Posted on 08/23/2013 6:55:29 PM PDT by mr fish
The 67-year-old, 11-time Grammy Award winner details her struggle with the disease in an interview with the AARP.
Grammy Award-winning artist Linda Ronstadt has revealed that a recent Parkinson's diagnosis has rendered her unable to sing.
In an interview with the AARP, the 67-year-old says that she was officially diagnosed with the degenerative disorder eight months ago after displaying symptoms as far back as eight years ago.
"I couldn't sing," she told AARP music reporter Alanna Nash, "and I couldn't figure out why. I knew it was mechanical. I knew it had to do with the muscles, but I thought it might have also had something to do with the tick disease that I had. And it didn't occur to me to go to a neurologist."
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Ronstadt says that she had undergone a shoulder operation, and she believed that to be the culprit for her trembling hands.
"Parkinson's is very hard to diagnose, so when I finally went to a neurologist and he said, 'Oh, you have Parkinson's disease,' I was completely shocked," she said. "I wouldn't have suspected that in a million, billion years."
Now, Ronstadt says she "can't sing a note." Throughout her career, which began when she was just 14 years old singing with her siblings, Ronstadt accumulated eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, a Tony Award and a Golden Globe nom for her role in The Pirates of Penzance. She released her first studio album in 1969 (Hand Sown… Home Grown) and her most recent in 2006 (Adieu False Heart).
Ronstadt recently penned a memoir, Simple Dreams, out Sept. 17, though the book does not address her diagnosis or the loss of her voice.
"No one can sing with Parkinson's disease," she tells AARP. "No matter how hard you try."
The publication's full interview with Ronstadt is slated to run on AARP.org next week.
Liberalism took your soul.
It didnt occur to her to go to a neurologist???
Hmmm...
I well remember Different Drum and the airplay it got on the AM stations at the time. Nice catchy pop tune.
But the Stone Poneys opening for Paul Butterfield, or the Doors? The 60s were a strange time.
A vicious, virulent, America-hater - - but I do wish her well.
The best artist in concert I ever saw was Neil Diamond, also 40ish years ago. Leave aside whether you are a Neil Diamond fan or not ... he had total rapport with the audience, and was the most responsive rocker I ever saw. A class act.
Hippie Nookie - She had a great voice.
she’s one of the biggest brain-dead GOP and Bush haters around. During the Iraq war, this twat bitched about conservatives and the Iraq war like we were the plague. F*** her.
Karma.
if she wasn’t a freaking uber liberal i might care.
Amen and amen
I wonty miss LR singing at fundraisers for Guv. Moonbeam.
I heard the song earlier this week. “I ain’t sayin’ you ain’t pretty...It’s just that I am not in the market for a boy who wants to love only me...” Far out and groovy.
She was cute back in the day, but I never cared for her music or her politics.
So warped she turned Jerry Brown into a lefty.
Sorry to hear that news about Ms. Ronstadt’s voice. My Dad died of Parkinsons...he was a big, strong man, always full of life and verve. The disease robbed Dad of all of his muscles to the point he couldn’t sit up, roll over, swallow or talk. But he would always manage a crooked smile and his eyes would gleam. Never once did he complain about his fate, either. He taught me a lot about being a man.
It is a horrible disease and I’m fearful of it.
Sheesh, max. You sound just like a hateful, mean liberal. We are better than that. Where’s your compassion and forgiveness?
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