Lionel Richie admitted himself to a St. Louis hospital for testing after his August 29, 2026, show at the Muny, and the 77-year-old singer was in the intensive care unit (ICU) there as of September 1.
Sources with direct knowledge said Richie was being cautious and that doctors were looking into possible slight dehydration. Those same sources said he was hoping to be discharged on Tuesday, September 1. A source close to the singer’s ongoing tour said Richie was OK but offered no details about what put him in the hospital.
What Witnesses Saw at the Muny
The concert itself, at the theater formally known as the St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre in Forest Park, looked mostly like a Lionel Richie concert. Footage from the night suggests he was in fine voice. But witnesses described him as laboring in the show’s final stretch, and he asked his crew for a chair so that he would not have to stand through the closing number, “All Night Long.” Videos making the rounds online capture him in a red leather jacket worn over an all-black ensemble, perched on a chair in the middle of the stage as he delivered “All Night Long (All Night),” his 1983 smash. Electrolyte drinks were within reach all evening, and he kept sipping from them.
The singer addressed the situation with the audience himself. He told those gathered in St. Louis that a few episodes on the road had rattled him somewhat, since he had not been able to work out what was behind them.
“I went back to the doctor, and he said, ‘You are suffering from dehydration,'” Richie told the crowd.
The June Scare in St. Paul
It marks the second occasion this summer that one of Richie’s performances has wrapped up with a trip to the hospital. Back in June, he grew ill onstage during a concert in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was hurried off for treatment. He told that audience he was feeling dizzy and off, ended the night early, and was met backstage by paramedics, who carried him to a hospital in an ambulance.
What played out in St. Paul was odd enough that the fans inside couldn’t tell what was going on. Roughly 55 minutes into the set, Richie called for an intermission nobody had expected, explaining that a bout of dizziness had already forced him into a seat earlier in the evening, during “Dancing on the Ceiling.”
“When you’re feeling dizzy, sit your ass down,” Richie said onstage.
Roughly 40 minutes after he called for that intermission, his saxophonist, Dino Soldo, walked out and told the audience Richie was unwell and would not be able to continue the show.
Richie postponed his next two concerts, both part of his ongoing tour with Earth, Wind & Fire. He returned to the stage June 30 in Pittsburgh and finished the rest of the run without further trouble. One more date came off the calendar as well, though for an unrelated reason: a member of Earth, Wind & Fire had a medical emergency ahead of a San Francisco show.
The St. Louis show over the weekend was his first since the Earth, Wind & Fire tour wrapped.
From Tuskegee to the Rock Hall
Born Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. in Tuskegee, Alabama, Richie broke through with the Commodores, the Motown funk and soul band from his hometown, where he worked as a songwriter, co-lead singer and keyboardist. He sang on “Easy,” “Lady (You Bring Me Up)” and “Three Times a Lady” before leaving the group in 1982 for a solo career that produced “All Night Long,” “Stuck on You” and “Hello.” His biggest seller was “Endless Love,” which he recorded with Diana Ross for the soundtrack of the movie that shares its title; the song held the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks in 1981. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame welcomed him in 2022, and he has been one of the hosts of “American Idol” ever since ABC revived the series in 2018. He is a father of three and a grandfather of four.
What’s on the Calendar
There’s more work ahead. Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire are set to reunite in September and early October to play the rescheduled dates in San Francisco, Chicago and Columbus. Once that is done, Richie moves on to a Las Vegas residency, with shows booked across October and November.
Whether he was discharged on that hoped-for timeline has not been confirmed. As of the most recent account of his condition, updated the night of September 1, the singer remained in intensive care in St. Louis, with dehydration the focus of doctors’ attention.