In 1991, Tracy Lawrence prepared to release his debut album Stick and Stones. While a major moment in his career, the country singer found himself fighting for his life when he was robbed and shot in downtown Nashville. Thankfully, Lawrence survived the attack and released Stick and Stones. Since that moment, he has charted over 40 songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. But even with the incident happening more than three decades ago, Lawrence admitted it still haunted him.
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Appearing on the Big D and Bubba radio show, Lawrence discussed his ongoing career and a few stories from the past. Among those stories was the 1991 shooting. According to Lawrence, that moment has remained by his side for years. And it was more than psychological as he revealed, “Man, it’s causing me a lot of problems, especially as I get older. I got shot through the joint of my left knee, and so I had it scoped three times and ended up having to have a total replacement in 2016.”
Still carrying the bullet with him, Lawrence noted how it also created hip and ankle problems throughout the years.
Although struggling with the physical pain, Lawrence never sought treatment for the emotional toll the experience took on his mental health. “I never really got help until much later on in life, and it caused me a lot of problems in my relationships, it gave me a real bad attitude about some things for a while.”
Tracy Lawrence Urges Victims To “Talk To Somebody”
Finding his emotions spiraling out of control, Lawrence continued, “It gave me a real bad attitude for a while because I survived something that I didn’t know if I should have. It gave me some mental problems.”
While Lawrence continued to deal with the results of the shooting, he hoped to use the incident to help others. Knowing how the robbery affected his mental health, the singer pleaded with fans to speak with someone if they found themselves in a bad place. “Anytime you go through something traumatic like that, my best advice to anybody is to go get help, talk to somebody because the longer you push that stuff down, the more difficult it is.”
Still a part of Lawrence’s story, the country star hopes his experience encourages others to understand that healing doesn’t have to be faced alone.
(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
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