Lionel Richie says Michael Jackson stunk so much, Quincy Jones nicknamed him 'Smelly' Ryan ColemanOctober 1, 2025 at 3:57 AM 0 L.
- - Lionel Richie says Michael Jackson stunk so much, Quincy Jones nicknamed him 'Smelly'
Ryan ColemanOctober 1, 2025 at 3:57 AM
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Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson changed the world with the 1985 charity single "We Are the World" — but Richie wishes Jackson had changed his clothes.
"Michael was very close with his family, but once he went solo, making these monster albums, movies, and videos, he was in charge of his own ship. His day-to- day life was what you could call eccentric and extremely chaotic," Richie remembered in his new memoir Truly, in which he recalls pulling together stars like Tina Turner, Willie Nelson, and Bob Dylan for the song, which was produced by Quincy Jones.
"Quincy used to tease [Jackson] with the nickname 'Smelly,'" Richie recalled. "Michael would laugh too, realizing that he was oblivious to the fact that he hadn't changed or washed his clothes for a couple of days. Or so. We all have our quirks. Michael didn't buy clothes like you or me. He couldn't just go to department stores or Beverly Hills boutiques. He was on tour performing in the elaborate costumes made for him by his stylists, or he was in his pajama bottoms and slippers in the studio, or he was in his going-out attire. Or he was at home in something loose and comfortable so he could practice his dance moves."
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The ensemble group of USA for Africa
"Some of his thrown-together looks — white socks and black loafers, say — became global fashion statements. Those loafers were fantastic for moonwalking or going up on pointe," Richie recalled, but remembered that "whenever Michael came to visit me, he was wearing whatever — jeans and a T-shirt. And the jeans were either falling off him or too short to even be jeans and, well, smelly."
Richie said that he would ask the "Billie Jean" icon, "Where'd you get those jeans, Michael?" Jackson would tell him that he'd walk into any clothing store, and the proprietor would just give him a pair.
"I'd suggest he go back and get a pair that fit," Richie cracked.
"On the road, if Michael sent his clothes to the hotel cleaners, only half of the items would come back. Everything else was kept for souvenirs. He just got into the habit of wearing the same pants until they were unwearable, he explained, but clarified that he and Jones' ribbing of Jackson was good-natured: "We teased him, but it was out of love so he didn't mind."
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Richie originally conceived of a charity single akin to Bob Geldof's 1984 "Do They Know It's Christmas?" which united Bono, Sting, George Michael, and more U.K.- and Ireland-based music stars to raise money for the 1983-1985 famine in Ethiopia. The following year, Richie felt compelled to do something as the famine raged on, but believed it was "important that Black artists take the lead on such a project."
He originally sought to collaborate with Stevie Wonder, but couldn't reach him. So Jones, who was working with Jackson on a string of blockbuster albums, set the two musicians up, and the supergroup USA for Africa was born.
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Lionel Richie in 2025
"A dozen years had passed since the Commodores had last opened for the J-5," Richie said, noting that his Motown group The Commodores initially signed to the famous label as a support act for Jackson's family band, The Jackson 5.
"As much as our lives and careers had changed, Michael and I remained close. Sometimes I played big brother to him or we switched roles and he became the wise counsel to me," Richie recalled.
"We Are the World" ended up uniting Jackson, Richie, Turner, Dylan, Nelson, Cyndi Lauper, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, the Pointer Sisters, and a whole host of other music artists. The single ultimately raised over $80 million, or more than $225 million adjusted for inflation. The song has been reprised several times for different charitable causes over the years, and in 2009, versions of the song were performed at Jackson's funeral.
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