The 64-year-old Alan Jackson has delighted millions of admirers for four decades with his beautiful fusion of traditional country music and honky tonk.
He is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, has sold more than 80 million recordings, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017.
But Alan has also been through some terrible tragedies lately, and he announced last year that he had been given a degenerative nerve disorder diagnosis.
Ben Selecman was killed in a boating accident in 2018, and the Country Music Hall of Famer and his family are still grieving for him.
In a tragic turn of events the 28-year-old, who was married to Mattie Jackson Selecman, lost his life while trying to help a woman onto a boat.
The Tennessean reported that Ben collapsed and banged his head while assisting a woman into a boat. Unfortunately, Ben passed away from “severe traumatic head injuries” despite being taken to the hospital right away.
Employees at Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk, where Ben served as Assistant District Attorney, told The Tennessean that he will be deeply missed for his sense of humor and unwavering drive.
“He was really a rising star and I’m sick that we lost him, but I’m grateful for every day that he worked for us because he was great,” their statement added.
Alan Jackson recently revealed that this familial tragedy played a significant role in the inspiration for his albums Angels & Alcohol from 2015 and Where Have You Gone from early this year.
Nothing compares to a family occasion.
For the past three years, Mattie has been grieving the tragic loss of her partner while her father has been by her side. Even more shocking, the father and daughter admitted that they wrote the song “Racing the Dark” together. Jackson’s daughters have frequently served as inspiration for his well-known country music, but this is the first.
By purchasing Mattie’s upcoming book, Lemons on Friday: Trusting God Through My Greatest Heartbreak, fans of the celebrity can download the song. In the book, Mattie discusses how the death of her spouse affected her and how her faith helped her start the healing process. She also discusses how her suffering inspired her to co-found NaSHEville, a business that seeks to empower women in Music City, and how this gave her the drive to discover new strength.
A introduction by Alan and his wife, New York Times best-selling novelist Denise Jackson, is also included in the book. The married pair talks about their personal experiences when their daughter passed away, including how they came up with new ways to nurture her and how they coped with the loss of a new family member.
Alan Jackson disease
Unfortunately, Alan Jackson has also had to deal with some personal health issues. Last year, Alan disclosed in an exclusive interview with Today that he had recently been dealing with serious health issues.
Alan claims that he has experienced issues for the previous ten years and has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a degenerative nerve ailment.
The country singer’s life is affected by the illness; it can occasionally be difficult for him to walk and maintain his equilibrium. Since the problem is genetic and was passed down from Alan’s father, there is sadly no remedy.
Unfortunately, it has gotten worse over the years, according to Alan.
”There’s no cure for it, but it’s been affecting me for years. And it’s getting more and more obvious. And I know I’m stumbling around on stage. And now I’m having a little trouble balancing, even in front of the microphone, and so I just feel very uncomfortable,” he told Jenna Bush Hager from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.
According to Today, the condition affects ”the peripheral nervous system and causes balance problems by compromising smaller, weaker muscles in the body’s extremities.” The damage is mostly in the arms and legs.
Even though it’s a hard blow for him, Alan doesn’t plan on stepping out of the limelight. Hopefully, he will continue to tour and play his music for many years to come.
“It’s not going to kill me. It’s not deadly,” Jackson shared. “But it’s related (to) muscular dystrophy and Parkinson’s disease.”
Prayers for you Alan and your family. One of my favorite singers!
