NEED TO KNOW
- Blair Underwood will narrate the audiobook version of Lionel Richie’s forthcoming memoir Truly
- “[Richie’s] story is both inspirational and revelatory for all generations,” Underwood said
- The print, ebook and audio versions of Truly will be available on Sept. 30
Blair Underwood is helping Lionel Richie bring his memoir to life.
Underwood, 61, will narrate the 73-year-old musician’s forthcoming memoir Truly for the audiobook version, HarperOne announced in a press release. Underwood, an Emmy, Grammy, NAACP Image Award-winning actor and director, will voice the book, while Richie himself will read the introduction.
“It is an absolute honor to share Lionel Richie’s extraordinary and meteoric rise within the music industry but most importantly to introduce you to the exceptional heart and humanity of the man himself,” Underwood said. “His story is both inspirational and revelatory for all generations.”
Truly begins with Richie’s “late bloomer” childhood in Tuskegee, Ala. during the Civil Rights movement and his rise to fame in the soul group the Commodores. The memoir then follows his solo career, his hits on his 1983 album Can’t Slow Down and his collaboration with Michael Jackson on the record-breaking charity single “We Are the World.”
Richie’s firsthand account is an “all-access pass to iconic moments in entertainment history,” including insightful tales featuring the King of Pop, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder. The singer-songwriter also offers glimpses into the process behind creating some of his greatest hits, including “Hello” and “All Night Long.”
Lately, Richie has cemented himself as a fan-favorite judge on American Idol, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. He also received the 2022 American Music Awards Icon Award (his 18th AMA award), and the 2022 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by the Library of Congress.
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His life and career are marked by an effort towards unity and peace, Richie said in a statement to PEOPLE in February, remarking that he’s “lived to tell his story.”
“I travel the world, and all people really want to hear is, ‘I love you,'” the musician said in a statement shared with PEOPLE at the time of his memoir’s announcement. “‘I love you’ is forever. And the day we realize we come as different tribes, but we all represent the global family of mankind… the day that happens, we will clearly be united, together, as one.”
Truly hits shelves on Sept. 30 and is now available now for preorder, wherever books are sold.
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