Linda Ronstadt says she's not afraid of dying, but she is afraid of suffering from the effects of Parkinson's disease.
She made the comments in an interview with "CBS Sunday Morning," set to air at 9 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 3.
Ronstadt also said she is hopeful they will find a cure for Parkinson's, which she was diagnosed with in early 2013. She went public with the diagnosis in August of that year and said at the time she had been experiencing symptoms for years before that included not being able to sing.
Tucson native Ronstadt, 72, performed her last hometown concert in 2007 at the AVA at Casino del Sol. She has returned twice since for speaking events at Fox Tucson Theatre.
Ronstadt told "CBS Sunday Morning" host Tracy Smith that she realized something was wrong with her voice as early as 2000. And while she can no longer sing — “I can’t even sing in the shower," she told Smith — she isn't angry.
“When you’ve been able to do certain things all your life, like put your shoes on and brush your teeth or whatever, you – when you can’t do that, you sort of go, ‘What’s this?’” says Ronstadt, who sold more than 100 million records in her nearly five-decade career that landed her in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. “You know, what’s happening here? Come help me with this. And then you have to learn to ask people to help, and that – that took a little doing. But I do that now, because I need the help.”
In the interview, which covered her career and touched on her recent theater "conversation" events around the country including at Fox Tucson Theatre in 2014 and last year, Ronstadt expressed confidence that researchers will one day find a cure for Parkinson’s.
“I’m sure they’ll find something eventually,” she tells Smith. “They’re learning so much more about it every day. If not, I mean, I’m 72. We’re all going to die. So, they say people usually die with Parkinson’s. They don’t always die of it because it’s so slow-moving. So, I figure I’ll die of something. And I’ve watched people die, so I’m not afraid of dying. I’m afraid of suffering, but I’m not afraid of dying.”
"CBS Sunday Morning" airs from 9 to 10:30 a.m.
Photos: Tucson-native, Grammy-winner Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt arrives at Tucson International Airport on Sept. 16, 1976 for a benefit concert for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Linda Ronstadt arrives at Tucson International Airport on Sept. 16, 1976 for a benefit concert for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Linda Ronstadt signs autographs at Tucson's Symphony Cotillion Ball in 1977.
Linda Ronstadt make a face while signing dozens of autographs at Tucson's Symphony Cotillion Ball in 1977.
Linda Ronstadt at Tucson's Symphony Cotillion Ball in 1977.
Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys at Minus One Coffeehouse on 6th Street Nov. 24, 1966.
Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys at Minus One Coffeehouse on 6th Street Nov. 24, 1966.
Ad for a Linda Ronstadt concert at TCC in 1972.
Linda Ronstadt appearance in Tucson in September, 1976.
Linda Ronstadt concert in Tucson, February, 1975.
Linda Ronstadt in concert at the Tucson Community Center on Sept. 16, 1976. The original negatives are missing from the archives, but the photo assignment and contact sheets of all the outtakes remain.
Linda Ronstadt in concert on Feb. 9, 1975 at Tucson Community Center. Note the changed spelling on the original photo request.
Linda Ronstadt in concert at McKale Center on Nov. 2, 1980. The original negatives are missing from the archives, but the contact sheets of all the outtakes remain. Note the comment on the photo assignment.
Linda Ronstadt in concert at Tucson Community Center on Sept. 16, 1976. The original negatives are missing from the archives, but the contact sheets of all the outtakes remain.
"Heart Like a Wheel" by Linda Ronstadt, the album that started it all and went Platinum.
FILE - This Feb. 20, 1977 file photo shows singer Linda Ronstadt is flanked by Ringo Starr, left, and Paul Williams after she was named best pop singer for her "Hasten Down the Wind" at The 19th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. A documentary, “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice,” will premiere on CNN on New Year's Day. (AP Photo)
FILE - In this 1976 file photo, California Gov. Edmund Brown Jr. and singer Linda Ronstadt stand with members of the Eagles rock group during a concert in Maryland. Brown and Ronstadt dated for several years before going their separate ways. Brown, who was re-elected to the governor's office in 2010, leaves office Jan. 7, 2019, after a record four terms in office, from 1975-1983 and again since 2011. (AP Photo/Karin Vismara, File)
FILE - This Aug. 5, 1979 file photo shows Linda Ronstadt performing during the Lowell George Tribute in Los Angeles. Now at 74, the 10-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has been recognized as a “Legend” at the 33rd annual Hispanic Heritage Awards. (AP Photo)
Singer Linda Ronstadt performs at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, R.I., on Aug. 8, 1978. (AP Photo)
Singer Linda Ronstadt visits British rocker David Bowie backstage during his break in the Broadway play "The Elephant Man," at the Booth Theater in New York, Dec. 5, 1980. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Actor Kevin Kline, left, arrives at the premier of the film version of "The Pirates of Penzance" with his co-star Linda Ronstadt in New York, Feb. 18, 1983. (AP Photo/G. Paul Burnett)
Linda Ronstadt singing at Mariachi Espectacular at Tucson Community Center in on May 9, 1986.
Linda Ronstadt sings to her father, Gilbert, at the Mariachi Espectacular concert to close the Tucson International Mariachi Festival on May 9, 1986.
Linda Ronstadt at the Mariachi Espectacular concert to close the Tucson International Mariachi Festival on May 9, 1986.
Linda Ronstadt (left), Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton (right) rehearse for the annual Country Music Association awards show at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on Sunday, Oct. 13, 1986. The trio will perform during the show on Monday. (AP Photo/Dan Loftin)
Linda Ronstadt singing with her father, Gilbert, at Mariachi Espectacular on April 24, 1987 at Tucson Community Center.
Linda Ronstadt in Los Angeles on Dec. 7, 1987.
Linda Ronstadt in Los Angeles on Dec. 7, 1987.
Linda Ronstadt in Los Angeles on Dec. 7, 1987.
Linda Ronstadt with Mariachi Vargas at Centennial Hall on Feb. 11, 1988.
Linda Ronstadt with Mariachi Vargas at Centennial Hall on Feb. 11, 1988.
Linda Ronstadt, center, during an interview about a school exchange program in Arizpe, Mexico, in October, 1989.
Chuck Berry shares the stage with Linda Ronstadt during his 60th birthday celebration at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 17, 1986. Ronstadt is one of the guests during the concert, which was filmed for a motion picture documentary titled "Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll." (AP Photo/James A. Finley)
Actor Robert Wagner pictured with singer Linda Ronstadt rehearsing on the set of "Saturday Night Live," Dec. 9, 1989. (AP Photo/Timothy Clary)
Linda Ronstadt, one of the Hall of Fame's first five inductees, brought mariachi music to the masses with two popular LPs.
In the 1924 photo, Federico Ronstadt and his wife, Lupe, pose with their four sons, (from left) Bill, Edward, Gilbert and Alfred. Gilbert is Linda's father.
FILE - Singer Linda Ronstadt appears at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 28, 1984. Now at 74, the 10-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has been recognized as a “Legend” at the 33rd annual Hispanic Heritage Awards. (AP Photo, File)
Grammy winner Linda Ronstadt teams up with veteran arranger/conductor Nelson Riddle to perform classic ballads in Linda Ronstadt in concert with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. Featuring songs from Ronstadt's hit LP "What's New" in 1998.
Chuy Rodriguez of Los Camperos de Nati Cano's Chuy Rodriguez sings with Linda Ronstadt during the Mariachi Conference Espectacular concert at the Tucson Arena on Friday, April 24, 2009.
Tucsonan Linda Ronstadt performs with Sam Bush at the Berger Performing Arts Center here on June 12, 2002.
Linda Ronstadt performs during the Mariachi Espectacular concert in the Tucson Arena on Friday, April 24, 2009.
This Sept. 17, 2013 photo shows American musician Linda Ronstadt poses in New York to promote the release of her memoir "Simple Dreams."
Tucson native and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Linda Ronstadt talks with Jeff Haskell during the resurrected Sunday Evening Forum at the Fox Theatre, 17 W Congress St. The Grammy award winner and pop and country music icon recently announced she has been diagnosed with Parkinson Disease. In addition to being inducted in the Hall of Fame she was also honored with the National Medal of Arts. The interview series, in which the moderator takes written questions from the audience, only recently returned in March after a 30-year hiatus. Admission was free and no reservation were accepted. The photo was taken on Sunday, October 5, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz.
President Obama shakes hands with musician Linda Ronstadt in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 28, 2014, where he presented her with a 2013 National Medal of Arts. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Front row from left, Susan Pompeo, 2019 Kennedy Center Honorees Michael Tilson Thomas, Linda Ronstadt, Sally Field, Joan Ganz Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett and Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter, back row from left, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 2019 Kennedy Center Honorees Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, characters from "Sesame Street," Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, and Elmo, Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein, Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss pose for a group photo following the Kennedy Center Honors State Department Dinner at the State Department on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Maria Muldaur, left, and Linda Ronstadt onstage at the 19th Annual Movies For Grownups Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Grammy-winning singer and Tucson native Linda Ronstadt stands before a Rock Martinez mural of her as she is honored during the renaming ceremony of the Tucson Music Hall, which became the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, in 2022.
For years, Linda Ronstadt railed against the razing of the barrio to make way for the Tucson Convention Center. Now her name has become a part of it with the renaming of the Tucson Music Hall to the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall.
Tucson native, Emmy and Grammy winner Linda Ronstadt honored at a ceremony before the International Mariachi Conference's Espectacular Concert with the renaming of the Tucson Music Hall as The Linda Ronstadt Music Hall. Video by Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star
Videos: A look back at Linda Ronstadt's career
Linda Ronstadt began singing as a child. She performed her first hits with the Stone Ponies. She sang in Spanish. She sang with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. She performed opera. She recorded lullabies made from rock and roll songs. Parkinson's disease has ended Ronstadt's singing career, but her impressive body of work has earned the Tucson native a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Linda Ronstadt and The Stone Pony's sang "Long Long Time" on The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour in 1970.
Early TV appearance with a beautiful Linda Ronstadt in her first group, The Stone Ponys. Nice tune!
Linda Ronstandt interpreta "Por un Amor"
Linda Ronstadt - You're No Good
Linda ronstadt in the 1980s
Linda sings the part of Mabel with her mates of the Broadway Cast of Pirates of Penzance in a TV show.
Rock star discusses her secret battle that as silenced her singing voice.
Photos: Linda Ronstadt joins the 2014 Rock Hall of Fame class
Nirvana, Kiss and Peter Gabriel will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year. The Rock Hall announced Tuesday that Hall and Oates, Linda Ronstadt and Cat Stevens also will be inducted April 10 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Ronstadt received her first nomination not long after she shared news that she has Parkinson's disease. Fans have long questioned her absence from the hall's roster of stars.
Handout photo of Linda Ronstadt in 1999.
