Songfacts®:

• With the Commodores, Lionel Richie wrote and sang on some very popular love songs, including "Sail On" and "Three Times A Lady." Before leaving the group in 1982, he delivered the #1 duet with Diana Ross, "Endless Love." His first solo single was "Truly," which held to the theme and also went to #1. "You Are" came next, and while it broke his run of chart-toppers, it also picked up the tempo, giving him a song with some energy that would be heard in "All Night Long (All Night)" the following year.
• This is very much an "I'll love you forever and give you the world" song, with a lyric filled with metaphor to describe the lady of his life. We learn that she is (metaphorically) both the sun and the rain, which makes his life this foolish game.
• Richie's then-wife, Brenda, is listed as a co-writer on this song, as she is on "Penny Lover." High school sweethearts, they got married in 1975 but had a high-profile falling out in 1988 when she caught Lionel with another woman (Diane Alexander), whom he later married.
• Richard Marx sang backup on this track. His first job in music was singing on the Lionel Richie album, and he proved himself on this track, which required some deft background vocals. In a Songfacts interview with Marx, he talked about working with Richie: " Every session I ever did with Lionel, or for him, was a very fun atmosphere. I've been on so many sessions where it's a downer, and you just try to get through it and nobody is having fun. Lionel is always having fun - no matter what."
• Richie made a video for this song, but MTV ignored it. The network didn't give black artists significant airtime until Michael Jackson broke through in 1983. Later that year, Richie was welcomed on MTV with his video for "All Night Long (All Night)."