They recorded two more albums but then Richard chose to leave the music business. He did return to music and wrote songs for many artists. In 1991 he received the Orville H. Gibson award for best acoustic guitar player. He also won an Ivor Novello Award for songwriting and a lifetime achievement award from BBC Radio. Thompson wrote songs that were recorded by R.E.M., Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, Nanci Griffith, The Pointer Sisters, Los Lobos, Dinosaur Jr., David Byrne, and The Blind Boys of Alabama. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British empire in 2011 and in the same year he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Aberdeen. He has released over 20 albums under his own name and many more as collaborations.
