Tim McGraw Says Health Issues Nearly Halted His Music Career: ‘Things Were Getting Really Bad’

Three-time Grammy winner Tim McGraw recently told an audience that he contemplated leaving his music career behind due to health issues, according to a video shared by Fox News.

During a concert in Highland, California on Saturday (Oct. 25), McGraw candidly discussed the health issues that had him thinking of halting his career. “I’ve had four back surgeries and double knee replacements, just in the last couple of years,” McGraw told the crowd.

McGraw also praised the doctor who did his double knee replacement surgeries, as that doctor was in the crowd. McGraw also noted that his wife and fellow musician Faith Hill has undergone health issues recently. “My wife has been going through a few surgeries – she’s had five neck surgeries, and she’s had a couple of hand surgeries,” he said, while also praising Hill’s hand surgeon who was in the audience along with other nurses and staff members.

McGraw noted that around the time of his most recent back surgery, which took place in the Spring, “things were getting really bad, so I was seriously contemplating and figuring out how to walk away. I didn’t want to, but I didn’t think it was going to get better….but it’s gotten better.”

These days, McGraw is back in touring mode, with upcoming shows slated for November and December, including a slate of shows at The Colosseum Theater and Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in December.

McGraw also said those moments of reflection inspired his recent song, “King Rodeo,” which McGraw wrote with songwriter Tom Douglas. “I had this idea for this song that sort of dealt with facing age and facing all that stuff that comes along with it,” McGraw told the crowd.