MDA Labor Day Telethon 2013: Backstreet Boys, Ryan Seacrest, Enrique Iglesias And Matthew Morrison Among Names To Help Raise Funds

MDA Labor Day Telethon 2013: The tradition of this September weekend continues as Matthew Morrison, Ryan Seacrest, the Backstreet Boys, Enrique Iglesias, Paula Abdul, Austin Mahone and country artists Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker and Lee Ann Womack are among the guest Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET.

The 2013 MDA Labor Day Telethon started in 1966 and has since become the most successful fundraising event in the history of television. Countless networks cover the event for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and a way to fund for research of diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general.

"I remember as a kid watching Frank Sinatra sing 'New York, New York' with his orchestra behind him," Morrison, 34, tells PEOPLE. "The telethon is virtually an encyclopedia of what's great in American show business."

MDA Labor Day Telethon 2013 is another way to boost money to help others and the future lives of anybody effected by these diseases.

"This is a remarkably hopeful time for MDA and our mission to find new treatments and cures as we set our sights on pursuing muscle health,"  MDA President and CEO Steven M. Derks told ABC News. "We're delighted to partner with ABC. Broadcasting our show nationwide and on prime-time TV provides a critically important way to tell our story of progress in fighting muscle disease, while recognizing and engaging new supporters."

Over the decades, funds raised by MDA telethons also have contributed to the organization's worldwide research program. Today, through current clinical trials, there is growing excitement that new lifesaving treatments and discoveries are on the horizon for many of the disorders MDA is dedicated to defeating, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to ABC News.

"Individuals with neuromuscular diseases are living longer, stronger lives thanks to the advances we've made over the years - particularly in the last decade - thanks in large part to past MDA supporters," said MDA Chairman of the Board R. Rodney Howell, M.D. "We're redoubling our efforts to find and fund new discoveries that will save lives."