What number of instances have you ever heard a songwriter say that the inspiration for one among their best songs got here within the bathe? However the bathroom? Rock and Roll Corridor of Famer Lionel Richie lastly confirmed a long-running story concerning the latrine-spiration for the second verse of “Woman,” the hit 1980 music he wrote for pal Kenny Rogers.
Again in 2014, Rogers instructed the At present Present that when the 2 stars have been within the studio engaged on the music he requested the place the lyrics for the second verse have been and somebody mentioned, “Lionel’s in the bathroom writing them proper now.” The remainder is historical past, because the music spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Sizzling 100 chart.
And now, in an interview on Thursday’s (March 30) Drew Barrymore Present, Richie confirmed the story. The American Idol decide defined that after Rogers requested him to write down a music for him he started work on a “Woman” in addition to a second monitor known as “Goin’ Again to Alabama” (which later appeared on Rogers’ 1981 Share Your Love album).
Midway via the classes for “Alabama,” Richie instructed Barrymore that Rogers modified his thoughts and mentioned, “‘I don’t need to sing that music. I feel I need to do ‘Woman’ first.’” What Rogers didn’t know, although, was that Richie had solely gotten the primary verse of “Woman” written at that time.
“I mentioned, ‘Excuse me for a minute. Let me, uh, go to the toilet,’” Richie mentioned he instructed Rogers, who died in 2020 at age 81. “I’m sitting within the stall writing the second verse to ‘Woman.’” Barrymore was shocked that Lionel may so rapidly produce such an enormous hit beneath such stress and Richie mentioned you’d be stunned when, and the place, inspiration can strike.
“You’ll do some superb issues whenever you’re scared to dying,” he mentioned. “The concept of telling Mr. Rogers that I don’t have the second verse was not going to occur in my lifetime.”
Watch Richie speak about his “Woman” session under.
