Lionel Richie checked himself into a hospital after a recent performance in St. Louis.
A fan who attended his performance at the Muny on Saturday said Richie leaned on a piano for support and requested a chair to sit down in for his last song.
“The first 20 minutes he was sweating profusely, and I thought, ‘Oh no, he’s not gonna be able to finish this,'” one concertgoer said. “He had this leather jacket on, and I thought, please take that leather jacket off, so he did at one point, and then they put another one on him. He had to have been hot up on that stage. With all the lights and they had some fire cannons going.”
According to TMZ, Richie, 77, went to the hospital to check for dehydration. In June, he sat down during a Minnesota performance because he was dizzy and postponed shows in Chicago and Ohio. At the Muny concert, he told fans he had actually passed out and went to the ER.
“He had this big jug on stage with a red drink in it. He said, ‘These are my electrolytes, and these are nasty,’” the concertgoer said.
He also left the stage for a few minutes while the band filled in until he returned.
In July at the Madison Square Garden, Richie said he needed electrolytes between songs, CBS News reported.
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After his June concert, he told fans, “Thank you for every message, every kind word and for all your love. I’m doing well, and I’m grateful for all of you.”
Richie is currently halfway through a 26-city “Sing A Song All Night Long” tour with Earth, Wind and Fire. If all is well, he will sing at the Wynn in Las Vegas in October and November for his “King of Hearts” shows.
In Lionel’s most recent post on social media, he shared a photo of himself on stage, holding Dolly Parton’s hand.
“Dolly, what a fun ride… ‘I Will Always Love You,’” the post read. “We will always love you! Your light and your music will live on forever. ”
Parton died on Aug. 25 after a battle with cancer. Hundreds of her fellow friends in the music industry publicly mourned her death.
Luke Bryan, Richie’s fellow AMERICAN IDOL judge, said, “Dolly’s life was so beautiful and amazing. I just assumed she’d lived to be 90…Her vibrance and her light was so bright. I just thought she would be one that we would have till she was in her 90s.”
He noted that artists should look to her example. She was hardworking and charitable.
Former IDOL judge Katy Perry said, “The biggest thing that she did was that she was constantly kind. She was kind to everyone.”
As of now, Richie’s tour is not called off. Given the recent loss of an international icon like Dolly Parton, devoted fans will undoubtedly be hoping he takes care of himself — even if that means he needs to take a break from the stage.
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