Lionel Richie recently chatted with Drew Barrymore, confessing to a years long secret about how and where his lyrics for the hit track, ‘Lady,’ originated, shocking Barrymore quite a bit.
So, it’s common for people to get a bit creative in the bathroom while taking a shower or sitting in a stall and pondering about life, but surely not everyone can write down a chart-topping hit in a few minutes during a bathroom break. Lionel, however, did exactly that as he had to complete ‘Lady‘s second verse so that the late Kenny Rogers wouldn’t be mad at him.
The duo was in the studio at the time, working together while Kenny recorded his then-upcoming album, and he had asked Ritchie to write two different tracks, which would ultimately become ‘Lady’ and ‘Goin’ Back To Alabama.’ However, soon after starting to work on ‘Alabama,’ Rogers changed his mind and decided to record ‘Lady,’ though he didn’t know that Lionel only had the first verse ready.
So, when Kenny asked the rocker about the song, he smoothly excused himself to the bathroom and wrote the second verse of the hit sitting in a stall and trying to find the right words. Luckily, Lionel’s lyrical genius and musical talent showed him the right way through words, and in a matter of minutes, he had ‘Lady’ ready to go.
The singer recalling how and where he wrote the hit song:
“[Rogers said] ‘I don’t want to sing that song. [Alabama] I think I want to do ‘Lady’ first.’ I said, ‘Excuse me for a minute. Let me, uh, go to the bathroom.’ I’m sitting in the stall writing the second verse to ‘Lady.’ You will do some amazing things when you’re scared to death. The idea of telling Mr. Rogers that I don’t have the second verse was not going to happen in my lifetime.”
It might be safe to say that Lionel’s instinct and wish not to disappoint Kenny allowed him to unleash his lyrical genius and create a future hit in a matter of minutes. It also surely helped him to form a prestigious reputation as a talented and respected songwriter.
