With time on his hands, Richie flew to Las Vegas to meet with Kenny, where they talked about – among other things – the relationship between Kenny and his then-wife Marianne. Out of that conversation came the idea for “Lady,” which Lionel tailored specifically to Kenny and Marianne’s marriage.
The two men struck up a quick friendship and immediately agreed that they would like to work together. Studio time was booked at the Concorde Recording Center in Los Angeles and Kenny and Lionel went in to cut “Lady.”
Richie recalled the session being a very productive and pleasant experience. He later told Billboard reporter Tim Walter:
“I see now why he (Kenny) is where he is. Forget about that ‘superstar’ stuff – he rolled up his sleeves and said ‘Whatever it takes, just tell me.’ I produced Kenny standing side by side with him in the booth. To do two songs, we spent 8 ½ hours in that booth and never took a break. But we got ‘em both and he did a heck of a job.”
“Lady” was Rogers’ fourth million-selling single, his tenth number one Billboard country hit (reaching that plateau on November 22, 1980) and his first song to top Billboard’s Hot 100 pop chart, holding that position for an incredible six weeks.
