Lionel Richie is a talented singer and performer, but he is also a gifted songwriter. It’s Richie who is the writer behind some of pop music’s biggest hits. He’s also had success in country music with “Lady” by Kenny Rogers and Alabama’s “Deep River Woman”.
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We found four more songs by Lionel Richie that were pop hits, but would sound great at country radio as well.
“Missing You” by Diana Ross
Diana Ross includes “Missing You” on her 1984 Swept Away album. Richie penned the song by himself, which sounds just like a country music lyric.
The song says, “As I look around, I see things that remind me / Just to see you smile made my heart filled with joy / I still recall all those dreams we shared together / Where did you run to, boy? / Oh, I’m missing you.”
With a guitar and a mandolin, “Missing You” could be a country music classic.
“Stuck On You” by Lionel Richie
Richie released “Stuck On You” on his own, out in 1984 on Richie’s sophomore solo album, Can’t Slow Down. The sweet love song begins with, “Stuck on you / I’ve got this feeling down deep in my soul that I just can’t lose / Guess I’m on my way / Needed a friend / And the way I feel now I guess I’ll be with you ’til the end / Guess I’m on my way / Mighty glad you stayed.”
“Easy” by The Commodores
“Easy” came out in 1977, on The Commodores’ self-titled album. Written by Richie, who was also the lead singer at the time, “Easy” remains a classic that would be a perfect country song, even today.
“Easy” says, “Know it sounds funny / But I just can’t stand the pain / Girl, I’m leaving you tomorrow / Seems to me, girl / You know I’ve done all I can / You see, I begged, stole, and I borrowed, yeah, ooh / That’s why I’m easy / I’m easy like Sunday morning.”
Richie drew inspiration for the song by thinking about those who live in the South.
“‘Easy like Sunday morning‘ applies to anybody who lives in a small Southern town,” he says (via Songfacts). “Small Southern towns die at 11:30 p.m. Saturday night. They roll up the sidewalk. So I kind of got that from my own experiences – that was Lionel Richie from Tuskegee, Alabama, where there is no such thing as four-in-the-morning partying.”
“Hello” by Lionel Richie”
There might not be a more iconic Richie song than “Hello“. Written by Richie and out in 1984, the song shows the angst of someone in love with someone else, although their feelings have to be made clear.
In “Hello”, Richie sings, “Hello, is it me you’re looking for? / I can see it in your eyes / I can see it in your smile You’re all I’ve ever wanted / And my arms are open wide / ‘Cause you know just what to say / And you know just what to do / And I want to tell you so much / I love you.”
Photo by Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images
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