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Lionel Richie Debuts 'Lionel Richie - All The Hits' at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino

Source: Denise Truscello / Getty

Knee surgery has forced Lionel Richie to postpone his 35-date joint tour with Mariah Carey. Richie was supposed to launch the tour with Carey supporting him on March 15th at Baltimore, Maryland’s Royal Farms Arena and running through May 27th at Sunrise, Florida’s BB&T Center. There’s been no dates announced for the makeup shows.

Mariah Carey Performs At SSE Hydro In Glasgow

Source: Ross Gilmore / Getty

Richie announced the tour’s postponement in Twitter, posting: “When you’ve been performing as long as I have, it takes a toll on your body. Unfortunately my recovery from a knee procedure will not have me 100 percent ready to start the tour next month. I don’t want to disappoint my fans and I look forward to being back onstage so we can all be ‘Dancing on the Ceiling’ together again. The tour will be postponed until this summer and I’ll announce new dates next week.”

Richie still has several shows still on the books for later this year, including a July 19th show in Paso Robles, California at California Mid-State Fair Grandstand; and a year-closing three night run at Las Vegas’ The Axis At Planet Hollywood on December 27th, 29th, and December 30th.

Meanwhile, OK magazine quoted a tour insider saying there were personality conflicts between Richie and Mariah which were casting a din on the already slow-selling tour: “She’s even demanding the volume on Lionel’s mic be turned down during their duets. Lionel’s made it clear that he’s steering this ship, but there have been some huge fights. And this surprises who, exactly?”

Even today, decades after he became a household name, Lionel Richie still remains humbled that his fans have welcomed him into their heart and homes: [“If I ever have a chance to talk to the fans and the people, all I can say is that it’s amazing that the music is still playing and has played as long as it has. But I just want to thank them for the wonderful support, because even while that period when I wasn’t recording, as I traveled around, I can’t tell you how much encouragement that I got from people who walked up to me and said, ‘Lionel, hang in there. Y’know, you’ve been a great inspiration for my family, you’ve been a great inspiration to my life.’ That’s what I really want to do is — which is inspire. And so, y’know, again, I want to thank all those wonderful people for putting that little vote of confidence there.”]

POSTPONED: Lionel Richie with Mariah Carey tour dates (subject to change):

May 13 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center

May 15 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center

May 18 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center

FAST FACTS

The Commodores scored 17 Top 40 hits, including the Top Ten singles “Easy,” “Brick House,” and “Sail On,” and the Number One hits “Still” and “Three Times A Lady.”

On his own, Lionel Richie scored 13 straight Top 10 hits — starting with the chart-topping “Endless Love” — his 1981 duet with Diana Ross, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks. Following that came “Truly” (#1), “You Are” (#4), “My Love (#5), “All Night Long (All Night)” (#1), “Running With The Night” (#7), “Hello” (#1), “Stuck On You” (#3), “Penny Lover” (#8), “Say You, Say Me” (#1), “Dancing On The Ceiling” (#2), “Love Will Conquer All (#9), and “Ballerina Girl” (#7).”

Never one to rest on his laurels, Lionel Richie’s last album, the 2012 country set, Tuskegee, topped the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum for one million copies sold.

Overall, Lionel Richie has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide over the course of his career both with the Commodores and on his own.