Lionel Richie switched from priesthood to music: ‘Sing it, baby’

Lionel Richie is looking back on his journey to stardom in his brand-new memoir Truly, and the stories are as surprising as they are inspiring. 

The 76-year-old music legend revealed that before music took over his life, he actually considered becoming a priest.

“I couldn’t figure out what the heck to do with my life, couldn’t figure it out,” Richie shared while promoting the book on Today with Jenna & Friends on October 3. 

“I’m as shy as I can be. And then I realized, maybe the priesthood might be the best way to go.”

That all changed after he joined his college band, the Commodores, and felt the rush of connecting with an audience for the first time. 

Richie recalled a defining moment during one of their early performances. 

“Here’s what happened to change my mind. 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!’”

It was enough to push him in a different direction. 

“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 with a laugh. “There’s a moment when you have that moment.”

Even after choosing music, Richie admitted performing never came naturally to him.

“Scared to death, can you imagine having panic attacks on stage?” he revealed. “But I wanted to be in this band so badly, and I wanted to be in this business.”

His decision paid off. 

Richie went on to achieve massive success both with the Commodores and as a solo artist, becoming one of the world’s best-selling musicians. 

With four Grammy Awards to his name and timeless hits like Hello, All Night Long, Easy, Sail On, and Endless Love, he built a career that has spanned decades.

Richie’s memoir Truly, which was released on September 30, gives readers a closer look at the personal moments that shaped his extraordinary life and is now available everywhere books are sold.