KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) – Lionel Richie is one of the headliners for this year’s Reggae Sumfest, which takes place July 18-24 in Montego Bay, organizers said Wednesday.

Johnny Gourzong of Summerfest Productions said he hopes Richie’s appearance will attract a more mature audience to Sumfest’s second international night, which closes the festival on July 24.

The festival opens with its traditional beach party in the northwestern resort town.

Richie, who first found fame in the 1970s as a member of The Commodores, was one of the most successful performers during the 1980s with hits such as “Say You, Say Me” and “Dancing on the Ceiling.” He’ll perform alongside local acts Beres Hammond and Wayne Wonder.

Ludacris and Kanye West will share top billing with dancehall star Sizzla on the first international night on July 23. Dancehall night on July 22 features Beenie Man, while Foundation Night on July 21 has older reggae acts including Marcia Griffiths and the Wailing Souls.

Reggae Sumfest was first held in 1994 to rival the established Reggae Sunsplash. Since its inception, the festival has showcased a mixed bill of dancehall, R&B and hip-hop acts.

The festival has been marred in recent years with artists violating the Caribbean island’s profanity laws, thereby facing fines or community service. Sean Paul, Ja Rule and Snoop Dogg were among the offenders.

Tyler alright after faint

Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler can rest easy – his little girl’s OK.

Pregnant Hollywood star Liv Tyler is doing “fine” after she fainted in a restaurant Saturday, reports IMDB.com.

The “Lord of the Rings” star was dining with husband Royston Langdon, actor Mark Wahlberg and his partner Rhea Durham at The Pearl eatery on Massachusetts’ Nantucket Island when she passed out at the table.

After refusing first aid in the restaurant, five-months pregnant Tyler and Langdon visited Nantucket Cottage Hospital for a check-up.

Her rep David Nesmith says, “Everything’s fine. She just over-extended herself on a most beautiful day. They took her vitals and determined that she had too much sun and too much of a good time shopping with the girls earlier in the day while Roy golfed. She and the baby are fine.”

Sleeping lion sues Disney JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) – An impoverished South African family has filed a lawsuit against U.S. entertainment giant Walt Disney, seeking royalties for its use of a song by a popular Zulu composer in “The Lion King.”

The estate of Solomon Linda, a Zulu migrant worker turned songwriter who in 1939 wrote the tune that became the world hit “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” filed a lawsuit last week in the Pretoria High Court. The lawsuit seeks $1.6 million in compensation from Disney, lawyer Hanro Friedrich said Wednesday.

Disney denied liability in a statement released Tuesday.

Linda died penniless in 1962, having sold the rights to the song to a South African publisher. Originally titled “Mbube,” the song generated some $15 million in royalties after it was adapted by other artists, including American songwriter George Weiss, whose version is featured in Disney’s 1994 film “The Lion King.”

Linda’s three surviving daughters and 10 grandchildren, living in poverty in the Johannesburg township of Soweto, have received only a one-time payment of $15,000 from the present copyright holder, Friedrich said. The daughters decided to seek legal help after realizing they had lost out on millions of dollars in royalties.

Their lawyers are bringing a challenge on the basis of law in force in Commonwealth nations at the time the song was first recorded. Under its provisions, the rights to a song revert to the composer’s heirs 25 years after his death.