Lionel Richie Added To L.A. All For The Hall Event

Lionel-Richie
Lionel Richie will perform at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s All for the Hall Los Angeles fundraiser on Thursday, Sept. 23, at Club Nokia, Museum officials announced. The event, which will follow a “guitar pull” format, will also feature performances by Country Music Hall of Fame members Emmylou Harris and Kris Kristofferson, superstar Taylor Swift and a very special fourth chair who remains anonymous. Richie will be a special guest.

The evening offers a unique opportunity to see these acclaimed singer-songwriters interact with one another as they take turns swapping songs, stories and personal recollections. The “guitar pull” is a Nashville specialty; it originated in the homes of Nashville songwriters who gathered to try out new compositions for their peers. Nashville’s most storied guitar pulls were hosted by Johnny and June Carter Cash. The hallmarks of a great guitar pull are spontaneity and camaraderie.

Academy and Grammy Award winner and multi-platinum artist Lionel Richie has written and sung many of American music’s most indelible hit songs; as a member of R&B act the Commodores and as a solo artist, he has sold more than 100 million records. Among his many hits are “Easy,” “Three Times a Lady,” “Still” and “Sail On” (all with the Commodores); “Endless Love” (with Diana Ross); and “Truly,” “All Night Long (All Night),” “Hello” and “Say You, Say Me.”  The latter song, from the film White Nights, also garnered Richie an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Recently, Richie collaborated with Kenny Rogers on an episode of CMT Crossroads and performed on the 2009 season finale of American Idol. 

The Museum launched All for the Hall, its first-ever non-bricks-and-mortar fundraising campaign, in 2005. The campaign addresses the Museum’s need for long-term financial security and will provide a safety net for the institution and its work. This is the fourth year the Museum has taken its “annual giving” event on the road, hosting previous All for the Hall events in New York in 2007 and 2008 and in Los Angeles in 2009.