"PARKINSON'S HAS ROBBED ME OFF MY ABILITY TO SING" - LINDA RONSTADT [+Video]

Eleven-time-Grammy-winner Linda Ronstadt reveals that she is suffering from Parkinson's disease and says that the disease has taken away her ability to sing.

The sixty-seven-year-old music icon who is the voice behind the popular seventies hits like "Blue Bayou", "When Will I Be Loved" and "You're No Good" says that symptoms began to manifest eight years ago but did not suspect that anything was wrong. She also says that she started experiencing difficulty then but thought it was the residual effect of a tick disease. Even when she felt her hands begin to tremble, she still was unsuspecting and thought that the reason for the shaking was the shoulder operation that she had.

She was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease last January and she was "completely shocked" when the neurologist broke the news to her. "I wouldn't have suspected that in a million, billion years, "she said.

Rondstadt now uses poles to help her walk on rough grounds. She also brings with her a wheelchair every time she travels.

Rondstadt is one of the most versatile singers during her time and up to the present. Her career decision to skip from one music genre to another is considered by many as eclectic and risk-taking yet she has drawn the ears of millions of fans. She has recorded many albums including the popular "Trio" albums with Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton. She also transformed "old" music and renewed them so the younger listeners would appreciate them. Her greatest contribution in the music industry is the classics that she recorded.

Linda Ronstadt never thought that she will be afflicted with Parkinson's disease and she said that it has permanently taken away her voice. "No one can sing with Parkinson's disease, no matter how hard you try," she said in an interview with AARP music writer Alanna Nash

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