This, being popular with the ladies in America......I don't get.
Posted on 05/19/2006 6:05:47 AM PDT by FreeManWhoCan
I have been to Iraq nine times since the American invasion three years ago, for a total of about 10 solid months. (My wife is counting.) During that time, I have seen bombs and blood, I have seen rebuilding and restructuring, and I have seen death and democracy. So what have I heard? That's easy: Lionel Richie.
Grown Iraqi men get misty-eyed by the mere mention of his name. "I love Lionel Richie," they say. Iraqis who do not understand a word of English can sing an entire Lionel Richie song.
Watch the full report on "Nightline" tonight.
This is the same Lionel Richie who wrote "Say You, Say Me." This is the same Lionel Richie who is the father of some young woman named Nicole. Yes, that Lionel Richie. Could he really be an Iraqi icon?
I decided I had to investigate, and not just investigate, I decided I had to ask Lionel Richie himself. So I called him from Baghdad. Actually it was a formal interview. It was the first interview with Lionel Richie ever on the subject of Iraq and Iraqis.
I asked Richie if he knows just how big he is here. He said, "The answer is, I'm huge, huge in the Arab world. The answer as to why is, I don't have the slightest idea."
He has performed in Morocco, Dubai, Qatar and Libya. There is obviously something up there. The more we talked, the more he theorized as to the reasons his music might be so popular here. He thinks it is because of the simple message in his music: Love.
Richie says he was told Iraqis were playing "All Night Long," on the streets the night U.S. tanks rolled into the country in 2003.
When I told him his daughter wasn't nearly as big as he is here, he said, "I'll be sure to tell her that she needs to work harder."
Richie was no supporter of the war, but he says he could see a day when he would come and perform in Baghdad. I would love to be here for that. I have reported many stories here in Iraq, many of them sad, some inspiring, but none of them quite like this.
But I would think even the most ingorant goat-herder would be repulsed by Dancing on the Ceiling...
Hey, I adore my sixty-four...
OK, it's official, I'm not only and old fart, I'm an old fart geek...
Load"$",8,1
He he :)
Ah, you had the floppy drive, I see...
I had to make due with the tape drive, cue-ing it up by hand with the counter...
Good times....
Heh, heh, heh. Guess I can't say too much - I'm thinking back to learning BASIC on Commodore 4016's and 4032's. State-of-the-art, circa 1981...
They do seem to have an affinity for bad 70s disco, however. I've heard songs over here recently that I hadn't heard since I was a kid.
There goes the MSM again: Nothing but bad news from Iraq ...
You probably don't like Sinatra either. All those millions of records sold tend to make yours the minority opinion.
This, being popular with the ladies in America......I don't get.
fair point. I think Sinatra could halfway hold a note. These guys couldn't if their lives depended on it.
Listen to Coming to America or whatever it's called. It's a forceful reading. It's not singing. At least Napoleon Dynamite knows he's a no talent hack. He's figured out an honest way to make a buck off of his "calling" to entertainment.
Anyone remember that news story where the Iraqi family came out and sang "Hotel California" as the tanks rolled across the desert? Bizarre!
And Vanderbilt is their favorite college football team.
That does bring back memories.
At one time Neil Diamond could sing, but today he sounds like a bad caricature of himself, but he still knows how to sell-out arenas.
Strong words. I seem to recall this past year, your boys were one play away from losing - saved by a favorable call. That game (not the TN game), is what landed Jay Cutler in Denver. I'd say it'll be another 30 years before Vandy has a legitimate shot at y'all again.
Anyway, nice potshot!
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