Why Tim McGraw ‘Seriously’ Considered Quitting Music for a While

Tim McGraw “seriously” contemplated taking a step back from the music industry after dealing with some health struggles.

“I’ve had four back surgeries and double knee replacements, just in the last couple of years,” McGraw, 58, shared on Saturday, October 26, during a tour stop in Highland, California, per Fox News.

McGraw went on to praise his surgeon, Dr. Nicholas Rose, who was in attendance — and also did his wife Faith Hill’s hand surgery.

“My wife has been going through a few surgeries — she’s had five neck surgeries, and she’s had a couple of hand surgeries,” he said, while shouting out his doctor and nurses in the crowd.

While he was dealing with his health issues, the country singer revealed that things were “getting really bad” before his recent back surgery last spring — which led to him dealing with depression.

“After going through all of that for a couple of years and getting depressed over it and all those things, stuff not working right, this spring, before I had my final back surgery, things were getting really bad. So I was seriously contemplating and figuring out how to walk away,” McGraw told the crowd, noting that he “didn’t want to” stop doing music but “didn’t think it was going to get better.”

Although McGraw assured fans that things are “better” now, while he was going through everything, he had an idea for a song that dealt with “facing all the stuff that comes along” with aging.

“So I called a good friend of mine, Tom Douglas, and we sat down and we wrote a song and I’ll play it for you, if I can get through it,” McGraw shared before playing the song “King Rodeo.”

McGraw released “King Rodeo” as a live single in August, and the lyrics read, “So the spotlight’s faded, you moved a little past your prime / Don’t let ‘em make you jaded ‘cause you can’t turn back time / Tomorrow’s like a woman you can’t understand/ Lady Luck’s been good to you, so take her by the hand.”

In January, reports of McGraw’s health surfaced when he backed out of starring in and executive producing a planned Netflix series focused on bull riding. According to Deadline, McGraw suffered a tour-related injury during his Standing Room Only tour that resulted in orthopedic surgery in August 2024.

“To have almost a year of just sitting there [doing nothing], and I can tell you that after double knee replacements and three back surgeries and now a torn rotator cuff and a ruptured disc, there were times this year that I thought this might be it,” he said during an interview on “TL’s Roadhouse” podcast in May. “This might be time to hang it up. I have to be very careful about what I do … everything is intentional.”

McGraw said he “can’t move quickly” and “everything” had to “be very methodical.”

“I have to do cold plunges, I have to do infrared saunas. I have to do massages,” he revealed. “It has changed the way I do a live show.”