Hello (Lionel Richie song)



"Hello" is a song by Lionel Richie. Taken as the third single from his second solo album Can't Slow Down, the song was released in 1984 and reached number one on three Billboard music charts: the pop chart (for two weeks), the R&B chart (for three weeks), and the adult contemporary chart (for six weeks). The song also went to number one in the UK Singles Chart for six weeks. The song later inspired a lawsuit by songwriter Marjorie Hoffman White, who accused Richie of plagiarizing her composition "I'm Not Ready to Go".

Composition
The song is written in the key of A minor. The verses follow the chord progression of Am9—Cmaj7/G—Fmaj7—C6/G—Fmaj7. The chorus features a Neapolitan chord (Bb).

Music video
The music video, directed by Bob Giraldi, features the story of Richie as a theater and acting teacher having a seemingly unrequited love for a blind student (Laura Carrington) until he discovers she shares the feeling as demonstrated by the discovery that she is sculpting a likeness of his head. The bust used in the video, which bears little resemblance to Richie, has been parodied in popular culture. Richie himself complained to the video's director, Bob Giraldi, that the bust did not look like him. Director Giraldi's response was "Lionel, she's blind..."

Pop culture
The song is memorable for the line "Hello, is it me you're looking for?" The phrase started the song's composition, as when James Anthony Carmichael visited Richie, the singer greeted him that way, to which Carmichael replied, "Finish that song." Richie initially felt that the song was "corny" but ultimately "by the time I finished the verse, I fell in love with the song again."

The guitar solo on the song was played by session guitarist Louie Shelton.

Cover versions

 * Kikki Danielsson recorded the song as "Du" ("You"), with lyrics in Swedish by Keith Almgren, on her 1985 album Bra vibrationer.
 * In 2011, American bachata singer Berto La Voz covered the song which was released as the first single from his debut album Llego La Voz. This version peaked at #11 on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart.
 * As a part of the tribute to Richie at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards on February 15, 2016, American singer Demi Lovato gave a rendition of the song.  Her cover version eventually peaked at 15 on the Billboard Twitter Top Tracks chart.