written by Lionel Richie and Brenda Harvey Richie

produced by Lionel Richie and James Anthony Carmichael

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I’m constructing this page on June the 20th, 2021, the 72nd

birthday of Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. Happy Birthday, LR!!

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One of the true great crooners of the ’70s and ’80s, Lionel came

from The Commodores in the former decade before leaving the group to pursue his solo career in the latter. And so after “Easy,” “Brick House,” “Three Times A Lady” and “Lady (You Bring Me Up),” but before “All Night Long (All Night),” “Hello,” “Say You, Say Me” and “Running With The Night”... Lionel gifted us with his debut solo and self-titled album, in the autumn of 1982.

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Actually, while under contract to Motown Records with The Commodores, the label saw interest in releasing a solo Richie record, as what was originally intended as a mere side project. But that was before its singles all cracked the top 5. Middle child of the singles “You Are” (bookended by “Truly” and “My Love”) may not have performed quite as well as its siblings, but all three topped the US Adult Contemporary charts. They weren’t Mr. Richie’s very first monster solo hit—which would be “Endless Love,” sung as a duet with Diana Ross, from the film of the same name... though I suppose the debut album singles could be Lionel’s first solo hits, if from a purist’s standpoint, they were viewed as solo as in credited only to him.

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Lionel wrote the song together with then-wife Brenda Harvey Richie. It peaked on the R&B chart just beneath “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson—with whom he’d work on organizing and writing “We Are The World,” America’s charitable answer to Britain’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” ...And with this song, I almost just wrote the name of that collaboration with Michael as “You Are... The World.”

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Have notes to add? Let me know!

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YT:

full version

music video

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Lionel’s official website