LIONEL RICHIE SAD NEWS!

Lionel Richie faced severe health challenges, nearly ending his singing career. Despite numerous surgeries, including a life-threatening throat condition, Richie persevered. Reflecting on his darkest moments, he confessed, “It was the end of the world.” Only the birth of his son brought solace.

Richie’s woes extended beyond his throat. Battling arthritis from years of stage performances, he underwent a hip replacement. He joked about feeling “bionic” post-surgery.Further setbacks arose with a knee injury threatening to halt his career. Eventually, surgery restored him. Despite these challenges, Richie’s resilience shines, ensuring his place in music history.

Lionel Richie’s usually the happiest guy in the room. And while he’s a legendary showman, it’s no act.

“I’ll pass on exactly what my father said to me: Aptitude plus attitude determines altitude,'” he tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story and issue honoring Black History Month. “If you happen to have both, sky’s the limit, but if you’re only blessed with one, have the right attitude because people will love to have you around.”

That said, the 72-year-old American Idol judge, says he’s seen his share of dark days. While battling a mysterious illness affecting his throat during the height of his solo career, Richie recalls feeling overwhelmed.

“About as close as you ever would’ve come to a nervous breakdown,” says the star, of that trying time. In the early ’90s, Richie underwent four separate surgeries to address an unknown condition impacting his throat.

“You don’t want anybody fooling around down there. This is your identity,” he says of nervousness surrounding the procedures, adding, “I never really thought that it would end.”

In the end, Richie — who was also in the midst of a difficult divorce from his first wife Brenda Harvey and caring for his ailing father — was diagnosed with diet-induced acid reflux that was affecting the area.

He went on to recover and hasn’t suffered since, but Richie still recalls a chance encounter with a fan during that difficult time that helped get him through.

One day while on the beach in Jamaica he says an elderly Black man pulled him aside. “He said, ‘You must survive because you are our beacon of hope,'” the star says. “‘If you make it, we know we can make it. If you accomplish, we know we can accomplish.’ I was crying.”