In 1981, Lionel Richie released his first single on his own. While still with The Commodores, a group he co-founded in 1968 and left in 1982, Richie released “Endless Love” with Diana Ross. A massive hit, the No. 1 single was on Endless Love: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. Although “Endless Love” remains among Richie’s most popular duets, it isn’t his only one. These are three of his best duets, even though most people have already forgotten about them.
“To Love A Woman” With Enrique Iglesias
In 2003, Richie teamed up with Enrique Iglesias to release “To Love A Woman”. The song, written by Richie, Iglesias, and Paul Barry, is on Richie’s live album, Encore. It also appears on Iglesias’s Escape record.
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“To Love A Woman” says, “And I don’t mind, oh / Will she love you tomorrow like she loves you today / She can keep your heart guessing but she’s yours if she stays / And that’s what it feels like / To love a woman / To love a woman.”
“Face In The Crowd” With Trijntje Oosterhuis
Out as a single in 2008 on Richie’s Just Go album, Richie sings “Face In The Crowd” with Dutch singer Trijntje Oosterhuis. Although Richie writes most of his songs, “Face In The Crowd” is written by John Ewbank.
A song about unrequited love, “Face In The Crowd” says, “I’m just a face in the crowd / You probably don’t know me as I don’t stand out / And I’m sure your heart doesn’t beat for me, no / And when you’re cold and lonely there are not my arms / You long to feel around you to keep you safe and warm / No I’m just a face in the crowd you can’t see.”
“Lady” With Kenny Rogers
Richie did have one Top 10 single at country radio, with “Deep River Woman”, a collaboration with Alabama. But he wasn’t a stranger to country music. It’s Richie who penned one of Kenny Rogers’s biggest hits, “Lady”. In 2012, Richie released Tuskegee, recording some of his biggest hits with country artists. So it’s understandable that he asked Rogers to join him on his own version of “Lady”.
A tribute to a woman he loves, “Lady” says, “Lady / I’m your knight in shining armor and I love you / You have made me what I am, and / I am yours / My love / There’s so many ways I want to say I love you / Let me hold you in my arms forever more.”
Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for CFN