Hello! Nicole’s dad has a new album

“It feels like once, twice, three times a career,” a laughing Lionel Richie said a few days ago about Tuesday’s release of his new album, “Just for You.” “There was the Commodores, then there was that wonderful thing that happened in the 1980s ... and now here is something wonderful again. It’s amazing.”

With Prince back in the spotlight, Richie, 54, hopes there’s room for another revisiting of an old-school R&B-based; superstar. Richie’s success in the ‘80s was built on a string of No. 1 hits including “All Night Long (All Night),” “Endless Love” and “Hello.”

Still, lately Richie has been mentioned more often as a famous father -- his daughter, Nicole Richie, has become famous through the pop-culture curiosity “The Simple Life.”

“We had lunch last week and she bought -- that was a first,” the elder Richie said. “And these days I’m being introduced to people as ‘Nicole’s father.’ ”

To reestablish himself on the family fame chart, the singer turned to a younger generation of collaborators for “Just for You.” He recorded with Lenny Kravitz and Daniel Bedingfield and logged time in a Miami studio with producer 7 Aurelius, who’s made hits with Mariah Carey, Ja Rule and Ashanti.

The youth-teaming approach is hardly a surprise; after Carlos Santana’s spectacular success, it has been tried to varied degrees and success by Mick Jagger, Madonna, Willie Nelson and others. “I wanted to go new school. And what I found was new school is really old school. Look at people like Norah Jones and Alicia Keys.”

Besides the album, Richie hosts the “Motown 45” television special tonight on ABC, and his new song, “One World,” will be part of the closing ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens -- a nod that brings back memories of what may have been Richie’s career zenith: his performance at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

“Twenty years later and to be back at the Olympics,” he says. “Maybe it’s magic all over again.”

-- Geoff Boucher