Alan Jackson wants to give upcoming album 'his all’ as he struggles with debilitating nerve disorder
CLARKESVILLE, GEORGIA: Alan Jackson's health is said to be deteriorating with time but the singer is not letting it ruin his love for music. It has been reported that the 64-year-old’s nerve disorder has gotten worse lately after he was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease a decade ago.
However, to make most of the time before he is wheelchair-bound, Jackson has reportedly started working on his last album. A friend of his told RadarOnline, “Alan's health has suffered horribly — and he has trouble walking and is prone to falls. He faces a future where he could be in a wheelchair and lose the use of his limbs — but he still wants to go out on a high note and push forward for as long as he's able.”
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‘He knows this is likely his last album’
The friend continued, “Alan says his medical condition really shapes his songwriting now and has given him a new perspective. He knows this is likely his last album, so he wants to give it his all and feels that he did the best he can under horrible circumstances.”
This comes after the ‘Chattahoochee’ singer told TODAY's Jenna Bush Hager in 2021, “I have this neuropathy and neurological disease. It's genetic that I inherited from my daddy ... There's no cure for it, but it's been affecting me for years. And it's getting more and more obvious. And I know I'm stumbling around on stage. And now I'm having a little trouble balancing, even in front of the microphone, and so I just feel very uncomfortable.”
Jackson added, “It's not going to kill me. It's not deadly. But it's related (to) muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's disease,” adding, “I never wanted to do the big retirement tour, like people do, then take a year off and then come back. I think that's kinda cheesy. And I'm not saying I won't be able to tour. I'll try to do as much as I can.”
‘We've had a fairy-tale life’
During the interview, Denise, Jackson's wife of over four decades, also was with him. She said, “When I'm down, he lifts me up. When he's down, I try to lift him up. The happy side of that is we've had a fairy-tale life.”
Jackson then moved on to focus on his music and explained, “I feel a little more freedom now because I'm not trying to worry about getting on the radio and fitting into their limitations. I've always believed that music is the most important thing. The songs. And I guess that's what I'd like to (leave) if I had a legacy,” to which Denise agreed.
The mother-of-two added, “He'll have so many songs for our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren to hear and know who he was. To know what was important to him. To get a little touch of our lives together through his music.”