Lionel Richie says he was almost a priest before…
Lionel Richie revealed that he almost joined the Episcopal priesthood before one encouraging shoutout from an viewers member satisfied him to pursue a musical profession.
In his new memoir “Truly,” the 76-year-old music icon recalled growing up, he was a “disastrously shy altar boy” who thought of turning into a member of the clergy and was training for the priesthood.
During a Friday look on “Today with Jenna & Friends” to promote his tell-all, Richie recalled the pivotal second, while performing with his faculty band, The Commodores, that impressed him to commit to music.
“I couldn’t figure out what the heck to do with my life, couldn’t figure it out,” the four-time Grammy Award winner said. “I’m as shy as I can be. And then I realized, maybe the priesthood might be the best way to go.”
“Here’s what happened to change my mind,” Richie 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!’”
Singer Lionel Richie says he almost joined the Episcopal priesthood before pursuing music during an interview to promote his e book. NBC
Richie said that the viewers member’s remark prompted him to contact church management and abandon his training for the priesthood.
“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,’” the “All Night Long” hitmaker said. “There’s a moment when you have that moment.”
“All of a sudden, I got an acknowledgment from the other side,” Richie continued. “From that point on, I kept thinking, now how does this go forward? I didn’t know I was a writer, didn’t know I was a singer. Thank God for The Commodores because I would have never discovered Lionel Richie.”
While performing with his faculty band, The Commodores, “a lady on the front row of some club said, ‘Sing it, baby!’,” the singer said, prompting him to contact church management and abandon his training for the priesthood. rangizzz – stock.adobe.com
“From that point on, I kept thinking, now how does this go forward? I didn’t know I was a writer, didn’t know I was a singer,” Richie said. “Thank God for The Commodores because I would have never discovered Lionel Richie.” Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Lionel Richie
Richie’s e book, “Truly,” might be launched nationwide on Oct. 15. HarperOne
Richie admitted that he continued to wrestle with his shyness while he was performing with The Commodores.
“Scared to death, can you imagine having panic attacks on stage?” the “American Idol” choose said. “But I wanted to be in this band so badly, and I wanted to be in this business.”
In “Truly,” Richie recalled telling the monks at his church that he had second ideas about his vocation for the priesthood.
“They gave me wise words of encouragement and told me that if things changed the door was always open,” Richie wrote. “In fact, in the coming years, whenever I worried that the music thing was to be short-lived, I’d talk about returning to my earlier plans.”
He continued, “I even picked out a seminary in Wyoming. Never went. The second of reality most likely arrived when I started to write songs—and realized they had been my real sermons.
“Truly” might be launched nationwide on Oct. 15, 2025, through HarperCollins.
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