Lionel Richie recalls Michael Jackson's hygiene and Smelly nickname

Lionel Richie says his longtime friend Michael Jackson frequently neglected basic hygiene and earned the nickname "Smelly" from producer Quincy Jones, an anecdote the singer recounts in his new memoir Truly, published Tuesday. Richie, 76, describes Jackson as brilliant and exacting in the studio but often casual and disordered in day to day life, and he relays one episode in which he offered Jackson a shower and fresh clothes after the pop star arrived at his home looking unkempt.

Richie writes that Jones teased Jackson with the nickname because the singer sometimes went days without changing or washing his clothes. He said Jackson took the ribbing in stride, laughing at himself when friends pointed out he had not washed his garments. Richie attributed some of those habits to the demands of fame and touring, noting that Jackson was often performing in elaborate stage costumes, working in studio slippers and pajama bottoms, or at home in loose clothes as he practiced dance moves and cared for his pets.

The memoir includes a vivid anecdote in which Richie drove Jackson home, helped him bathe and provided clean underwear and jeans. When Richie returned to his house later, he said...