Remember When Lionel Richie Released His First Solo Single in 1982?

Before Lionel Richie had a successful solo career, he was first part of  The Commodores. But in 1982, Richie went out on his own, releasing his eponymous debut solo album. Lionel Richie includes “Truly”, Richie’s first solo single. Out in 1982, “Truly” was written solely by Richie.

The sweet love song says, “Let me hold you / I need to have you near me / And I feel with you in my arms / This love will last forever / Because I’m truly / Truly in love with you girl / I’m truly head over heels with your love / I need you, and with your love I’m free / And truly, you know you’re alright with me.“

A pop and R&B hit, “Truly” stayed at No. 1 for four weeks on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. It also gave Richie his first Grammy Award. Richie won for Best Pop Vocal Performance. Fortunately, Richie was in attendance for the ceremony. He almost skipped it, since he had been nominated the previous five years but did not win.

Why Lionel Richie Decided to Leave The Commodores and Launch a Solo Career

Richie had plenty of success with The Commodores, both as a lead vocalist and a songwriter. But Richie’s decision to leave and launch his own solo career wasn’t about him wanting to be the center of attention. For Richie, the decision had less to do with him wanting to sing songs by himself and more to do with his songwriting.

“It was my best discovery and my worst curse,” Richie tells Grammy.com. ”Because if you understand anything about being in a group, it is the safest place to be. I wasn’t excited about going solo.”

Richie recalls writing songs like “Three Times A Lady” and “Sail On”, initially intending them to be for The Commodores. He thought fellow lead singer Tommy McClary would want to record them.

“As long as Tommy has a hit record, Lionel has a hit record,” Richie remembers thinking. “That’s good because we divide everything up, and because we’re in the group. What keeps a group together is that we’re equal. As soon as you get too far [down] the line, then it gets tough. And so it was one song, then two songs.”

Ironically, it’s Kenny Rogers who finally led Richie to pursue a solo career.

“It came down to Kenny Rogers,” Richie reveals. “He called and said, ‘I need a ballad.’ And it was that year the Commodores said, ‘We don’t want another ballad.’ … And Kenny got — at the time, it was ‘Lady’ or ‘Baby’ or something. By the time I finished up it was ‘Lady’. It was the national anthem at that time. I mean ‘Lady’ took off [and] Kenny exploded.”

Based on “Lady”, his Motown record label encouraged Richie to go solo. Although it took a while, Richie finally relented, releasing Lionel Richie.

Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

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