Attendees of the Lionel Richie And Friends In Concert show in 2012 were in for a treat when Kenny Rogers took to the stage to pay tribute to his friend. He began by telling the story of when he first met Lionel. He pitched one of his songs, ‘Lady’, to Kenny. He told him it had been turned down by his band The Commodores, which Kenny noted seemed “an interesting approach to selling a song”. He recorded it, and it became one of Kenny’s greatest hits as well as boosting Lionel’s early solo career.
Kenny told this story at the concert. Then, he shocked and surprised the audience by inviting Lionel up from the audience to sing the song with him. Cheers rose from the crowd as Lionel ran up on stage, wrapping an arm around his friend and kissing him on the cheek as they began to sing. The pair stayed close on stage as they traded verses back and forth. The crowd continued to cheer throughout the song, clearly thrilled at the rare opportunity to see the two music greats together.
The duo stayed close throughout their careers, ever since their chart-topping hit was released in 1980. While both went on to have enormously successful solo careers in their own right, they were known to come together to sing live together now and again. They had performed ‘Lady’ together previously at the CMT Crossroads in 2005, as well as at the First Fifty Years show in 2010. Little did they know, their 2012 performance of the song would be their last.
When Kenny Rogers sadly passed away in 2020, Lionel took the opportunity to pay tribute to his friend at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Performing in the ‘In Memoriam’ part of the ceremony, Lionel gave a moving rendition of the song, finishing his performance by saying, “We miss you, Kenny.” After the performance, he tweeted that when he wrote ‘Lady’, he had no idea it would be “the start of a friendship that would last a lifetime.”
Despite Kenny Rogers no longer being with us, the power of his musical collaboration has lived long in the hearts of fans. The comments on the video of the 2012 performance show an outpouring of appreciation and love for the music, with viewers commenting, “Music truly can stand the test of time and be a time capsule to another era of life” and “The connection between Kenny & Lionel is amazing. What a wonderful relationship.” Through the power of music and the strength of the relationship between these two creators, fans are sure to return to this stunning creative collaboration for many years to come.
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