Me & Lionel Richie

I went to Colorado this past weekend to spend time with my dear friends and attend their annual fundraiser for their beloved charity and animal welfare association: Dumb Friends League. Each year this party boasts big name entertainment. That is how I managed to sing with Patti LaBelle; sing for Kris Kristofferson; meet Little Richard and Cindi Lauper. This year the band was the great Lionel Richie. As usual, I was able to meet him and have a bit of a chat, as our hosts always include a “meet and greet” with the VIP guests, close friends and family. They also assure that I have an opportunity to perform with the artist if he or she will allow it…

It’s a big party. And booking Lionel Richie as the entertainment ensured that the event sold out at 500 guests. My girlfriend (and hostess) flies in barbecue chef Tom Perini from Perini Ranch Steakhouse in Texas and puts the whole shebang under a massive tent in her front yard. And this ain’t no regular front yard. I should mention that besides being fabulous people, they are also fabulously wealthy. Their magnificent home has been featured in Architectural Digest and a book entitled “The 100 most beautiful Homes in the World” (more on the house in a separate post). She is the ultimate hostess and her giving nature and style always makes for one heck of a party – beautifully done, well appointed and elegant but as down to Earth as you can possibly imagine.

But back to meeting Lionel… we line up inside the house for the meet and greet. There is a professional photographer set up for the photo opp but I brought my handy Nikon and asked this hot guy (who had several cameras hanging around his neck) to snap photos of us when our turn came so I could have the photos right away. We ( (I brought along new NU grad niece Whitney) are first in line when we see Lionel come around the corner with our hosts. Lionel walks in and immediately spots me.
He points at me and says:

“I know you!! You’re a singer!”

I am dumbfounded but pleased. Our host tells us to come in and join them for the first photos. I motion for my niece to join us and we pose for more shots alone with Lionel. My handy hot camera man is shooting away and that is how I got the shots I have posted here.

It turns out that Lionel Richie is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha (Alpha) which happens to be the brother frat to my niece’s sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha(AKA) and when he found out she was an AKA he started making his Frat hand signs and she started doing her AKA sign. Those Black Greeks have a comradeship that lasts over generations.

Lionel was awesome. He was funny, friendly and very enthusiastic. We got a ton of photos and chatted a wee bit about the upcoming evening, my showbiz (he swears that he knows who I am) and my niece scores an autographed CD for her mom and dad.

The photo opp ends and we join the party which is in full swing. We had Cocktails and hors d’oeurves during the silent auction followed by a buffet dinner (barbecue: mesquite smoked peppered beef tenderloin, fried catfish, hominy, string beans, salad etc) then a short live auction where guests bid/donated on services for the shelter. Then Lionel performed.

I was called up onstage. I had my lovely new camcorder and had given prior instructions to Whitney to tape me. Of course she was in the bathroom when I was called and so I had to do some quick thinking. I asked a woman to shoot me but noticed mid-song that she was taping the audience, the ceiling, Lionel’s butt – everything but me, so I snatched the camera back and shot it my damn self. The footage you see is shot by me. I have the mic in my right hand and the cam in my left. You can even see the shadow of the camcorder on my face, I just hoped for the best because I had no idea if I was getting us on camera or even if I had pressed record!

Here is a short clip of the result. I finally uploaded video to my IMovie software and created a mini video. I even added an effect at the open and close of the clip!

Enjoy: