Lionel Richie: A Natural for the Library of Congress Gershwin Award

quotHis music resonates and heals at a time we need it the mostquot said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden presiding over an event that hadn39t been held since Garth Brooks was awarded at the brink of the pandemic in March 2020 and was returning as war raged in UkrainequotIn many ways the Gershwin Prize was made for Lionel Richie whose music has entertained and inspired us for decadesquot she addedAs much in the public eye as ever at 72 as a current judge on ABC39s American Idol Richie sat with his girlfriend in a box stage right and enjoyed interpretations of his songs from seven artists before taking the stage himself for a pair of songsRichie said it was quotan amazing honorquot to join a roster of past recipients that include Stevie Wonder Paul Simon Paul McCartney Willie Nelson Burt Bacharach Carole King Billy Joel and Tony Bennett quotAs my grandmother would say this is about as high cotton as you can getquotHosting the event which was recorded for a future telecast on PBS was the seemingly ubiquitous blackish and Law ampamp Order star Anthony Anderson who declared quotIf you don39t love Lionel Richie something39s wrong with youquot With a big slide of Commodoresera Richie behind him he asked quotHas anybody in music history had a better afro and mustachequotGloria Estefan a 2019 Gershwin Prize winner kicked off the evening with quotDancing on the Ceilingquot calling out quotYou better be ready to partyquotThe less than usual crowd was generally reserved in their finery and required masks Members of Congress who usually flock to the event were still at the Capitol working many rows of the arena stood empty The band too was spare In contrast to the full orchestra that accompanied the event in the past there was a lean fivepiece group with two backup singers As such they brought more of a rock edge to some songsBut ballads were plentiful starting with Andra Day39s gorgeous reading of quotHelloquot Stunning in a powder blue ensemble topped with matching widebrimmed hat the singer who earned a Golden Globe last year for her title role in The United States vs Billie Holiday is becoming a foremost interpreter of popular song and set the standard for those who would follow herCountry39s Chris Stapleton took to the stage to give a strong reading of the 1985 No 1 hit quotSay You Say Mequot RampampB singer Miguel gave a breezy reading of the 1983 hit quotYou ArequotBoyz II Men assembled around the piano to perform quotEasyquot which they had previously covered on one of their own albums Growing up member Shawn Stockman called Richie quota beacon of music for little tykes like usquotCountry star and fellow Idol judge Luke Bryan accompanied himself on piano for quotLadyquot the Richie composition that became Kenny Rogers39 biggest hit The other Idol judge Katy Perry had a gig Wednesday in her Las Vegas residencyquotYou taught me so much about the worldquot Bryan said to Richie Earlier on the red carpet Bryan said when he was young Richie provided quotthe ultimate goto music to close the dealquotThe one performance that tore up the place was Yolanda Adams39 gospel sendup of quotJesus Is Lovequot a Richie song from his Commodores era that has endured but never became as big a hit as say quotBrick HousequotBut it was the honoree himself who sang what the Librarian of Congress had called quotone of the most important songs in historyquot his 1985 cocomposition with Michael Jackson that led to the huge allstar charity single quotWe Are the Worldquot A project meant to address African famine it ended up selling more than 20 million copiesquotTo our surprise we didn39t wipe out hungerquot Richie said But it still has power and relevance todayAs odd as it was to hear one voice sing it instead of the 21 distinctive soloists in the single he invited the audience to join in the chorus before jumping to the finale quotAll Night LongquotLionel Richie The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song will be telecast May 17 at 9 pm on PBSClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Lionel Richie: A Natural for the Library of Congress Gershwin Award

Author

Publish date

Channel

Roger Catlin

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Lionel Richie: A Natural for the Library of Congress Gershwin Award

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Roger Catlin

TAGS:

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

Cookies