Playboy Interview: Lionel Richie

March, 1987

At three a.m.—in the middle of his composing day—Lionel Richie is locked away in the soundproof studio of his Bel Air home, "mean and rolling," he jokes. Outfitted in a mustard-yellow track suit and munching a bagful of Famous Amos cookies, the 37-year-old singer sits surrounded by a one-man band: two synthesizers, a 24-track board, three electronic keyboards, a Yamaha grand and a "live" microphone hooked into mammoth speakers. Tape recorders are strewn everywhere, because th...

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