9. (00:04:00) Lionel Richie - Sail On
10. (00:04:09) Lionel Richie - Hello
11. (00:03:22) Lionel Richie - Truly
12. (00:03:47) Lionel Richie - Penny Lover
13. (00:04:03) Lionel Richie - Say You, Say Me
14. (00:03:38) Lionel Richie - Three Times A Lady
Playing Time.........: 02:03:55
Total Size...........: 366.45 MB
NFO generated on.....: 8/21/2008 3:34:01 PM
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Back To Front is Lionel Richie's fourth album, which was released on May 5,
1992. It was his first compilation album. The international album also included
the tracks "Dancing on the Ceiling" and "Stuck on You". It debuted at #1 on
the UK Album Chart.
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an Academy Award and
Grammy award-winning American singer, songwriter, record producer, and
occasional actor, who has sold more than 100 million records.
Early years
Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Richie grew up on the campus of Tuskegee
Institute. His grandfather's house was across the street from the home of
the president of the Institute. His family moved to Illinois where he graduated
from Joliet Township High School, East Campus, in Joliet. A star tennis player
in Joliet, he accepted a tennis scholarship back at Tuskegee Institute and
later graduated with a major in economics.
The Commodores
Back as a student in Tuskegee, he formed a succession of R&B groups in the
mid-1960's. In 1968 he became the lead singer and saxophonist with the
Commodores. They signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 1968
for one record before moving on to Motown Records, being schooled as a
support act to the Jackson Five. The Commodores became established as a
popular soul group. Their first several albums had a danceable, funky sound
(with such tracks as "Machine Gun" and "Brick House"). Over time, Richie
wrote and sang more romantic, easy-listening ballads such as "Easy", "Three
Times a Lady" and "Still".
By the late 1970s he had begun to accept songwriting commissions from
other artists. He composed "Lady" for Kenny Rogers, which hit #1 in 1980,
and he produced Rogers' Share Your Love album the following year. Richie
and Rogers have maintained a strong friendship in later years. Also in 1981,
Richie sang a duet with Diana Ross in the theme song for the film Endless
Love. Issued as a single, the song topped the UK and U.S. pop music charts,
and it became one of Motown's biggest hits. Its success encouraged Richie to
branch out into a full-fledged solo career in 1982. His debut album, Lionel
Richie, produced another chart-topping single, "Truly", which continued the
style of his ballads with the Commodores.
Solo career
He released his self-titled debut in 1982. The album hit #3 on the music
charts and sold over 4 million copies. His 1983 follow up album, Can't Slow
Down, sold over twice as many copies and won the Grammy Award for the
Album of the Year in 1984. His third album, Dancing on the Ceiling, which was
released in 1986, spawned such hits as "Say You, Say Me", "Dancing on the
Ceiling," and "Se La", but it also signified the end of his large commercial
success.
In 1983, he released Can't Slow Down, which shot him into the first rank of
international superstars. The album also won two Grammy Awards including
Album Of The Year. It spawned the #1 hit "All Night Long", a Caribbean-
flavored dance number that was promoted by a dazzling music video
produced by former Monkee, Michael Nesmith and directed by Bob Rafelson,
who along with Bert Schneider, created "The Monkees" TV series and in the
process created the Monkees as a genuine group.
Several more Top 10 hits followed, the most successful of which was the
ballad "Hello" (1984), a sentimental love song that showed how far Richie had
moved from his R&B roots. Now described by one critic as 'the black Barry
Manilow', In 1985 Richie wrote and performed a suitably soothing theme
song, "Say You, Say Me", for the film White Nights, winning an Oscar for his
efforts. He also collaborated with Michael Jackson on the charity single "We
Are the World" by USA for Africa.
In 1986, Richie released Dancing on the Ceiling, another widely popular album
that produced a run of US and UK hits. The title selection, which revived the
lively dance sound of "All Night Long(All Night)," was accompanied by another
striking video, a feature that played an increasingly important role in Richie's
solo career. The critical consensus was that this album represented nothing
more than a consolidation of his previous work, though Richie's collaboration
with the country group Alabama on "Deep River Woman" did break new
ground. By 1987, Richie was exhausted from his work schedule and after a
controversial year laid low taking care for his father in Alabama. His father,
Lionel Sr., died in 1990. He made his return to recording and performing
following the release of his first greatest-hits collection, Back to Front, in
1992.
Since then, his ever-more relaxed schedule has kept his recording and live
work to a minimum. He broke the silence in 1996 with Louder Than Words, on
which he resisted any change of style or the musical fashion-hopping of the
past decade. Instead, he stayed with his chosen path of well-crafted soul
music, which in the intervening years has become known as Contemporary
R&B.
His albums in the 1990s such as Louder Than Words and Time all failed to
achieve the previous decade's commercial success. Some of his recent work
such as the album Renaissance has returned to his older style, achieving
success in Europe, but only modest notice in the United States. Since 2004,
he has produced a total of six Top 40 singles in the UK.
Long-lasting popularity and later career
In 2002, Richie's song "Running with the Night" was featured on the Rockstar
North video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City though the song was removed
from later versions of the game. In 2004, he appeared on Canadian Idol as
his songs were featured during a Canadian Idol week.
In November 2005, Lionel Richie performed with Kenny Rogers on a CMT
Crossroads special. The show gave an informative insight into their friendship
both in and out of the music world. Richie was also the headliner at a 2000
Fourth of July tribute concert with Fantasia Barrino at the Philadelphia
Museum of Art. Richie released his eighth studio album entitled " Coming
Home" on September 12, 2006. The first single of the album was "I Call It
Love" and was premiered in July 2006, becoming his biggest hit in the U.S. in
ten years. The album was an incredible success for Richie in the United
States, peaking at #6. His adopted daughter Nicole Richie stars in the music
video for this track.
On December 9, 2006, Richie hosted and performed live on the British
television show An Audience with Lionel Richie.
On February 11, 2007, Richie performed his 80s hit song "Hello" on the
televised Grammy Awards show.
On November 25, 2007, he made a surprise appearance on the Australian
Idol grand finale performing "All Night Long (All Night)" at the Sydney Opera
House. Richie donated to Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign.
On May 2, 2008, Lionel Richie was the 21st recipient of the George and Ira
Gershwin Lifetime Achievement Award at UCLA's annual Spring Sing. In
accepting the award, Richie said: "Forget about surviving 30 some odd years
in the music business, Lionel Richie survived 27 years of Nicole Richie".
Recently, he has announced that he would like to get The Commodores back
together soon, "or in the next 10 years no one will care."
Richie is also a prominent member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Popularity in the Arab World
In recent years, Richie has become a phenomenon in various Arab states,
and has performed in Morocco, Dubai, Qatar and even Libya.
As ABC News reports:
Grown Iraqi men get misty-eyed by the mere mention of his name. "I love
Lionel Richie," they say. Iraqis who do not understand a word of English can
sing an entire Lionel Richie song. He has performed in Morocco, Dubai, Qatar
and Libya. There is obviously something up there. The more we talked, the
more he theorized as to the reasons his music might be so popular here. He
thinks it is because of the simple message in his music: Love.
According to Richie, he was told that U.S. soldiers were playing "All Night
Long" the night that Baghdad fell. Said Richie, "I'm huge, huge in the Arab
world. The answer as to why is, I don't have the slightest idea."
Dallas Austin character witness
In July, 2006, songwriter and producer Dallas Austin was arrested and held in
a United Arab Emirates prison on drug charges. The UAE consulate in
Washington D.C. placed a call to Lionel Richie for a character reference.
Richie recounts:
It was, 'Tell me what kind of guy is Dallas Austin.' I said, 'Listen, this is a great
guy. He's done a great job for the community. A gangster, a hoodlum, a
thug, he's not.
Austin was subsequently granted a pardon.
Family
Marriage with Brenda Harvey
Richie married college sweetheart Brenda Harvey on Oct. 18 1975. During
their marriage, Lionel began a relationship with Diane Alexander in 1986. In
1988, while separated, Brenda allegedly discovered Lionel and Alexander
together in a Beverly Hills apartment. A confrontation ensued, and Brenda
was then arrested for spousal abuse, trespassing and vandalism. Lionel and
Brenda divorced in August 9, 1993; they had been married 17 years.
Nicole Richie
Main article: Nicole Richie
In 1983, Lionel and wife Brenda informally adopted the 2-year-old daughter
of people associated with Lionel's band. They raised Nicole Richie as their
daughter and adopted her legally when she was nine years old. In a
November 15, 2005 CNN interview with Ryan Seacrest, Richie stated that her
birth father (whom she declined to identify) was not a member of Lionel's
band.
Married Diane Alexander
Lionel married Alexander in December 21, 1995. They have a son, named
Myles Brockman (born May 27, 1994) , and a daughter, named Sofia (born 26
August 1998). Lionel and Alexander divorced in January 2004.
Grandchildren
Lionel became a grandfather on January 11, 2008 when his daughter Nicole
Richie gave birth to a 6 lb (2.7 kg). 7 oz. baby girl named Harlow Winter Kate
Madden. Her father is Joel Madden, lead singer of the band Good Charlotte.
Discography
For a further discography of Lionel Richie, please go to Lionel Richie
discography
Studio albums
1982 - Lionel Richie
1983 - Can't Slow Down
1986 - Dancing on the Ceiling
1992 - Back to Front (Compilation album)
1996 - Louder Than Words
1997 - Truly: The Love Songs (Compilation album)
1998 - Time
2000 - Renaissance
2002 - Encore (Live album)
2004 - Just for You
2006 - Coming Home
U.S. #1 Singles
1981 "Endless Love" (with Diana Ross) (9 weeks)
1982 "Truly" (2 weeks)
1983 "All Night Long (All Night)" (4 weeks)
1984 "Hello" (2 weeks)
1985 "Say You, Say Me" (4 weeks)
Filmography
Scott Joplin (1977) (w/ The Commodores)
Thank God It's Friday (1978) (w/ The Commodores)
Truth or Dare (1991) (documentary)
The Preacher's Wife (1996)
Pariah (1998)
The Simpsons (2007) (one episode: He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs)
Breast cancer activist
Richie helped to raise over $3.1 million for The Breast Cancer Research
Foundation. He was the featured performer at the Foundation's Soirée
Bouquet, the annual spring gala.
Richie told the crowd that his grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer
in her 80s, but survived and lived until she was 104 years old. He stated that
she was his enduring symbol of hope and his reason for becoming a breast
cancer activist.
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