Lionel Richie’s memoir has been released and in it he delves into the life of his close friend Michael Jackson, and reveals the pop star’s hurtful nickname

Lionel Richie released his memoir (Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images f)

Lionel Richie’s  memoir, Truly, has officially hit bookstore shelves and it contains a revelation about a harsh nickname given to Michael Jackson.

The memoir, which was released on Sept. 30, is named after Richie’s 1982 single and chronicles his life journey from his childhood, his success with The Commodores, his solo career, and his experience as a judge on American Idol.

In one part of the book, the 76-year-old singer shares the story behind the unkind nickname “Smelly” that was bestowed upon Jackson. Quincy Jones, who worked with big-name artists including Jackson and Frank Sinatra, gave the pop star this nickname, alleging that he often emitted an unpleasant odor. Quincy passed away in November of 2024 at the age of 91.

According to Richie’s memoir, Jackson took the nickname in stride and laughed it off lightheartedly. He wrote that Jackson handled it well, “realizing that he was oblivious to the fact that he hadn’t changed or washed his clothes for a couple of days or so.”

Richie further revealed in his book that Jackson “got into the habit of wearing the same pants until they were unwearable.”

Michael Jackson was given the nickname Smelly (Image: Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image)

He added, “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 clarified that this wasn’t completely Jackson’s doing.

Richie noted that the Smooth Criminal hitmaker was constantly on tour and couldn’t use dry cleaning services because they would allegedly keep his garments as personal mementos.

Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson were close friends (Image: Lester Cohen)

It was also challenging for Jackson to visit stores personally since he would probably be spotted and swarmed due to his fame.

Richie recalled that on one specific occasion he observed that Jackson was “smelling particularly unkempt” and took him to his house so he could wash up. He mentioned that he also gave him a pair of jeans and fresh underwear to put on.

Delving deeper into Jackson’s lifestyle, Richie noted, “Michael was very close with his siblings and his mom, 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. Like an absent-minded professor but still a kid.”

Jackson and Richie stayed good friends throughout the years after first connecting in the 1970s when The Commodores opened for The Jackson 5.

They later worked together on the chart-topping track ‘We Are The World’ in 1985. Richie eventually made Jackson the godfather to his daughter Nicole.