RICHIE REUNION TALK
LIONEL RICHIE can’t believe it’s been nearly 50 years since his multi-hit band the Commodores formed — and he’s hoping to mark the anniversary with a reunion. The music legend, 68, would like his old group’s members to get together, but feels “it won’t be the same” since keyboardist Milan Williams died of cancer in 2006.
Richie (photo) joined the Commodores in 1968 as a singer and saxophonist. The band started out as a supporting act for the Jackson 5 before coming into their own as a soul band with hits like “Machine Gun,” “Brick House,” “Easy” and “Three Times a Lady.”
Richie — who went on to a solo career that included hits like “Hello” — says he had a mini-Commodores reunion in New Zealand when he recently toured there and caught up with bass player Ronald LaPread.
“Between the first bottle of wine and the third bottle of wine, we’ve already celebrated,” he joked at the recent World of Children gala in L.A. “I will call the guys on the phone. We will probably never be able to get back together the way that was because Milan’s gone, but we will figure out something special.”
The Grammy-winner seemed a little shocked that it’s been half a century since the band was formed.
“God, 50 years, you got me going,” he mused. “The story needs to be told. I’m going to call but more importantly, I’m going to post a lot of stuff, make it happen.”
Richie recently revealed to ITV’s “Lorraine” show that he went through a “massive depression” when his father, Lionel Richie Sr., died in 1990, calling him his “hero.”
The father of three, whose daughter Sofia is dating
Kourtney Kardashian’s exboyfriend Scott Disick, says welcoming his son Miles in 1994 helped him enormously.
“It was something about the birth of my kid,” he explained. “Miles came along and (adopted daughter
Nicole Richie) was already there, and I realized I had a group of people that were kind of looking up to me to be the head of the house.”
Richie will be performing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 3 and at the Zappos Theater in Las Vegas in August. He’s also a judge on “American Idol” alongside
Katy Perry and Luke Bryan.