Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Richie grew up on the campus of Tuskegee Institute. His grandfather's house was across the street from the home of the president of the Institute. His family moved to Illinois where he graduated from Joliet Township High School, East Campus, in Joliet. A star tennis player in Joliet, he accepted a tennis scholarship back at Tuskegee Institute and later graduated with a major in economics. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Tuskegee, Richie briefly attended graduate school at Auburn University.

Back as a student in Tuskegee, he formed a succession of R&B groups in the mid-1960s. In 1968 he became the lead singer and saxophonist with the Commodores. They signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 1968 for one record before moving on to Motown Records, being schooled as a support act to the Jackson Five. The Commodores became established as a popular soul group. Their first several albums had a danceable, funky sound with such tracks as "Machine Gun" and "Brick House". Over time, Richie wrote and sang more romantic, easy-listening ballads such as "Easy", "Three Times a Lady" and "Still" and the tragic break-up ballad, " Sail On."

By the late 1970s he had begun to accept songwriting commissions from other artists. He composed "Lady" for Kenny Rogers, which hit #1 in 1980, and he produced Rogers' 'Share Your Love' album the following year. Richie and Rogers have maintained a strong friendship in later years. Also in 1981, Richie sang a duet with Diana Ross in the theme song for the film 'Endless Love'. Issued as a single, the song topped the UK and U.S. pop music charts, and it became one of Motown's biggest hits. Its success encouraged Richie to branch out into a full-fledged solo career in 1982. He was replaced by Skyler Jett, who became the lead singer for The Commodores in 1983.

His debut album, 'Lionel Richie', produced another chart-topping single, "Truly", which continued the style of his ballads with the Commodores.

He released his self-titled debut in 1982, which contained three hit singles: the huge U.S. #1 song "Truly" that launched his career as one of the most successful balladeers of the 1980s. Other U.S. Top Five hits "You Are" and "My Love". The album hit #3 on the music charts and sold over 4 million copies. His 1983 follow up album, 'Can't Slow Down', sold over twice as many copies and won two Grammy Awards including Album Of The Year - propelling him into the first rank of international superstars. The album spawned the #1 hit "All Night Long", a Caribbean-flavored dance number that was promoted by a colorful music video produced by former Monkee, Michael Nesmith.

Several more Top 10 hits followed, the most successful of which was the ballad "Hello"(1984), a sentimental lod "Se La"(U.S. #20), The latter is Richie's most recent U.S. Pop Top Twenty hit. The title selection, which revived the lively dance sound of "All Night Long (All Night)", was accompanied by another striking video, a feature that played an increasingly important role in Richie's solo career. In 1985, Richie collaborated with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder on the USA For Africa" We are the World "project. The critical consensus was that this album represented nothing more than a consolidation of his previous work, though Richie's collaboration with the country group Alabama on" Deep River Woman " did break new ground. By 1987, Richie was exhausted from his work schedule and after a controversial year laid low taking care for his father in Alabama. His father, Lionel Sr., died in 1990. He made his return to recording and performing following the release of his first greatest-hits collection, 'Back to Front', in 1992.

Since then, his ever-more relaxed schedule has kept his recording and live work to a minimum. He broke the silence in 1996 with 'Louder Than Words', on which he resisted any change of style or the musical fashion-hopping of the past decade. Instead, he stayed with his chosen path of well-crafted soul music, which in the intervening years has become known as 'Contemporary R&B'.

His albums in the 1990s such as 'Louder Than Words' and 'Time' all failed to achieve the previous decade's commercial success. Some of his recent work such as the album 'Renaissance' has returned to his older style, achieving success in Europe, but only modest notice in the United States. Since 2004, he has produced a total of six Top 40 singles in the UK. On February 1st, 2010 Lionel made a remix of the We Are The World.

In 2002, Richie's song "Running with the Night" was featured on the Rockstar North video game 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City' though the song was removed from later versions of the game. In 2004, he appeared on 'Canadian Idol' as his songs were featured during a Canadian Idol week.

Later in 2004, he also appeared on the British motoring television series Top Gear in the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment where he was interviewed by host Jeremy Clarkson. During his lap, the Suzuki Liana he was driving lost a wheel due to hard cornering.

In November 2005, Lionel Richie performed with Kenny Rogers on a CMT 'Crossroads' special. The show gave an informative insight into their friendship both in and out of the music world. Richie was also the headliner at a 2000 Fourth of July tribute concert with Fantasia Barrino at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Richie released his eighth studio album entitled "Coming Home" on September 12, 2006. The first single of the album wa "I Call It Love" and was premiered in July 2006, becoming his biggest hit in the U.S. in ten years. The album was an incredible success for Richie in the United States, peaking at #6. His adopted daughter Nicole Richie stars in the music video for this track.

On December 9, 2006, Richie hosted and performed live on the British television show 'An Audience with Lionel Richie'. Two months later, he performed "Hello" on the 49th Grammy Awards show.

On November 25, 2007, he made a surprise appearance on the 'Australian Idol' grand finale performing " All Night Long (All Night)" at the Sydney Opera House. Richie donated to Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign.

On May 2, 2008, Lionel Richie was the 21st recipient of the 'George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Achievement Award' at UCLA's annual Spring Sing. In accepting the award, Richie said: "Forget about surviving 30 some odd years in the music business, Lionel Richie survived 27 years of Nicole Richie".

Recently, he has announced that he would like to get The Commodores back together soon, " or in the next 10 years no one will care." Richie is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

On December 31, 2008, Richie performed in Times Square for the New Year's Eve celebration and ball drop. He also performed on the 2009 season finale for 'American Idol' with Danny Gokey.

A new album, 'Just Go' was released in spring 2009 - around the time Lionel confirmed there is to be a Commodores reunion in the near future.

On July 7, 2009, Richie performed "Jesus is Love" at Michael Jackson's Memorial Service.

In recent years, Richie has become a phenomenon in various Arab states, and has performed in Morocco, Dubai, Qatar and Libya.
As ABC News reports: 'Grown Iraqi men get misty-eyed by the mere mention of his name. " I love Lionel Richie," they say. Iraqis who do not understand a word of English can sing an entire Lionel Richie song.' 'He has performed in Morocco, Dubai, Qatar and Libya. There is obviously something up there. The more we talked, the more he theorized as to the reasons his music might be so popular here. He thinks it is because of the simple message in his music: Love'.

Richie recounts: 'It was, 'Tell me what kind of guy is Dallas Austin.' I said, 'Listen, this is a great guy. He's done a great job for the community. A gangster, a hoodlum, a thug, he's not.'

Austin was subsequently granted a pardon.Richie married college sweetheart Brenda Harvey on October 18, 1975. During their marriage, Lionel began a relationship with Diane Alexander in 1986. In 1988, while separated, Brenda allegedly discovered Lionel and Alexander together in a Beverly Hills apartment. A confrontation ensued, and Brenda was then arrested for spousal abuse, trespassing and vandalism. Lionel and Brenda divorced on August 9, 1993; they had been married 17 years.

In 1983, Lionel and wife Brenda informally adopted Nicole Camille Escovedo, the two year old daughter of members of Lionel's band. They raised her as their daughter Nicole Richie and adopted her legally when she was nine years old. In a November 15, 2005 CNN interview with Ryan Seacrest, Nicole stated that her birth father was not a member of Lionel's band; however, Peter Michael Escovedo (brother of Sheila E) 'was' a member of Lionel's band.

Lionel became a grandfather on January 11, 2008 when Nicole gave birth to a baby girl with the lead singer of Good Charlotte, Joel Madden.

Lionel married Alexander on December 21, 1995. (born May 27, 1994), and a daughter, Sofia (born August 26, 1998). Lionel and Alexander divorced in January 2004.Richie helped to raise over $3.1 million for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. He was the featured performer at the Foundation's Soirée Bouquet, the annual spring gala.

Richie told the crowd that his grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 80s, but survived and lived until she was 104 years old. He stated that she was his enduring symbol of hope and his reason for becoming a breast cancer activist.