What Happened to Don Dokken's Voice? Singer Slams Critics After Vocal Issues

Don Dokken slammed his critics, who had been complaining about his vocal performances.

After decades of performing, Don admitted that he knew there had been issues with his voice for years. Unlike other musicians who can still rock the way they did when they debuted decades ago, the singer said he has a different case - which some fans have not been feeling happy about.

Don Dokken To Critics: "Don't Come To The Show"

Don appeared in his interview with Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic and responded to the criticisms he has been receiving for years because of his vocal performances. He spoke candidly about his struggles to preserve his voice and the issues he has dealt with to reproduce his band's classic material.

The 70-year-old rocker admitted that he received a lot of complaints after failing to hit the notes like he used to.

"I'm 70, man. And some of these fans go... I've had people say, 'Don needs to give it up. He can't hit the high notes.' I'm, like, 'Let's see you hit those high notes 24-year-old. Go ahead. Go for it,'" he continued.

Don revealed he tried to copy Rob Halford and Klaus Meine to maintain his vocals; however, he knows he could not sing perfectly as he did in 1983.

Although some already expressed disappointment over the things Don has no full control of, he revealed that he plans to keep going until "it's not fun anymore." Meanwhile, he told people who could not accept him for what he is now to not come to the show.

He previously addressed the issue in a 2020 interview with Antihero Magazine, during which he praised vocalists who still have amazing voices. At that time, he revealed that he accepted the fact that "some people are blessed, and some people are not."

Over the past few years, Don underwent several surgeries and treatments that also affected his voice permanently. He had a bout of stomach cancer and received vocal cord surgery before his neck and spinal surgery in November 2019.

The latter medical procedure left him with complications that left his right arm paralyzed.

"My left hand's normal. My right hand [is] f------. It's over. The whole arm is paralyzed. I can hold a cup - that's about it," he told Cassius Morris. "So that was depressing after surgery. And they kept saying, 'Give it a year. Give it a year. Give it a year.' It's been three years. It didn't come back. So that was a bummer."