CMT News

Singer and ex-professional bronc rider Chris LeDoux needs a liver transplant. LeDoux, who released his 33rd album, Cowboy, on Aug. 1, has primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a disease with no known cause that scars and blocks the bile ducts inside and outside the liver. The blockage leads to a buildup of bile, which eventually causes liver failure. The same condition claimed the life of pro football star Walter Payton on Nov. 1, 1999.

LeDoux has been added to organ donation lists and is awaiting a new liver, his publicist says. LeDoux's case is in the early stages, and specialists who made the diagnosis expect a full recovery after the transplant.

LeDoux cancelled 10 concert dates in late August and early September, and Capitol Records postponed an Aug. 23 party in Nashville in his honor, to celebrate sales of 5 million records. After resting at his Wyoming ranch, LeDoux resumed touring Sept. 15 and plans to play all scheduled shows except concerts Thursday (Sept. 28) in San Dimas, Calif., and Saturday (Sept. 30) in Red Bluff, Calif.