On December 20th, Don Dokken, the frontman of Dokken, announced the sale of his last Harley Davidson through eBay:“As some of you may know, I underwent surgery five years ago that led to paralysis in my right arm due to complications. I had hoped to keep one of my Harleys, but after a long period without any improvement, I’ve made the difficult choice to part with my last bike. Unfortunately, I still can’t ride safely because of my weakened arm. It’s a fantastic bike with low mileage, so make sure to take a look.”
Visit the eBay auction for Don’s 1990 Harley-Davidson FXR here.
In 2020, Don shared exclusively with eonmusic that the nerve damage he experienced during spinal surgery in November 2019 has permanently impacted his guitar playing abilities. “It’s over,” he stated to the site. He also discussed Dokken’s new collection, The Lost Songs: 1978 – 1981, collaborating with the Scorpions in 1982, and how Metallica “outperformed us every day” on the 1988 Monsters of Rock tour.
On losing the ability to play guitar:
“I just came from the hospital where I do my therapy, and yes, my right hand; I can’t play guitar anymore, it’s over. My right hand is paralyzed. It’s been seven months since the surgery, and they told me ‘Just be patient. Your hand will recover, you’ll regain your feeling.’ But it’s been seven months, and my hand still doesn’t function. It simply doesn’t work, and that’s how it is. Sometimes unfortunate things occur, you know? I’m not happy about it, but I played guitar for 50 years, so I suppose I had a good run.”
Read the full interview here.