Quotes from Lionel Richie

I travel around the world, experiencing every language, every religion... some places where there's just no reason to smile, because their lives are so difficult.

Lionel Richie, love song, OK, thank you very much, good-bye. And all of a sudden I realized that, in my career, what has made my career has always been the surprises.

All artists are egotistical maniacs with inferiority complexes.

I want to let everybody know that I'm from there, and country is Tuskegee. Or should I say rather, my country is Tuskegee. I was born and raised there, it's not just someplace I passed through one day.

Exactly when people are in turmoil is the time that the entertainment business has always been at its best. Because people don't want to be reminded every day that they are under siege, or that they're not having a great time of life.

I'm a songwriter, and people will tell you the greatest stories about their lives, whether you want to hear it or not.

I knew I was going to do a country album one day. But I was just trying to figure out for the life of me, what we were going to do to make it different, unique.

Your kids can say some cruel things to you at times. For example, Nicole, Miles and Sofie are standing there in the room and I'm dressed to kill in my own mind. They'll say to me, 'Dad, you're not going out there looking like that are you?' If that doesn't kill a star, I don't know what does!

People, as critical as it looks, we're OK. We are in control, whether we feel it or not.

So much of my career has been about saying things the way people say them, using melodies not that I can sing but that the people can sing.

I find the greatest songs in the world come out of pain, and I don't like it! Here's what it does: It strips away all of your facade. It makes you so honest. It's cleansing.

My earliest memories of country music are the Grand Ole Opry.

I travel around the world, experiencing every language, every religion... some places where there's just no reason to smile, because their lives are so difficult.

Greatness comes from fear. Fear can either shut us down and we go home, or we fight through it.

Taking time to sit back and watch and think about what you've seen is important. Traveling did a great deal to me. I found that when I travel and just sit in the corner and watch, a million ideas come to me.

Your kids can say some cruel things to you at times. For example, Nicole, Miles and Sofie are standing there in the room and I'm dressed to kill in my own mind. They'll say to me, 'Dad, you're not going out there looking like that are you?' If that doesn't kill a star, I don't know what does!

The music business was not safe, but it was FUN. It was like falling in love with a woman you know is bad for you, but you love every minute with her, anyway.

I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.

Everybody wants me to be what they want me to be but I'm not happy when I try to fake it.

I'm easy like Sunday morning.

In my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times.

I'll be that fool for you, I'm sure

Forget about 40 years in show business. Just surviving 27 years of Nicole Richie is enough.

Believe me, I love commerce as much as the rest of the readers of 'Businessweek.' But in art, you have to be true to yourself and your musical vision. People have known me well for a long time, so if I was chasing a trend and doing something that wasn't authentic to who I am, they would know it in just a few seconds.