Alan Jackson only has two more dates on his Last Call: One More For The Road Tour, which means the end of Jackson performing on the road, perhaps forever. The 66-year-old will perform on Saturday, April 26, in Tampa, Florida, with his final show of his last tour taking place on May 17, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Jackson likely would have toured longer, if not for the challenges brought on by Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a rare degenerative nerve condition that impacts Jackson’s balance and mobility.
“I have this neuropathy and neurological disease,” Jackson reveals on the Today Show. “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. It’s not going to kill me; it’s not deadly. But it is related to Muscular Dystrophy and Parkinson’s disease.”
Not only will Jackson’s fans mourn his retirement from the road, but so will his band members, many who have been with him since the beginning of his career.
“I’m just lucky,” Jackson says. “The ones that lasted are just good guys. Most of them are just good ol’ boys that love playing music. Most of them have always played real country, and it’s just hard to find people that you can travel with them that much, especially in the early years .. Everybody’s personality intertwined, so you had to have people that were pretty good. I’ve always been lucky to have pretty good people. I try to treat everybody as fair and nice, and they do the same to me.”
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Jackson’s voice sounds better than ever, but he now often performs using a stool, like he did for his performance of “Chattahoochee,” for Opry 100: A Live Celebration. Jackson has been a member of the Opry since 1991.
“The ultimate dream when you’re in country music is to be asked to join the Grand Ole Opry,” Jackson says (via Taste of Country). “You think about people like Hank Williams, and Mr. Acuff, and George Jones, who stood on that spot of wood. That’s what makes you so nervous — to think about the historical part of the Opry and how it’s played such a part in country music.”
Jackson is taking his cues from his own musical role models about choosing his own time to step away from the spotlight.
“I’ve always admired my heroes like George Jones, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn and Charley Pride who just played as much as they wanted to, as long as they could,” Jackson explains. “I’ve always thought I’d like to do that, and I’d like to as long as my health will allow.”
Purchase tickets for Jackson’s remaining two dates at AlanJackson.com.