Little Big Town‘s Jimi Westbrook returned to the stage over the weekend following his recent vocal cord surgery. Though he’s now singing higher than he has in years, Jimi admits he was worried about the prospect of never singing again.
He says, “You don’t realize how not being able to use your voice, which is something that we all — it’s just a given. To not have that is an eye-opener.”
Jimi’s wife and band mate, Karen Fairchild, enjoyed the quiet, peaceful atmosphere around their house while Jimi was on voice rest. They also learned their son, Elijah, is an outstanding lip reader.
“[He was] best lip reader of anyone I ever encountered during the whole experience, Jimi says. “I rarely had to repeat myself to him or mouth things to him the second time.”
Jimi’s friend, Keith Urban, was another big source of support since he went through the same surgery a few years ago. Keith even helped keep Jimi entertained during his recovery time.
Says Jimi, “He periodically would send me texts of encouragement or iTunes gifted me several documentaries. Like, ‘I know you’re not doing anything. So, watch these, you’ll like ’em.’ But, I appreciate that.”
Now that Jimi’s voice is getting stronger and stronger, you might hear him going for some Justin Timberlake-inspired high notes on their next album. In fact, Karen knew Jimi was on the road to recovery when she heard him singing a Timberlake song at a post-surgery check up.
Jimi says, “[Karen] was like, ‘Holy cow! I haven’t heard you sing like that in that range for a while.’ So, there are new things that it’s like, ‘Wow! It’s amazing.'”
Go to LittleBigTown.com for an update on their tour schedule.
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
