Lionel Richie’s classic “All Night Long (All Night)” celebrates its 40th anniversary this summer, but if Lionel wants to sing the truth he may have to change the lyrics. While appearing on The View Tuesday, Lionel admitted that at 73 years old, he can no longer relate to the sexy lyrics of his hit tune.
“Let me give you the first part that I have to really, really say to you. When I wrote ‘All Night Long,’ it was truly all night long,” he said. “Now my ‘all night long’ is down to a fierce 15 minutes. But, don’t worry, we’ll talk about that later!”
Richie was on the show with his American Idol co-judges Luke Bryan and Katy Perry, who actually seemed impressed by Lionel’s admission.
“Fifteen minutes, that’s long, bud,” Perry responded. “As long as it’s not four times a night, seven days a week.”
Lionel then talked about writing the song and shared he got stuck on it because he had “everything but the hook.” It didn’t come to him until he was visiting a friend named Lloyd in Jamaica. He explained, “I said, ‘Guys, I gotta go back to the studio, man. I got to go back, man, ’cause I gotta go work all night long, all night long.'”
Lionel says Lloyd’s friends would later tell him he got “ripped off” because Lionel didn’t share any money from the song with him. When Joy Behar suggested he rectify that, Lionel joked, “Alright, Lloyd, I’ll send you a check.”
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