Lionel Richie Says 1 Comment Inspired Him to Pursue Music Over the Priesthood
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Lionel-Richie-Late-Night-With-Seth-Meyers-100325-1-492024f2eb544a14a842dfa190241e8e.jpg)
NEED TO KNOW
- Lionel Richie shared that he once considered joining the priesthood before kickstarting his music career
- He recalled a time when he performed with his band the Commodores and received an audience comment that changed things
- Richie details his highs and lows in his new memoir, Truly
Father Richie?
Lionel Richie is opening up about his life like never before in his new memoir, Truly. The 76-year-old “Easy” singer explained how he found his chosen career path was considering entering into the priesthood.
“I couldn’t figure out what the heck to do with my life, couldn’t figure it out,” Richie said while promoting the memoir on Today with Jenna & Friends on Friday, Oct. 3. “I’m as shy as I can be. And then I realized, maybe the priesthood might be the best way to go.”
Luckily, Richie’s interests in the priesthood shifted after he got his first memorable audience reaction while performing with his college band, the Commodores.
“Here’s what happened to change my mind,” he continued. “I joined the Commodores in my second semester of my sophomore year and something amazing happened. A lady on the front row of some club said, ‘Sing it, baby!’ ”
The comment caused Richie to contact the powers that be and step down from his training.
“I called back to the priest and I said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to be college material. I just gotta be honest with you,’ ” Richie said, laughing. “There’s a moment when you have that moment.”
Mike Prior/Redferns
Richie said that performing didn’t come naturally to him, noting that his fears would sometimes overwhelm him even while he was on the stage.
“Scared to death, can you imagine having panic attacks on stage?” he said. “But I wanted to be in this band so badly, and I wanted to be in this business.”
Borja B. Hojas/Getty
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Of course, Richie went on to have great success, both with the Commodores and as a solo act. He’s gone on to be one of the top-selling artists of all time, earning four Grammys, and producing hits like “Hello,” “All Night Long,” “Easy,” “Sail On,” “Endless Love” and more.
Richie’s memoir, Truly, was released on Sept. 30 and is available everywhere books are sold.
Credit to Nypost AND Peoples
