Lionel Richie to Enter Apollo Theater Hall of Fame, and Then, He Says, 'An Epidemic of Duets' In a week when Lionel Richie learns he's going to be inducted into the Apollo Theater's Legends Hall of Fame and is announced as a star of ABC's summer singing competition, "Duets," we expected his excitement would have him dancing on the ceiling or partying all night long. But this former Commodores frontman-turned-solo singer-songwriter instead referred to another title in his smoother-than-smooth back catalog. "This is "Can't Slow Down," Part 2," Mr. Richie said on Friday, describing the current phase of his career. There's only one way I look at the business: you're either going to be in it or you're going to be out of it. I started thinking I'd better make some big changes when they start calling you "a living icon." That's not good. It makes me sound like a museum exhibit. Speaking by phone from Copenhagen, where he had traveled from Stockholm on a European tour, Mr. Richie said he was nonetheless thrilled by the Apollo Theater distinction. At a gala on June 4 he will be added to that Harlem theater's Hall of Fame, along with Etta James, who died in January, and have a plaque added to its Walk of Fame on 125th Street, near previous honorees like Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder. "If they want to put me with that list of names," Mr. Richie said, "the answer is, absolutely. Mr. Richie said he had played at the Apollo several times, dating to an early 1970s appearance when the Commodores were the opening act for Mr. Robinson's farewell tour with the Miracles. Traveling from their home in Tuskegee, Ala., Mr. Richie said, "We were the kids coming up in a little white van, coming to take over New York City." On that trip, Mr. Richie said, he first learned of the Apollo Theater's make-or-break reputation. "We got a standing ovation," he recalled, " and this guy came over to us and said, "Kid, you're on your way."" But Mr. Richie said: "We didn't do the talent show. That would have been brutal. In the weeks ahead, Mr. Richie said, "I've got an epidemic of duets." In addition to his role on ABC's "Duets," he is also releasing an album on March 26 called "Tuskegee," which pairs him with country music artists like Tim McGraw, Shania Twain and Jennifer Nettles. Though he has made his mark in soul, R&B and pop, Mr. Richie said he could easily hang with his country peers, a lesson he learned while working on "Tuskegee." "I went to Nashville to play with musicians that I thought I'd never met or seen before," he said. "I walk in the door and half of the guys played on the "Can't Slow Down" album. They had moved to Nashville. Now they're country music guys, and I'm going, These are the guys who played on "Thriller." What are you talking about? Looking back on an unpredictable career trajectory, Mr. Richie said: "I remember the absurdity of what my father must have thought when I walked in the door in my senior year in college and said, "Dad, I'm quitting school - I joined a band called the Commodores and we're the black Beatles, and we're going to take over the world." You can imagine what my dad was thinking in the middle of the civil rights movement. It was a memory Mr. Richie said he was reminded of some decades later when his daughter Nicole told him she would be starring in a reality television series with Paris Hilton. "Nicole comes back and says, "Dad, Paris and I have a TV show, and we're going to take over the world as famous spoiled girls." And I said the same words that my dad said to me. Which were? "I can't even repeat "em. It's not for publication, but you can imagine what I said to her.