Linda Ronstadt says she can't sing due to Parkinson's

Washington, Aug 26 (IANS/EFE) American singer Linda Ronstadt said in an interview with AARP The Magazine that she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease eight months ago and "can't sing a note".

The 67-year-old Ronstadt said she first began exhibiting symptoms of the disease nearly a decade ago but blamed her inability to sing on a tick bite.

"My health has never recovered since then," Ronstadt said, adding that she thought the shaking in her hands was caused by shoulder surgery.

"There was something wrong," the singer told AARP music writer Alanna Nash in the wide-ranging interview.

"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," Ronstadt said.

The singer, known for such hits as "You're No Good", "Blue Bayou" and "It's So Easy", said she did not realize she was suffering from the debilitating disease.

"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," Ronstadt said.

"No one can sing with Parkinson's disease," Ronstadt said. "No matter how hard you try."

The singer walks with the assistance of poles on uneven ground and uses a wheelchair when she travels.

--IANS/EFE

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