The View had some special starry guests on this morning’s show when they welcomed American Idol judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan to join the Hot Topics table. And in true View fashion, the convo got a little TMI for daytime TV.
It all started when Sara Haines pointed out that Richie’s smash-hit “All Night Long” is turning 40 this year. After she asked the singer how he came up with the tune, he spilled more than any of us were expecting.
“When I wrote ‘All Night Long,’ it was truly all night long. Now my all night long is down to a fierce 15 minutes,” he quipped. “But don’t worry about it, we’ll talk about this later.”
Perry, shocked by her co-judge’s honesty, asked, “Is this show live?” before turning to Richie and telling him, “15 minutes — that’s long, bud,” and holding out her hand for a congratulatory shake.
Richie replied, “Damn right,” as Bryan joined in too, also offering a handshake to the songwriter and aiming a shocked look toward the audience.
“And don’t you forget that, all right?” Richie said, before Perry added, “As long as it’s not four times a night, you know, seven days a week.”
Jokes aside, Richie moved on to share the surprising backstory behind his 1983 hit. He admitted to The View panel that he had “everything but the hook” when he was working on the song. Richie finally found inspiration after going to friend’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. He said he completed the tune when he realized he had to go back to the studio to “work all night long” on his music.
Ever since then, Richie said his friend has been asked about his own connection to the famous track.
“His friends from Jamaica called him and said, ‘How much money did you make, man, off of that song with Lionel Richie?’ And he said, ‘No man, I didn’t write the song. He just wrote it at my house,'” Richie told the panel.
Joy Behar suggested, “Maybe you should send him some money,” but Richie simply laughed before turning to the camera and telling his friend, “I’ll send you a check.”
The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.