Lionel Richie says he isn’t going anywhere.
“They’re gonna have to carry me out, babe,” the singer-songwriter, who turns 71 next month, told Rolling Stone.
“Someone asked me years ago, ‘When do you plan on retiring?' And I said, ‘From what?’ I’ve never had a job. People who work want to retire.”
Richie said he still feels like a 19-year-old enjoying “fun and adventure.”
He added: “People say, ‘But you play and sing the same thing.’ No, no, I never did 2020 before. I did 2019, but I’ve never done 2020 and then I’m looking forward to 2021 and 2022 and 2023. The whole thing is a giant play period.”
A member of the Commodores ("Brick House," "Three Times A Lady") from 1968 to 1982, Richie's solo success includes hits like "Hello," "All Night Long," "Truly" and "Dancing on the Ceiling." He also co-wrote "We Are The World" and penned hits for Kenny Rogers like "Lady" and wrote "Endless Love" as a duet with Diana Ross.
Richie, who has won an Oscar as well as several Grammys and American Music Awards, has spent three seasons as a judge on American Idol.
He said it is important to wake up every morning with a passion for something.
“Make plans,” said Richie, “and then more importantly, love something. You got to be passionately into something. Because otherwise the passion button goes away. You gotta have something that makes you go, ‘Oh, man, I can’t wait.’”