Country star Alan Jackson confirms he has degenerative nerve condition

Country music icon Alan Jackson has revealed that he has been diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a degenerative nerve condition. 

He made the revelation in an exclusive interview with TODAY’s Jenna Bush Hager.

While speaking with Jenna from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, the 62-year old country star opened up about his health condition, which has been affecting his ability to walk.

He said: “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.“

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What is Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease?

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a condition that affects the peripheral nervous system and causes balance problems by compromising smaller, weaker muscles in the body’s extremities. And according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, there is no cure for CMT, but it can be managed with supportive therapy.

Despite this health challenge, Jackson, who has been lighting up the country music scene for more than three decades and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2017, doesn’t plan on stepping out of the spotlight just yet.

Alan Jackson says: “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.

“I’ve always believed that the music is the most important thing. The songs. And I guess that’s what I’d like to (leave) if I had a legacy.”

Alan Jackson is being supported by his high school sweetheart and wife of 41 years, Denise Jackson. He has recorded 16 studio albums, three greatest hits albums, two Christmas albums, and two gospel albums.

Jackson won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Country Song – “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” and in 2011 for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals- “As She’s Walking Away” with Zac Brown Band.

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