Which rare disease was Johnny Cash diagnosed with in 1997?

Johnny Cash was diagnosed with Shy-Drager syndrome in 1997. The condition is now generally discussed as multiple system atrophy, a rare neurodegenerative disorder that can affect movement, balance, blood pressure, and other automatic body functions.

Cash’s diagnosis followed a frightening collapse during a concert in Flint, Michigan, on October 25, 1997. He initially told audiences that he had Parkinson’s disease, reflecting the first diagnosis reported to him. Doctors soon revised that conclusion to Shy-Drager syndrome and gave him an extremely poor prognosis, reportedly about 18 months to live.

The medical picture later changed again: Cash’s diagnosis was described as autonomic neuropathy associated with diabetes. This history explains why Parkinson’s disease sometimes appears in accounts of his illness, but Shy-Drager syndrome is the canonical answer to this trivia question. His health problems curtailed touring, and severe pneumonia in 1998 further damaged his lungs. Despite this, he continued recording, including the late-career American albums.