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Lionel Richie: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

Sora DeVore
/
PBS

Fri Jan. 27 at 10PM on WKAR-HD 23.1 & STREAMING | Singer-songwriter Lionel Richie receives the 2022 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at an all-star tribute in Washington, D.C.

International superstar Lionel Richie has a discography of albums and singles that are second to none. His music is part of the fabric of pop music. With more than 125 million albums sold worldwide, an Oscar®, a Golden Globe®, four Grammy Awards®*, the distinction of MusiCares Person of the Year in 2016, and Kennedy Center Honoree in 2017. In March 2018, Richie put his handprints and footprints in cement at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood, one of the oldest awards in Hollywood. He recently received the Ivor Novello PRS for Music Special International Award. The Tuskegee, Alabama native is a true music icon.

Lionel Richie is known for his mega-hits such as “Endless Love,” “Lady,” “Truly,” “All Night Long,” “Penny Lover,” “Stuck on You,” “Hello,” “Say You, Say Me,” “Dancing on the Ceiling,” and co-wrote one of the most important pop songs in history, “We Are the World,” for USA for Africa. His song catalog also includes his early work with The Commodores, where he developed a groundbreaking style that defied genre categories, penning smashes such as “Three Times a Lady,” “Still,” and “Easy.” Richie has had 11 consecutive years where he wrote #1 songs*.

Richie sold out arenas worldwide with a set list of his brightest and best anthems on his All The Hits, All Night Long Tour. In recent years, he also headlined festivals including Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, and Glastonbury, drawing the festival’s biggest crowd ever with more than 200,000 attendees.

Richie took fans on a spectacular musical journey with his latest album, Live from Las Vegas along with his most recent tour, the “Hello” tour, which kicked off in Summer 2019. The album, which was released on August 16, 2019 was #1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart. The album also marks the legendary artist’s first release on Capitol Records.

This special is available to watch live during its airdate on the WKAR Livestream. Watch this special NOW with WKAR Passport at video.wkar.org.

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