Lionel Richie has a lot of credits to his name, and now he’s adding “author” to the list.
The Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe–winning star has sold over 125 million records worldwide over his decades as a recording artist, songwriter, producer. Additionally, the longtime entrepreneur, philanthropist and TV icon is set to begin his eighth season as a celebrity judge on American Idol, when the music competition returns to ABC early next year.
His new book, as yet untitled, will come out on Sept. 30, 2025 from HarperOne. In what the publisher promised will be an “intimate, deeply candid memoir,” Richie, 75, “seeks to inspire all who doubt themselves or feel their dreams don’t matter by chronicling lessons learned in the course of his most unlikely of success stories — from a painfully shy, ‘tragically’ late bloomer grappling with ADHD to his dramatic transformation into a world-class entertainer and composer of love songs that have played like the soundtrack of our lives,” according to a press release shared with PEOPLE.
“Lionel Richie is not only a music legend who has long been a multicultural and generational bridge, he has witnessed monumental shifts in history and entertainment while working with some of the most significant talents of our age,” said Judith Curr, president and publisher of HarperOne Group.
She added, “We are thrilled to not only be providing his fans and friends with a nuanced, detailed, emotional telling of what his life has held, but his view of the world — what has changed and what has remained the same, the difficulties and the causes for celebration.”
As Richie explained, “I have always been the reluctant hero of my own story.” Per the publisher, that story begins with his coming of age on a university campus in Tuskegee, Ala. at the height of the civil rights movement, then expands on his escapades as a member of The Commodores, but his career really took off after he went solo, “shooting him into the stratosphere as a solo artist.”
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In what he considers “his darkest period,” Richie will recount how he “barely survived” his father’s death, two difficult divorces, a rapidly evolving music industry and an injury to his vocal chords that nearly cost him his voice. “Richie will share how he lived to tell this story — and through divine intervention, soon took off to higher heights, with one of the greatest rejuvenation stories ever told,” the publisher teased.
“I travel the world, and all people really want to hear is, ‘I love you,’ ” Richie said in a statement. “‘I love you’ is forever. And the day we realize we come as different tribes, but we all represent the global family of mankind … the day that happens, we will clearly be united, together, as one.”
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Lionel Richie’s untitled memoir is due Sept. 30, 2025 from HarperOne and is available now for preorder, wherever books are sold.
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