(NewsNation) — Country singer Ronnie McDowell had a mini-stroke during his performance in Reading, Pennsylvania on Saturday, according to his son.
McDowell’s son, Ronnie McDowell, Jr., wrote on Facebook, “Dad is in good spirits today. He did suffer a mini-stroke the other day on stage here in Pennsylvania. I knew something wasn’t right as I had his vocals in my ear monitor and I could hear him slurring his words and forgetting the words to his songs that he has sang for many years.”
His son went on to say that his father, after being pulled off stage, told him he thought he was having a stroke. Once at the hospital, the doctors told McDowell that he would need surgery “in the next few weeks,” according to his son.
WKRN reported that McDowell was on tour at the Summer Solstice Music Festival when he was rushed to the hospital. McDowell allegedly started slurring his words and “not making sense” about three or four songs into his set.
McDowell Jr. expressed his gratitude for the medical team and said his father is in good spirits. McDowell became famous in the late 1970s after writing “The King Is Gone,” a tribute to Elvis Presley after his death. He also had many Top 10 country hits in the 1980s, including “All Tied Up” and “Older Women.”