Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
Music Legend Shares in New Memoir How a Life-Changing Commodores Performance Led Him to Leave the Priesthood Behind
Lionel Richie Says He Nearly Became a Priest — Until One Fan’s Encouragement Set Him on a Different Path
Lionel Richie is opening up about the moment that changed the course of his life — from the priesthood to pop stardom.
In his upcoming memoir Truly, the 76-year-old music legend reveals that he once planned to join the Episcopal priesthood before a single shout from a fan convinced him to follow a different calling.
Richie wrote that as a child, he was “a disastrously shy altar boy” who thought the clergy might be his true purpose. He even began training to become a priest.
Appearing on Today with Jenna & Friends on Friday to promote the memoir, Richie reflected on how one night with his college band, The Commodores, changed everything.
“I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to do with my life,” the four-time Grammy winner shared. “I was painfully shy, and I thought maybe the priesthood was the right direction.”
That all shifted during one of his early performances.
“I joined the Commodores in my second semester of sophomore year, and something incredible happened,” Richie recalled. “This woman in the front row just yelled, ‘Sing it, baby!’”
That moment of affirmation, he said, gave him the clarity he needed.
“I called back to the priest and said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to be college material,’” Richie laughed. “There’s a moment when you just know. I got that acknowledgment from the other side, and from then on, I started to wonder how far this could go. I didn’t even know I could write or sing — thank God for The Commodores, because that’s how I discovered Lionel Richie.”
Still, his early years onstage weren’t easy.
“I was terrified,” the American Idol judge admitted. “I had panic attacks on stage. But I wanted so badly to be part of that band — to be in that world.”
In Truly, Richie also reflects on how his church community supported his decision to step away from the priesthood.
“The priests offered me kind words and told me the door would always be open,” he wrote. “And honestly, there were moments later on when I thought music might not last, and I considered going back.”
He even had a plan in mind.
“I picked out a seminary in Wyoming,” Richie added. “But I never went. The truth came when I started writing songs — and realized they were my real sermons.”
