Top 10 Musicians with Disabilities
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto,... read more Deafness is the enemy of the sense of hearing, and somehow, Beethoven, being the genius he was, overcame it even if he couldn't hear his great masterpieces.
I like this list and your item order: of course, a genius deaf musician and a drummer with one hand should be on top.
Playing the piano is one of the hardest instruments to play. You have to listen to every key of the piano in order to play it, but when a musician is deaf and he is playing piano, he can't listen, then he is more than a musician. That is one of the reasons he is one of the greatest musicians of all time.
José Montserrate Feliciano García (born September 10, 1945), better known simply as José Feliciano, is a Puerto Rican virtuoso guitarist, singer, and composer. Feliz Navidad! His cover version of Light My Fire, Chico And The Man, and his collaborations with Diane Schur, Debarge (All this Love), and John Lennon give him a special place in music. He has been on the Andy Williams Show and sung together with Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, The Supremes, Bing Crosby, Lani Hall, and many other singers in Spanish and Italian.
Richard John Cyril "Rick" Allen is an English drummer who has played for the hard rock band Def Leppard since 1978. He overcame the amputation of his left arm in 1985 and continued to play with the band, which subsequently went on to its most commercially successful phase.
Stevland Hardaway Morris, known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist.
Ray Charles Robinson, professionally known as Ray Charles, was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer.
Michael Bolotin, known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo albums and those he recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack. What? I didn't know this! I can't believe it's true...
Hansi Kürsch, born Hans Jürgen Kürsch, is the lead singer, lyricist, co-composer and bassist for German power metal band Blind Guardian . Heavily influenced by Freddie Mercury, he creates a huge choir effect by overdubbing his own voice multiple times in complex, overlapping vocal harmonies. He records... read more This is noise in the ears, usually ringing or buzzing, and luckily, sometimes it's music. Tinnitus is a big challenge for a musician, especially a singer - imagine a live show where Hansi sings one song, but in his ears, there's something else. Tinnitus was one of the reasons he wanted to become a guitarist and not a singer. Nevertheless, he's one of the greatest metal singers with some of the best live performances.
Hansi: "Throughout my career, my ears have been the biggest problem. I do have tinnitus, which luckily disappears from time to time but also comes back. Since my ears work differently every day, this is a big challenge for every engineer. Apart from that, I constantly have to struggle with sinuses, which especially on tour can cause severe problems, because of Blind Guardian's rule 'do not cancel a show due to illness'."
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist, songwriter and producer. Best known as lead guitarist and founding member of the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, he has been the band's sole continual member and primary composer. At age 17, he accidentally lost the fingertips of his middle... read more He had to tune down his strings to make them easier to bend and invented heavy metal in the process. The irony is that he lost his fingertips in a metal pressing factory. All hail the Godfather of Metal!
Bret Michael Sychak, professionally known as Bret Michaels, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and reality television personality. Wow, I did not know this. He gets us diabetics then, and he's a very good singer.
Django Reinhardt is a famous guitarist in the genre of jazz. He lost 2 of his fingers in a fire but carried on with his playing. He later inspired Tony Iommi, the original guitarist of Black Sabbath, to continue playing after he lost his fingertips in a factory accident. His guitar is an acoustic gypsy... read more
Adam Randal Young is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for creating the synthpop/electronica project Owl City. Other important projects he has taken part of are Sky Sailing, Port Blue, Swimming With Dolphins, Seagull Orchestra and Adam Young Scores.
Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, is an American rapper, actor and music producer born on October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri. Eminem has sold over 300 million records making him the bestselling hip-hop artist of all time. In addition to his solo career, he is a member of D12 and (with Royce... read moreHis right leg is one and a half inches shorter than the other one, and his spine twisted after a fall he took dancing on an amplifier, which left him with a slight limp. He said, "As I began to lose unlimited use of my body, I had to start using my head. I'm a much more remarkable person mentally than physically."
Legendary lead singer and bassist of Possessed (death metal pioneers). He was a victim of a failed armed robbery attempt (masked gunmen shot him twice) that left him paralyzed from the chest down and thus bound to a wheelchair. One of the robbers shot him in the chest, which broke through the ribs, shattered the lungs, and is still stuck in the spine.
Benjamin Jackson Burnley IV is an American musician, composer, and producer, best known as the founder and frontman of the American rock band Breaking Benjamin. Not a fan of him anymore, but it turns out this is a disease you can get from heavy drinking. This explains why he heavily chewed gum during live performances.