Linda Ronstadt says she suffers from Parkinson’s disease and is unable to sing anymore

It was just five weeks ago that I posted a 67th birthday tribute to Linda Ronstadt sharing how she has been part of the soundtrack of my life.

What I did not know then – and we are all just finding out today – is that Miss Ronstadt is suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

It has robbed her of her ability to sing.

“No one can sing with Parkinson’s disease,” the 11-time Grammy winner tells AARP magazine. “No matter how hard you try.”

Diagnosed eight months ago, Ronstadt began to show symptoms as long as eight years ago.

“I couldn’t sing 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.  I think I’ve had it for seven or eight years already, because of the symptoms that I’ve had. Then I had a shoulder operation, so I thought that’s why my hands were trembling.”

“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. I wouldn’t have suspected that in a million, billion years.”

Her autobiography, Simple Dreams, comes out next month.

Here are some videos of that glorious voice in action: