Anxiety, depression and stage fright Music star Lionel Richie publishes unsparing memoirs
With songs like "Say You, Say Me", Lionel Richie pined his way into the hearts of millions of fans. Now he has written down his life. But it's not about gossip - it's about fear.
05.10.2025, 22:47
05.10.2025, 22:55
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- In his autobiography "Truly", Lionel Richie does not focus on fame, but on his lifelong struggle with fears, racism and personal crises.
- Richie describes his journey from a shy child in Alabama, to success with the Commodores and as a solo artist, to inner reconciliation with his past.
- Despite his fame, he still struggles with stage fright, depression and fear of failure - his message: fear should not paralyze you, but motivate you to keep going.
His autobiography has nothing to do with bragging, Lionel Richie told the New York Times newspaper. "It's not a book about who I've met and who I've known. It's about fear: can you overcome your worst fears and keep moving forward?" This is how he wanted to tell the story of his life - and at the same time convey his compassion to the world. "We need a hug. The world needs a hug right now."
The result is "Truly. The Autobiography", which has more than 500 pages in German translation.
In it, Richie tells his life story - from his childhood to his breakthrough in the music business with the Commodores and finally his solo success, but also about his ongoing battle with fears and the rollercoaster of his private life.
Racist exclusion
The singer was born Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. in 1949 in the town of Tuskegee with a population of around 12,000 in the US state of Alabama. His father worked for an insurance company, his mother was a teacher - and Richie himself was small, thin and shy, as he recounts in the book. He dreamed of becoming a priest and repeatedly experienced racist exclusion and hostility.
In 1963, a girl Richie was secretly in love with died in a racially motivated bomb attack on a church. "I couldn't understand it. Not then. And not now," he writes. "For me, he was the end of innocence; he burst the bubble that once protected everything."
Eventually, Richie met the soul band Commodores at Tuskegee University, became their saxophonist and singer - and wrote the band's biggest hits: songs like "Easy", "Three Times a Lady" and "Sail On" are still classics today. Richie soon took on other jobs as a songwriter - but at some point his relationship with the other members of the Commodores broke down.
Reconciliation with the roots
Accompanied by a huge fear of failure, Richie tries it solo - and becomes even more successful, at the latest with the super hit "We Are the World", which he wrote with Michael Jackson. The song changed his life, Richie writes - "because I asked myself the question: I'm playing in the top league now, what good can I do with it?"
In the book, Richie also reconciles himself with his roots and dedicates it not only to his fans but also to his hometown of Tuskegee and the Commodores - "because without them, there would be no Lionel Richie".
The musician is surfing the wave of success - even today - but the book does not leave out his conflicts and private problems. "I don't know exactly how I remembered a lot of that stuff," Richie told People magazine. "And then there were moments when I wanted to forget things - and that's the painful part." Depression, stage fright, fear of failure, fear of missing out - he still struggles with all of this to this day.
Richie has adopted daughter Nicole and biological children Miles and Sofia from two broken marriages. He is now also a grandfather several times over and has a very close relationship with his children, writes the musician. His life has taught him how to deal with his fears, he told the "New York Times": "Every time you feel fear, take a step forward. I always have that in my head now."
