Top of page

Skip to main content
Artistic headshot of Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie

There are times in a person’s life when the gravity of what happens along the way of your journey happens to culminate to one particular place.
—Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie received the 2022 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The award celebrated his lifetime achievement in creating, performing, recording and promoting popular song as a vehicle for musical expression and cultural understanding. With more than 125 million albums sold worldwide, he has been recognized with an Oscar, a Golden Globe, four Grammy® Awards, the distinction of MusicCares Person of the Year in 2016, and Kennedy Center Honors in 2017.

This Tuskegee, Alabama native is a true music icon. He is known for his mega-hits such as “Endless Love,” “Lady,” “Truly,” “All Night Long,” “Penny Lover,” “Stuck on You,” “Hello,” “Say You, Say Me,” and “Dancing on the Ceiling,” and co-wrote one of the most important pop songs in history, “We Are the World,” for U.S.A. for Africa. His song catalog also includes his early work with The Commodores, when he developed a groundbreaking style that defied genre categories, penning hits such as “Three Times a Lady,” “Still” and “Easy.” Richie is one of only two songwriters who have written eight No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Richie is also beloved as a judge on ABC’s “American Idol.”

In spring 2019, Richie was named Global Ambassador and Chairman of the Global Ambassador Group for the Prince’s Trust, a charity founded in 1976 by Charles, Prince of Wales that helps young people all over the world achieve their dreams and transform their lives. He was a featured performer at the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

2022 Gershwin Lionel Richie Videos

Image gallery

Lionel Richie performs during the 2022 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song broadcast at DAR Constitution Hall. Lionel Richie receives a U.S. flag that previously flew over the U.S. Capitol Building. Lionel Richie receives a tour of the Main Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building. Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, and Susan H. Vita, Chief, Music Division, present Lionel Richie with a facsimile of sheet music from 1818 by composer Francis Johnson, a Philadelphia-based composer who was a popular dance bandleader, in the Coolidge Auditorium. Johnson was the first African American composer to have his works published as sheet music. Lionel Richie accepts the 2022 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, and delegation from Congress at DAR Constitution Hall. Lionel Richie and Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, during a conversation in the Coolidge Auditorium. Lionel Richie discussing his life and work in the Coolidge Auditorium. Standing ovation at DAR Constitution Hall for the full cast of the 2022 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honor Lionel Richie, pictured at center. Lionel Richie receives a standing ovation during the 2022 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song broadcast at DAR Constitution Hall. Boyz II Men perform “Easy” at the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honoring Lionel Richie at DAR Constitution Hall. Curtain call for the full cast of the 2022 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honoring Lionel Richie at DAR Constitution Hall. Mike Mason, Head, Recorded Sound, shares a treasures display with Lionel Richie in the Main Reading Room. Lionel Richie and Dr. Carla Hayden pictured with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song award at DAR Constitution Hall. Lionel Richie playing George Gershwin’s piano located in the “Here to Stay: The Legacy of George and Ira Gershwin” exhibit in the Thomas Jefferson Building. Lionel Richie sings solo during the 2022 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song concert at Constitution Hall.