Josh Turner Shares How A Vocal Cord Injury Changed His Career
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Josh Turner Injured His Voice Right Before He Moved To Nashville
Josh Turner is opening up about a past vocal cord injury, and how it changed his life and career forever.
Turner has one of the most unique and recognizable voices in all of country music. He showcased his signature baritone sound on hit songs such as “Long Black Train,” “Your Man,” “Would You Go with Me,” and “Time Is Love.”
But shortly before he made the move to Nashville, Turner suffered a serious vocal cord injury. He spoke about that experience during a recent interview with Rory O’Connor.
“Vocal cord strain occurs when the muscles and vocal cords are injured through overuse … Vocal cord strain is most common among people who use their voice regularly for work or recreation. This includes singers, actors, teachers, and public speakers.”
Symptoms include “Chronic hoarseness for more than two weeks … [a] pain or a lump in the throat when speaking, changes in pitch, and odd-sounding speech.”
As you would expect, a vocal cord injury can be devastating for a singer like Turner. He recalled feeling like his career was over before it even began.
“I thought my dreams were crushed,” Turner told O’Connor. “I was just completely deflated and discouraged.”
How Injuring His Voice Ended Up Changing His Life & Career For The Better
But as you know, Turner recovered. He was able to chase his musical dreams, and now has multiple #1 country hits to his name.
Now looking back, Turner is grateful for that past vocal cord injury. It ended up being a blessing in disguise, and changed his life and career for the better.
As Turner explained, recovering from the injury taught him an important lesson about proper vocal care.
“That’s been the greatest asset for me as a singer over the last twenty-plus years,” he told O’Connor.
Turner realizes if he never injured his voice, he likely would have kept singing in a way that damaged his vocal cords.
“Had I not injured my voice and done everything that was required to get over that and heal from that, who knows where I would’ve been?” he said. “I probably would’ve blown my voice out or had surgery. A lot of times when you get to have surgery, that changes the way you sound.”
Thankfully, his voice healed without surgery, and he maintained his now signature-sound. Check out the video below to hear Josh Turner talk more about how his vocal cord injury changed his career.
