What a strange question!!! It's a common thing that musicians do for each other to show their respect and admiration, to thank their favorite musos for the good music and times, for inspiration, hope, strength and the likes (unless of course if you have an ego bigger than the whole universe and think that your genius and your genius alone made you what you are!).

Richie paid tribute to Clapton as you may know:
http://www.whereseric.com/the-vault/...t-eric-clapton

Another example: Dylan, Harrison, Lynne and Petty as The Traveling Wilburys paid tribute to (or made fun of?) Springsteen with "Tweeter and The Monkey Man" using Springsteen's song titles and themes
http://www.ask.com/wiki/Tweeter_and_...apn&ap=ask.com

Richie fans used exactly the same formula but the result is ... errr... what it is!!!