Alan Jackson Extends Last Tour Despite Health Issues: ‘Going to Give Them the Best Show’
By Movieguide® Contributor
After a 13-year-long battle with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, singer Alan Jackson is still giving his fans one last tour.
“I’ve been touring for over 30 years — my daughters are all grown, we have one grandchild and one on the way. I’m enjoying spending more time at home. But my fans always show up to have a good time, and I’m going to give them the best show I can for this ‘Last Call,’” Jackson said about his tour, called “Last Call: One More for the Road Tour.”
This tour, which Jackson extended on Thursday, is fans last opportunity to see him sing live.
The double Grammy Award winner feels “self-conscious” about his disease as it affects his balance.
“I have this neuropathy and neurological disease,” Jackson said in a TODAY show interview in 2011. “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.”
“I know I’m stumbling around stage now,” he continued. “I’m having a little trouble balancing, even in front of the microphone. I just feel very uncomfortable…I think it’ll be good for me now to get it out in the open. If anybody’s curious at why I don’t walk right, that’s why.”
Though he won’t tour anymore, the country star may continue to write songs and make music.
“I may not have toured much, but again…like I said, the creative part jumps out every now and then,” Jackson said. “[Writing songs] is more fulfilling than anything.”
“It’s like, you can be a singer and go out and tour…but it’s kind of like you’re just doing the same thing over and over,” he said.
In 2013, Jackson released Gospel songs in his album, “Precious Memories Volume II.” He covered hymns that he grew up on, like “Amazing Grace” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
About Jackson’s performance of the latter song, Country Rebel wrote, “There’s just something about this performance that makes it comforting.”
In 2022, Jackson won the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Movieguide® reported:
“We are thrilled to honor Alan Jackson this year with the CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Sarah Trahern, the Country Music Association’s CEO, in a statement.
“A three-time CMA Entertainer of the Year, he is responsible for so many iconic moments in CMA Awards history,” she continued. “Just as Alan has been influenced by many country legends throughout his career, he too has inspired a generation of artists to stay true to the authenticity of country music.”
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