Lionel Richie hooked up with the other boys that would make up the initial lineup of The Commodores while in college in 1968. They realized they had something here, leading Richie to tell his parents that they had decided going to quit school and make music instead.
"We're the black Beatles and we're going to take over the world," he recalled telling them on "Late Show" (Weeknights, 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS). He also recalled his father's response, but said he couldn't repeat it on national television. Needless to say, his father wasn't supportive of the decision.
But then they started to get noticed as they toured around the country opening for The Jackson 5, and Richie recalled a different story his father started telling during interviews. "We're now sitting there and my father's doing an interview and he's going, 'You know, parents should stand behind their children,'" Richie told David Letterman.
Of the experience of touring with the Jacksons, Richie had nothing but fond memories. They were all young boys and men, so there was a lot of goofing around, pillow fights and basketball games. But the Jackson brothers didn't always play fair, putting their smallest and youngest members up front because they knew Richie and his guys wouldn't wail on the young ones as hard.
Watch "Late Show" every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.
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