Fans are getting a health update on Ronnie McDowell after he suffered a medical incident during a performance. The country singer’s son, Ronnie McDowell Jr., took to Facebook to reveal that his dad suffered a mini stroke during his Pennsylvania performance.
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McDowell Jr., who serves as his 75-year-old dad’s tour manager, previously told the ABC affiliate in Nashville that his dad was was three or four songs into his June 21 set when he began to slur his words and started “not making sense.”
“I knew something wasn’t right as I had his vocals in my in ear monitor and I could hear him slurring his words and forgetting the words to his songs that he has sang for many years,” McDowell Jr. wrote on Facebook.
The scene prompted McDowell Jr. to pause the show and bring McDowell off the stage, he told the outlet.
“He told me that he wasn’t ok, and thats not how my strong dad talks,” McDowell Jr. recalled on Facebook. “He said that he thought that he might be having a stroke.”
McDowell Jr. wrote that he promptly got his dad into a van to cool off and asked for an EMT to come assess him. Both man agreed the singer was having a stroke and proceeded to call an ambulance.
Ronnie McDowell’s Prognosis
“The doctors told him that he will need surgery in the next few weeks,” McDowell Jr. revealed. “They do want him to take it easy but they said that he can perform and workout in the next few days. He was so happy about that.”
Now, McDowell has been released from the hospital and is “in good spirits,” his son wrote.
“I’m so thankful to all of the fans from all over the world, my dad’s band and The Twang Gang (whom were there during the episode) and all of my friends and my incredible family. You all have been absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to see all of you and thank you in person,” McDowell Jr. concluded. “…. Thank you Jesus for saving my dad. You are amazing.”
Ronnie McDowell’s Career
McDowell’s big break came in 1977 when he penned “The King Is Gone” in the wake of Elvis Presley’s death.
McDowell released several hit songs in the years that followed including “Older Women,” “Watchin’ Girls Go By,” and “Personally.” The singer went on to work with the likes of Conway Twitty, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Tammy Wynette.
Today, McDowell tours with his band. He also plays shows with Elvis Presley’s original sideman, D.J. Fontana, along with Ray Walker, a longtime member of The Jordanaires, staging a tribute to Elvis Presley’s music.
Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images
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