Tuskegee, US
pop, r&b, rock
6.4bn all-time streams (1 Feb '26)
After leaving the Commodores, Lionel Richie became one of the most successful male solo artists of the '80s, arguably eclipsed during his 1981-1987 heyday only by Michael Jackson and Prince.

Richie dominated the pop charts during that period with an incredible run of 13 consecutive Top Ten hits, five of them number ones.