Lionel Richie Spent Days in Intensive Care for Cardiac Testing After a Concert

Caption: Lionel Richie at the 2022 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song event in Washington, D.C. Credit: Shawn Miller / Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Lionel Richie checked himself into the intensive care unit of a St. Louis hospital after performing at The Muny in Forest Park in late August. Reporting on his condition said he was undergoing testing for cardiac issues, with possible mild dehydration also under investigation. Witnesses at the concert said he appeared to struggle toward the end of his final song and asked for a chair so he could sit while he sang. He was discharged and was recovering at home as of September 2.

The Second Time in Three Months

This was not the first interruption of the year. In June, at the opening night of his tour in St. Paul, Minnesota, Richie felt dizzy, cut the show short and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. He postponed dates in Chicago afterward. Two hospitalizations in a single touring summer is the pattern here, and it is the part that matters more than either individual night.

What Has Not Been Released

No diagnosis has been announced and no representative statement has explained what the cardiac testing found. There has been no announcement of further cancellations. What is on the record is the admission, the reason for it, and the discharge.

The Schedule He Is Carrying

Richie is 77 and has been touring at a pace built for a younger performer. A performer who asks for a chair mid-song and then spends the next two days in an intensive care unit is telling an audience something that a tour calendar does not.

What Is Still Open

The remaining dates have not been addressed publicly since the discharge. Whether the tour continues on its original schedule is the outstanding question and it has not been answered.

References: Lionel Richie In ICU For Cardiac Issues After St. Louis Concert | Reports: Lionel Richie remains hospitalized in ICU after St. Louis concert | Lionel Richie Hospitalized After St. Louis Concert