Nothing Can Slow Down Clay Walker

Platinum-selling singer-songwriter Clay Walker has spent a lot of time on the road and in the recording studio since “What’s It to You,” his debut single, hit No. 1 on the country charts in 1993. And he has refused to slow down in the wake of that breakthrough, despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1996.

Indeed, the Texas native continues to cross items off his bucket list as he survives and thrives in show business. Last week, he made his very first appearance as a shipboard entertainer during the 2025 edition of the Country Cruising Cruise. And on Sunday, November 9, he will make his headlining debut at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium.

Later this month, he will give a repeat performance of sorts when he returns to Texas to host the Band Against MS Gala, a fund-raising celebration he established through his Clay Walker Foundation in 2012. Set for November 22 at Houston’s Thompson Hotel, the annual event is dedicated to helping fellow patients diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and providing funding for research in hopes of a cure. To date, the foundation has raised over $2.6 million for families and MS research.

“Living with MS has taught me a lot about myself and the work that is needed to bring this disease to its knees,” Walker says. “Our foundation is determined to make a difference in people’s lives now, and to protect those who are at risk in the future.”

We recently caught up with Clay Walker to talk about his life and music. Here are some highlights from our conversation, edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Cowboys & Indians: Glad to hear you had a great time on the Country Cruising Cruise. Events like that — and, of course, the Fan Fair festivities at the CMA Fest in Nashville — suggest to me that there is a very special bond between country artists and the people who follow them.

Clay Walker: I think there’s a lot of truth in that. I think a lot of that has to do with the foundation that was built by previous artists back in the day. At my first Fan Fair, I remember it was in the blazing heat, and every artist who was there had fans waiting all day in line. And I mean, gosh, I know I was there for several hours, maybe as much as 10 or 12 hours, and we closed it down that year. I love the fact that country artists have that abiding relationship with fans. I don’t know how it’s different from any that fans and performers in other genres might have. But I just think it’s deeper, more intimate.

C&I: Are you ever surprised by what songs the audience may shout out as requests? I mean, I can understand some more recent ones like “The Chain of Love.” But are you shocked when you hear them ask for the deep cuts?

Clay: Absolutely. And it'll shock me because throughout my career, it just seems like people have bonded with certain album cuts, and they’re so special to ’em. And I kind of get that, because I’ve been the same way with artists that I love. And I remember a particular George Strait song called “Rocking in the Arms of Your Memory,” which has just a unique thing with George’s voice, and I love the melody of it.

Yeah, fans do that with me a lot. They’ll holler out the song and I’ll be like, “Wow, that wasn’t even a single.” There’s one in particular that’s coming up a lot lately. It’s called “I’d Love to Be Your Last.” And a lot of people will tell me that they’ve used it as their wedding song, as their first dance. Or it just means a lot to them in their relationship.

C&I: That must give you a great feeling.

Clay: It kind of blows me away how that song has taken off. I’ve seen on YouTube where people have made different videos with that song in the background. And there’ll be several millions of views on each one of these things. It's always pleasantly surprising that people will know the deep cuts like you’re talking about. And I think that just goes to show that most country music fans go deeper than the surface. Meaning deeper than whatever they’re going to hear the first time they hear a song. And I could just tell you that it’s inspiring to all artists, young and old. You love to see that kind of engagement. And again, the relationship that we talked about at the very front of this conversation — that’s just proof that it goes deeper than most genres in my opinion. I can't verify that because I’ve never been in the other genres. But it appears that country fans are very deep into the artists that they like.

C&I: I hate to ask the obvious question, but I’m sure your fans would want me to ask: How are you feeling? How are you doing these days?

Clay: Man, it's been a rough couple of years with MS. I've had MS more than half my life, and I’ve handled it pretty well. And I’m still healthy. It’s just that the MS has really kicked in on us these past two years, and so I’m having to do other things to combat it. But I’ve got a team, a good team of doctors, physical therapists, and great support groups. So it hasn’t really sidelined us for shows or anything like that. But I have to work at it — walking and standing and exercising and trying to just stay physically fit.

When I get done with this interview, I’ll go out into physical therapy, into working out. But yeah, the truth is it's just been pretty rough. But the prayers and support that I've gotten from fans all throughout my career have sustained me. And I’m very blessed to have that. But I know there’s a lot of people out there with MS who struggle a lot more than I do, so I don’t want to complain. Just want to be honest about it. Yeah, sometimes it’s hard.

C&I: So what’s next? Are you already writing songs for your next album?

Clay: I am. I’m recording with Keith Stegell again. He’s been Alan Jackson’s longtime producer — I don’t think Alan ever had a record without him. And he lives literally across the street from me. We joke about it all the time, like, “Are we taking your truck or mine to the studio?”

And I’m also playing the Ryman Auditorium. Headlining there on November 9. Which is super, super exciting. I’ve never done that.

C&I: Wait, you’ve never headlined at the Holy Mother Church of Country before now?

Clay: Yeah, it’ll be one for the record books. One more for me to check off my bucket list. I don’t have a lot of bucket lists left. But even though I’ve gotten to do a lot of things in my career, that’s one of ’em that I’m finally getting around to. I know there will be industry folks there, and as well as huge fans. I’ve already run into fans on the road in different parts of the country who have told me, “Yeah, we got our Ryman tickets.” And I’m like, “Well, you’re going a long way.”

Nashville has become a destination town, so it’s really, really, really awesome. I remember when I first started coming to Nashville, it was very quaint. And now you look up and there’s a crane on every block, building some new skyscraper or some kind of business. I mean, it’s good in a way. But man, the traffic is horrible. I hate that. But when it gets too bad, we just head to Manola, Texas, to our cattle ranch there and just hang out. We're going to spend a lot of November there with my wife and kids. We’ll go deer hunt and hang out and ride horses and chase cattle.

C&I: And then it’s back to the grind?

Clay: I can tell you one thing that never gets old, though. Playing concerts like the one we played in Salado, Texas, a few weeks ago. I just did not want to get off the stage. We probably played an hour and 40 or an hour and 45 minutes, something like that, and I was it felt like we were out there 20 minutes. That’s how you know you love it. And I see that in my band members, too, when they can’t wait to get on the bus and listen back to the show. We record the show every night, and we get on the bus and get a glass of wine or a beer and just sit back and listen to the whole show. And it never gets old. I don’t know how to explain that, or how to really summarize it, but it’s the greatest feeling in the world when you’re going out there doing something that you know you were born to do, and people appreciate it