Lionel Richie is getting candid like never before.<\/p>\n
In an interview with “Good Morning America<\/a>” co-anchor Robin Roberts<\/a>, which aired Thursday, the legendary singer-songwriter opened up about deeply personal moments from his life story featured in his new memoir, “Truly.”<\/p>\n Lionel Richie shares vulnerable details from his life story in his new memoir, “Truly,” during an interview with “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Matt Petit\/ABC<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Sharing a story he said he has never spoken aloud until now, Richie revealed that he “grew up totally in fear.”<\/p>\n Raised in Tuskegee, Alabama, Richie recalled feeling anxious and uncertain as a child.<\/p>\n “I didn’t know what ADHD was. ‘Can you play baseball?’ ‘Eh.’ ‘Football?’ ‘No.’ ‘Basketball?’ ‘No.’ ‘Tennis?’ ‘Kinda,'” he said. “You know, it was just everything was ‘kinda.’ I was very anxious about everything. And at the same time, I kept tryin’ to fake it. I kind of found some new areas of my life that I didn’t know I had in me.”<\/p>\n Music eventually became his refuge. Despite a grandmother who was classically trained in piano, Richie admits he can’t read music.<\/p>\n “Listen, I don’t know, and I’ve asked God that several times,” he said with a laugh. “And it was said to me by Marvin Gaye, ‘There is an answer to this. Don’t go lookin’ for it. Just accept it.'”<\/p>\n That acceptance paved the way for one of the most celebrated careers in pop music history.<\/p>\n Lionel Richie shares vulnerable details from his life story in his new memoir, “Truly,” during an interview with “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Matt Petit\/ABC<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Performing in talent shows as a freshman at the then\u2013Tuskegee Institute in the late ’60s led him to join the funk band The Commodores, where he first became a household name.<\/p>\n With more than 125 million albums sold worldwide, Richie turned songwriting into his superpower, delivering classics like “Dancing on the Ceiling” and “All Night Long.”<\/p>\n Over the years, he has earned four Grammy Awards<\/a>, a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, and in 2022, a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/a0530d8b-57b5-47f4-a5ea-8d6ad533fb45\/lionel-ritchie-02-abc-jt-250924_1758747673648_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg?w=992\"\/)
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