Don Dokken has come to realization that his right hand is paralyzed and he can’t play guitar anymore

Don Dokken has come to realization that his right hand is paralyzed and he can’t play guitar anymore

Dokken frontman Don Dokken was recently interviewed by Eamon O’Neill for UK’s eonmusic to promote his band’s latest album The Lost Songs: 1978-1981, which will be released via Silver Lining Music on August 28, 2020.

Although the songs on The Lost Years: 1978-1981 date back about 40 years ago, it features a number of musicians including current Dokken guitarist Jon Levin who has been in the band for about 20 years.

In that regard, Don Dokken indicated (with slight edits): “Yeah, it’s before Jeff [Pilson, bass] and Mick [Brown, drums] and George [Lynch, guitar]; this was way back before I met them, so it’s the very beginning, and I just figured it might be interesting for the hard core Dokken fans to see where I came from and where I started, and how I was writing, and how I was singing when I was in my twenties. But it was a harder record to make than I thought. I was just going to take the songs and just put them out, but they needed a lot of work; they didn’t sound good, they needed to be mixed, they sounded like shit, because I didn’t know what I was doing when I was 25 years old; I didn’t know anything! So that’s why we put new drums on, and new guitars, and some new solos and stuff like that.”

On whether he played guitar on the new album given that it’s previously been reported that he has had some difficulties playing guitar due to complications from a spinal surgery, Don Dokken stated: “Well, I play guitar on these songs because it was 35 years ago, but actually, I was just coming from the hospital right now where I do my therapy, and yeah, my right hand; I can’t play guitar any more, it’s over. My right hand is paralysed.”

Don Dokken added: “Yeah. It’s been seven months since the surgery. I’d just gotten my surgery a couple of months before the Metal Hall of Fame, and they said; “Just be patient. Your hand will come back, you’ll get your feeling back. Be patient, be patient”. But it’s been seven months, and my hand still doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work, and it’s the way it is. Sometimes bad things happen, you know? I’m not happy about it, but I played guitar for 50 years, so I guess I got some good time in.”

Back in February 2020, Dokken had issued a statement that Don Dokken was expecting to fully recover from partial right arm / hand paralysis after some complications from surgery to his neck and back in November 2019.

You can read the rest of the interview with Don Dokken by Eamon O’Neill at eonmusic‘s website.

Dokken‘s “Step Into The Light” video (from The Lost Years: 1978-1980):