Colt Ford is still in the ICU after suffering a heart attack after a show in Mesa, Arizona on Friday (April 4). The 54-year-old was playing a show at Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row bar and was rushed to the hospital following the performance. However, according to a representative of Ford’s, his condition is promising and he “is steadily improving in a positive direction,” as reported in Taste of Country.
Videos by American Songwriter
On Sunday, Brantley Gilbert took to Instagram to share some positive news about Ford’s condition. “Finished a show in Texas last night and called to check on Colt and family got some good news!” he wrote on social media. “Out of respect for Colt and family that’s all I’ll share. Please keep the prayers comin!”
Ford has struggled with health issues in the past. He shared with Taste of Country last year that he was dealing with Myasthenia Gravis, which is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the skeletal muscles, causing weakness. Three years ago, he also underwent surgery for eye cancer.
[RELATED: Colt Ford Heart Attack: A Timeline of the Country-Rapper’s Health Issues]
Colt Ford Once Helped Jason Aldean Land a Country-Rap Hit
Colt Ford is a former professional golfer who released his first album in 2008. He deals mostly in country-rap, and at one point helped Jason Aldean dip his toe into the genre when Aldean covered the song “Dirt Road Anthem.”
The song was originally written and recorded by Ford and Brantley Gilbert on Ford’s debut album. Gilbert then reversed their roles on the song for his own 2010 album Halfway to Heaven. When Jason Aldean was working on his fourth album My Kinda Party, he tapped the song for a cover, makin it his first and only country-rap song.
Allegedly, Aldean had to study Snoop Dogg to correctly mimic a rap cadence. Aldean’s version of “Dirt Road Country” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Country Songs chart, but he always denied it was a rap song. “It’s not a rap song,” he said at the time. “I never say never but I will say that I’m a country singer. I am definitely not a rapper. So if I was to do anything like that, it’s not going to be Kanye West-style or anything.”
Featured Image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
