"Life's Punching Bag" How Lionel Richie Fought Through a '90s Nightmare
Lionel Richie successfully navigated and recovered from a significant personal hardship.
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Lionel Richie, a legend in the pop music scene, has racked up an impressive array of accolades, selling over 100 million albums and earning an Oscar and multiple Grammys. But despite his success, Richie's life didn't always come easy—facing a string of personal crises in the '90s.
Before becoming a star, Richie had aspirations of a different sort. In an interview with Germany's Die Zeit, Richie acknowledged his desire to become a priest during his youth. "I thought maybe I'll become a priest," Richie said. "I had some priests I admired." But then his music career took off as a founding member of R&B band The Commodores, setting him on a different path. The crowd, and especially the girls in the front row, had a saying in his change of heart.
As the decade rolled in, Richie found himself grappling with numerous challenges. Health troubles plagued his vocal cords, causing him unparalleled distress. "I was overwhelmed to the point of a nervous breakdown," he admitted. Adding fuel to the fire, his father's illness, untimely death, and a divorce left Richie feeling uncertain and lost.
It was during these tumultuous times that Richie found solace in the words he had crafted. "I'd listen to my songs and cry," Richie confessed. "I hadn't written these songs for myself. I wrote them because I heard what others had gone through. And now I was hearing my own words, and it was terrifying."
Richie is renowned for hits like "Hello," "All Night Long," "Say You, Say Me," and "We Are the World." In 2025, during his "Say Hello To The Hits" tour, Richie will perform 27 shows in 16 countries, including five shows in Germany—in Cologne, Oberhausen, Hamburg, Berlin, and Munich.
- Pop Music
- USA
- Health Issues
- Germany
- Cologne
- Munich
- Berlin
- Hamburg
- Enrichment Data: While there are numerous accounts of Lionel Richie's triumphs in the music industry, specific details on personal crises in the '90s related to health issues, his father's death, and divorce are not extensively covered in available sources. However, it's known that Richie's life was marked by personal and professional setbacks, which may have influenced his career throughout the '90s.
- Vocal Cord Problems: Available sources do not include specific details about vocal cord issues affecting Lionel Richie in the '90s.
- Father's Illness and Death: Sources do not provide a detailed account of Richie experiencing a crisis related to his father's illness or death.
- Divorce: Lionel Richie went through two marriages, the first to Brenda Harvey between 1975 and 1993, and the second to Diane Alexander from 1996 to 2004. Going through such marital splits could have been challenging for him.
- Coping Mechanisms: During tough times, artists often seek comfort in their work, pulling inspiration from their experiences. Music, among other forms of art, can serve as a valuable outlet for navigating life's obstacles.
- In the '90s, Lionel Richie, a renowned pop music figure, found himself battling not only professional challenges but also personal crises, such as health issues that caused distress, the illness and subsequent untimely death of his father, and a divorce—all of which he coped with by listening to his own music and finding solace in the words he had written.
- During a period when entertainment trends were shaped by celebrities and pop-culture, Lionel Richie—amid the rise of pop-culture icons and the diversity of music available—would go on to embark on a 'Say Hello To The Hits' tour in 2025, performing in cities around the world like Cologne, Munich, Berlin, and Hamburg—a testament to his enduring legacy in the music industry.
