James Otto performs "Just Got Started Loving You" at "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008, live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Photo courtesy of the Country Music Association.
Jan. 7, 2009 — After avoiding it for months, James Otto underwent surgery Monday for an aching shoulder.
James gutted through the pain and a limited range of motion last summer while touring with Brooks & Dunn, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. During the CMA Music Festival last June, he was unable to participate in a charity softball game because the injury was so debilitating.
"I tried throwin’ a football a couple weeks ago and couldn’t do it," he said at the time. "I’m too young to be having these problems. Anything that gets my hands above my head is out the window."
At the time, James believed he simply had tendinitis, but it was clearly a bigger issue. Monday’s surgery was to "repair a torn rotator cuff and remove the bone spurs that caused it," he wrote in a blog to his fans. "I should recover pretty quickly but will require six weeks of physical therapy."
James doesn’t expect to miss any shows. The first date on his 2009 itinerary is just two weeks away: at the South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach on Jan. 21. His set list will no doubt include "Just Got Started Lovin’ You," nominated for a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. James also shares a nomination for Best Country Song for co-writing "In Color" with Jamey Johnson and Lee Thomas Miller.