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Lionel Richie revealed that he had almost joined the episcopal priestation before encouraging a viewer to pursue him for a musical career.
In his new memoir, “really”, the 76-year-old music icon, when he grew up, recalled a “catastrophic shy altar boy”, who thought about becoming a member of the clergy and training for the priesthood.
During a Friday on “Today With Jenna & Friends” to promote his Tell-All, Richie recalled the crucial moment when he appeared with his college band The Commodores, who inspired him to commit himself to music.
Singer Lionel Richie leads family, God of his generation duty
“I couldn’t find out what the hell had to do with my life couldn’t find it out,” said the four-time Grammy winner. “I’m as shy as I can be. And then I realized that the priesthood may be the best way.”
Lionel Richie remembered that he almost became a priest before an enthusiastic cry convinced him to pursue music. (Krysty Sparow/Getty Images)
“Here is what happened to change my opinion,” Richie continued. “I came to the Commodores in my second semester of my second year and something amazing happens. A lady in the front row of a club said: ‘Sing it, baby!'”
Richie said that the audience’s comment made him contact the management of the church and to give up his training for the priesthood.
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“I called back to the priest and said: ‘I don’t think I will be a college material. I just have to be honest with you,” the “All Night Long,” said Hitmaker. “There is a moment when you have this moment.”
An audience called “Sing it, baby!” While Richie appeared with the Commodores. (Mike Prior/Redferners)
“Suddenly I got a confirmation from the other side,” Richie continued. “From this point on, I kept thinking, how is it going forward?
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Richie admitted that he continued to fight with his shyness while performing with the Commodores.
“Scared to death, can you imagine having panic attacks on stage?” The judge “American Idol” said. “But I wanted to be so much in this band and I wanted to be in this business.”
Richie said that the songs he wrote are his “real sermons”. (Valerie Macon/AFP)
In “really” Richie remembered telling the priests in his church that he thought that he had thought about his calling for priesthood.
“They gave me clever encouraging words and told me that when things have always changed,” wrote Richie. “In fact, in the coming years, when I was worried, I would be worried about the return of the return to my earlier plans.”
He continued: “I even chose a seminar in Wyoming. Never went. The moment of truth was likely that when I started to write songs – and found that they were my real sermons.
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“Really” will be published nationwide by Harpercollins on October 15, 2025.
