Among the many takeaways from Lionel Richie’s new memoir is some funny trivia about the King of Pop.
Richie, 76, released Truly on Tuesday, Sept. 30, where he details his longtime rapport with the one and only Michael Jackson.
In the “All Night Long” singer’s new book, TMZ reports, he even sheds light on a humorous nickname that fellow music icon Quincy Jones once gave Jackson: “Smelly.”
As Richie writes in the memoir, the “Thriller” singer laughed at the nickname and didn’t take it too seriously, “realizing that he was oblivious to the fact that he hadn’t changed or washed his clothes for a couple of days or so” — but that wasn’t exactly Jackson’s fault.
The pop legend, who ultimately died in 2009 at age 50, was constantly on the road — so that means washing and/or finding fresh clothes was forever a complicated task, one can assume.
In effect, according to Richie’s words in Truly, Jackson “got into the habit of wearing the same pants until they were unwearable,” per TMZ.
Looking at Richie’s career, he once rose to fame as a songwriter and a member of the iconic Commodores. He catapulted to superstardom in the 1980s with a wildly successful solo career, thanks to hit songs like “Dancing on the Ceiling.”
But under the surface, trouble was brewing for the music star — as also revealed in his new memoir. In another part of Truly, Richie opens up about the fateful night that ended his marriage. According to details published by Fox News, in June 1988, Richie’s first wife, Brenda Harvey-Richie, was arrested after confronting Richie while he was with his future second wife, Diane Alexander.
Earlier this month, Richie also made headlines when he appeared on Good Morning America and hilariously revealed the one song he feared his grandmother would “actually disown” him over. Speaking about her view of his work, Richie then went on to reveal that he specifically feared her reaction to the Commodores’ 1977 hit, “Brick House.”
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.