John Driskell Hopkins Health Condition: Zac Brown Band Member Opens Up About Diagnosis After Album Release

John Driskell Hopkins reflected on his ALS diagnosis following the release of his fourth holiday album.

On Tuesday, November 28, the member of the Zac Brown Band released his fourth holiday album, "Let's Get Frosty." He collaborated with Yacht Rock Revue to complete it.

John Driskell Hopkins Connects His Album to ALS Diagnosis

In his interview with People regarding his release, Hopkins opened up about his cover of "Let It Go" and why it is significant to him - especially when it resonated with his health issue.

"'Let It Go' is a winter-y sort of song, but it's not necessarily a holiday song. It's associated with winter condition and icy magic, and because of that, we were looking for a final real kicker to the record, and it's not something that you would think of right away but the whole vibe of the album is winter weather," he said.

The 52-year-old added that the line "I'm going to find my strength" hit him because of his ALS diagnosis.

He featured his daughter, Lily Faith, in the track and shared that the 11-year-old saved his dad.

She told the media outlet that it was truly fun to collaborate with her father for the first time that she wants to record with him more soon.

John Driskell Hopkins' Battle With ALS

Hopkins started noticing the signs in 2019 when he had difficulties playing guitar. He soon found out he has ALS.

"We were crying three times a day. I was just like, 'I need to figure out what this means,'" he told CBS News. "I worry about what it means to her [Jennifer]. 'Cause I don't wanna ruin her adult life. This is the most beautiful woman in the world. She could find anyone tomorrow. But I don't wanna burden this one."

The diagnosis helped them launched the charity, Hop On A Cure, to raise money to support ALS research.

His band previously helped raise $200,000 through a pos-game benefit concert for the MLB's Lou Gehrig Day.

The degenerative disease, which has no known cure yet, causes progressive paralysis of the muscles. It eventually leads to complete respiratory failure, which occurs within five years of the diagnosis.

"We need more weekends like that. We need more funding to fight ALS. We've been saying for a long time that ALS is not incurable. ALS is underfunded," he went on. "So we really need to continue to raise money and get it out the door."