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Country superstar Alan Jackson<\/strong> has been battling Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease for more than a decade, but he didn\u2019t go public with his diagnosis<\/a> until September 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cI have this neuropathy and neurological disease,\u201d the Country Music Hall of Fame member explained during a Today<\/em> show interview<\/a> at the time. \u201cIt\u2019s genetic that I inherited from my daddy. \u2026 There\u2019s no cure for it, but it\u2019s been affecting me for years. And it\u2019s getting more and more obvious.\u201d<\/p>\n Abbreviated as CMT, Charcot-Marie-Tooth is a hereditary disorder that affects the nervous system, causing progressive loss of muscle tissue and loss of sensation in the arms and legs. Patients may also experience trouble balancing and difficulty walking.<\/p>\n As Jackson explained during his Today<\/em> appearance, the disease doesn\u2019t shorten life expectancy, but it can make movement extremely difficult \u2014 especially for a person used to performing on stage night after night.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been reluctant to talk about this publicly and to my fans,\u201d the \u201cChattahoochee\u201d singer explained when revealing his battle with the disorder, which also affected his grandmother and sister. \u201cIt\u2019s called CMT, ironically enough, because CMT was a big part of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n The Grammy winner released his debut album, Here in the Real World<\/em>, in 1990, eventually becoming one of the most successful country stars of all time. He has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and has been named the Country Music Association\u2019s Entertainer of the Year three times.<\/p>\n Throughout his career, he\u2019s had wife Denise Jackson<\/strong> by his side<\/a>. The duo, who were high school sweethearts<\/a>, tied the knot in 1979 and later welcomed three daughters: Mattie (born in 1990), Ali (born in 1993) and Dani (born in 1997).<\/p>\n The couple briefly separated in 1998<\/a>, but after their reconciliation, Denise wrote a 2007 memoir about their romance titled It\u2019s All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life<\/em>. Since his diagnosis, the author has been one of her husband\u2019s biggest supporters.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I\u2019m down, he lifts me up. When he\u2019s down, I try to lift him up,\u201d Denise told Jenna Bush Hager<\/strong><\/a> in September 2021. \u201cThe happy side of that is we\u2019ve had a fairy tale life.\u201d<\/p>\n After opening up about his health battle, Alan announced the Last Call Tour, but he emphasized that he didn\u2019t want to refer to it as a farewell tour. He\u2019s also continued to support his colleagues in the music industry, playing at a Loretta Lynn<\/a> tribute concert at the Grand Ole Opry in October 2022. The following month, he accepted the Willie Nelson<\/strong><\/a> Lifetime Achievement Award at the CMA Awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n