17 of the best blind singers who have succeeded in the music industry
For years, prominent blind individuals have been the most outstanding analytical minds, insightful thinkers, pioneering artists, show-stealing performers, and more. They've opened the way for more blind people to follow in their footsteps. These notable blind persons have had enormous influence and surpassed time. Simultaneously, legendary blind singers and songwriters broke down barriers, unfathomably transforming the music industry.
Source: Getty Images
Disability does not have to be a barrier to success, as numerous great blind musicians have demonstrated. While their visual loss may have been triggered by various factors ranging from heredity to crashes, the blind performers have achieved remarkable success in music thanks to their indisputable abilities.
17 of the best blind singers
The universe comprises profoundly creative, skilled blind performers who are not ready to sleep on their unique talents. So, who is the famous blind singer? Here are 17 artists who haven't let their vision impairment hinder their musical abilities.
1. Stevie Wonder
Source: Getty Images
Who is the singer with blind eyes? Stevie Wonder, a Michigan native, was born six weeks early, which, along with the oxygen-rich environment in the hospital incubator, led to retinopathy of prematurity, a medical disorder in which the development of the eyes is halted and the retinas detach, causing him to go blind.
Wonder's musical abilities were apparent even as a toddler. He signed with his initial label at eleven and was nicknamed "Little Stevie Wonder." He is now regarded as one of the twentieth century's most accomplished vocalists and songwriters.
2. Jeff Healey
Source: Getty Images
He is a blind jazz male singer. Jeff Healy, a Canadian native, lost his vision when he was around one year old due to retinoblastoma, an uncommon cancer of the eyes. His eyes were surgically eliminated, and he was fitted with ocular prosthetics.
At the tender age of three, he started playing the guitar by resting it flat on his lap, an unusual technique he carried into his professional musical journey as a jazz vocalist and guitarist.
3. Diane Schuur
Source: Getty Images
Who is the blind Grammy winner? Diana Schuur is a jazz vocalist and pianist from the United States. She was born two months preterm and weighed under three pounds. Prematurity complications caused her to lose her vision completely.
She trained herself to play the piano by ear after growing irritated by braille sheet music, and she performed openly for the first time at the age of ten. Schuur is noted for her varied musical approach, having released country and jazz albums. She won the Grammy Award for best female jazz vocal performance in 1986 and 1987 and has received three other nominations.
4. Andrea Bocelli
Source: Getty Images
Andrea Bocelli is a lyricist and opera singer from Italy. Bocelli was born visually challenged due to congenital glaucoma, and at the young age of 12, he went fully blind due to a brain haemorrhage caused by a football accident.
Bocelli was a musically talented child who excelled in the saxophone, flute, guitar and drums. He became a distinguished opera singer, and his voice has been praised as the most exquisite in the world.
5. Terri Gibbs
Source: Getty Images
She is a female blind country singer. Terri Gibbs, a Miami native, is a country music musician renowned for her first single, Somebody's Knockin. Although she was born with eyesight, she was born prematurely and lost her vision in an incubator accident.
Despite her blindness, she started playing the piano at three and later sang in a church choir. Gibbs' successful track established her professional life as a country music sensation, yet she later moved her artistic focus to contemporary Christian music.
6. Ronnie Milsap
Source: Getty Images
Ronnie Milsap is a pianist and vocalist who is recognised for his ability to make an impact on fans of both country and pop music. Milsap, a native of North Carolina, was born nearly entirely blind due to a congenital condition.
Milsap, one of the most famous male blind country singers, established a love of music after a difficult upbringing. Milsap rose to prominence in the 1970s when he relocated to Nashville to embark on a musical profession.
7. Nobuyuki Tsujii
Source: Getty Images
Nobuyuki Tsujii is an extraordinary Japanese pianist. He started playing by ear on a toy piano at the age of two and commenced formal piano instruction at the age of four, despite being born blind owing to microphthalmia.
He is now an acclaimed pianist with multiple accolades; he routinely plays with orchestras and conductors, a significant achievement for someone who cannot see.
8. Rod Clemmons
Rod Clemmons, an Arkansan, was born blind. He started learning music at the age of four, commencing with drums. He rapidly switched to piano and was taught as a conventional pianist in high school, winning tournaments until he completed the Arkansas School for the Blind in Little Rock.
9. Ray Charles
Source: Getty Images
Ray Charles was a singer, composer, and pianist from the United States. He is considered one of the most famous and influential musicians in history and frequently referred to as "The Genius" by his peers at the time.
Charles, a blind black singer and piano player, began losing his sight at four or five and was blind by seven, most likely due to glaucoma.
10. Jose Feliciano
Source: Getty Images
Jose Feliciano is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter and musician. He was born with congenital glaucoma, which caused him to be blind. He began playing music at three, imitating his uncle, who played the cuatro, on a cracker tin can.
Feliciano's household relocated to Spanish Harlem, New York City, when he was five years old, and he made his initial public engagement at the Teatro Puerto Rico in The Bronx.
11. Clarence Carter
Source: Getty Images
Clarence Carter is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer from the United States. He was born blind in Montgomery, Alabama, and enrolled in the Alabama School for the Blind and Alabama State University, where he earned a music degree.
Carter, one of the most famous blind musicians in history, started his music profession as part of a partnership with Calvin Scott, but following Scott's death, he sought a solo career and partnered with the Fame label.
12. Ginny Owens
Source: Getty Images
Ginny Owens is a musician, songwriter, novelist, and public speaker from the United States. She is best known for her performances of Contemporary Christian music, but her recordings have recently been included on WB, ABC TV series, and independent films. Owens was born with impaired eyesight in Jackson, Mississippi, and has remained blind since age three.
13. Gilbert Montagné
Source: Getty Images
Gilbert Montagné is a French artist, organist, and pianist from Paris's Ménilmontant area and the Bourbonnais historical territory of central France. He was born blind and is most known for his worldwide hit The Fool, which reached number one in Europe and South America in 1971, in addition to his tracks Les Sunlights des Tropiques (1984) and On va s'aimer (1983).
14. Raul Midón
Source: Getty Images
Raul Midón is a New Mexico-born American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Raul and his twin brother Marco were born blind after being placed in an incubator without sufficient eye protection.
Midon's life was changed when his dad exposed him to the drum at the age of four. He learnt to play the guitar while participating in instructional programmes at a blind school and subsequently at Santa Fe Preparatory School during his final two years of high school in 1984.
15. Doc Watson
Source: Getty Images
Doc Watson was a folk, bluegrass, blues, country, songwriter, gospel guitarist, and vocalist from the United States. Watson lost sight before he turned two due to an eye illness. He graduated from North Carolina's Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh.
16. Marcus Roberts
Source: Getty Images
Marcus Roberts is a jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, composer, and teacher from the United States. His mom was a gospel musician who became blind as a teen, and his dad worked on the docks.
Roberts, who has been blind since the age of five owing to glaucoma and cataracts, began learning the piano at five by plucking out notes on a musical instrument at his church till his parents purchased him a piano when he was eight.
17. Al Hibbler
Source: Getty Images
Al Hibbler was a baritone vocalist from the United States who began his career with Duke Ellington's orchestra before having many pop songs as a solo artist. Hibbler was born blind in Tyro, Mississippi, in the United States. He relocated to Little Rock, Arkansas, when he was 12 and joined the Arkansas School for the Blind's choir.
Above are some of the best blind singers who have succeeded in the music industry. While their visual loss may have been triggered by various factors ranging from heredity to crashes, the above blind performers have achieved remarkable success in music thanks to their indisputable abilities.
Source: UGC
Yen.com.gh recently published a list of the most famous Mexican singers. Mexico has produced some of the most gifted vocalists who have helped to place the country on the map.
Did you know that Mexico has approximately 69 distinct languages spoken? Its rich linguistic diversity makes its music pleasurable due to its diverse musical forms.
Source: YEN.com.gh
