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There’s no need for Lionel Richie to introduce himself to Tom Joyner because they’ve been friends forever! They’ve literally been friends since they were in “preschool, elementary school, high school, college,” and they’re still going strong. Richie said that he couldn’t let Tom retire without his “official official.”

Believe it or not Tom was a singer in college, he was the lead singer of the Duponts, but he jumped off the stage every show and ripped his pants. Richie says, “between his knees and his pants, jumping off that stage wasn’t the best thing that he could do for his life” so he went on to become a DJ. And later took it to radio. When news broke that Tom was going to be a “fly jock” and flying from Dallas to Chicago every day Richie says he “thought the boy had lost his mind.” But he did it, and he did it well.

This is an “unbelievable” moment for Richie because they started out together. He and Tom are like family, he says, “we can’t get any closer because we’ve been through everything together.”

 

Tom’s Surprise: His Lifelong Friend Lionel Richie  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com