Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?

Subject: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Mr Happy
Date: 19 Apr 06 - 09:12 PM

After having spent a most pleasant & delightful Easter W/End in Derbyshire, folkin about with both my own fiends + other chums, including some blind muso/siners, they & I are interested to know more of blind people's contributions/ difficulties accessing folky events etc.

I've done a quick scan + google of famous blind contributors to our mutual musical genre & came up with these:

Blind Lemon Jefferson

Ray Charles

Stevie Wonder

Turlough O쳌f Carolan

Blind Blake x 2*

*There were two Blind Blakes.

Blind (Arthur) Blake was an early blues singer.

Blind Blake Higgs (aka Blind Blake) was a calypso-type singer from the Bahamas.

Rev. Gary Davis

Willie McTell

Doc Watson

Riley Puckett

Blind Boy Fuller

The Five Blind Boys of Alabama

The Five blind Boys of Mississippi

Blind Alfred Reed

thread.cfm?threadid=52300#799983


Blind Willie Johnson (John the Revelator)

Baluji Shrivastav: Sitarist, India


Any more?

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Mr Happy
Date: 19 Apr 06 - 09:15 PM

Also, as majority of those above are Americans, can anyone supply any prominent/famous blind British performers?

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Azizi
Date: 19 Apr 06 - 09:21 PM

Jose Feliciano
{mostly known for the hit "Light My Fire"}

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Azizi
Date: 19 Apr 06 - 09:23 PM

Sorry-cross posted.

"José Montserrate Feliciano (born September 10, 1945 in Lares, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican singer. A victim of congenital glaucoma, he was left permanently blind at birth. Feliciano overcame the effects of his impairment to score many international hits.

He was first exposed to music at age 3. At five, his family moved to Spanish Harlem, New York City..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Feliciano

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Azizi
Date: 19 Apr 06 - 09:29 PM

I don't like that sentence "overcome the effects of his impairment"..As if blindness makes it more difficult to achieve musical success...Well maybe it does but maybe just maybe tremendous creativity, talent, skill, drive, ambition, luck etc. had/have something to do with the success that Feliciano and other musicians & singers who happen to be blind achieve/d.

Sorry. That sentence just seems so patronizing to me. I'm sorry that I posted it...but I don't mean to hijack your thread talking about this. Again sorry, Mr. Happy.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Azizi
Date: 19 Apr 06 - 09:32 PM

Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_musicians for the following:

Contents
1 Why music is a popular profession among the blind
2 Resources for blind musicians
3 The image of the blind musician
4 Blind musicians in China
5 Biwa Hoshi in Japan
6 Bandurists and lirnyky in Ukraine
6.1 External links
7 Traditional Irish musicians
8 European piano tuners
9 American country blues

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 19 Apr 06 - 09:40 PM

Ask Paul Davenport about the "Blind Fiddlers" of Sheffield.

http://www.hallamtrads.co.uk/BlindF.html

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Mr Happy
Date: 19 Apr 06 - 09:54 PM

Azizi,

Thanx for above.

I've pm'ed u with more info.

Cheers,

Mr H

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Apr 06 - 12:02 AM

singer/songwriter K'crasher
I was listening to her on the weekend at The National Folk Festival, & googled to get some more info. There is no mention of her lack of sight on any website. The only hint is a pic on 2 sites.

sandra

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: M.Ted
Date: 20 Apr 06 - 01:37 PM

When I was in college, I used to read assignments to a blind musician. He used to tell that he and some classmates were waiting to perform at festival when one of the organizers came up and said,"I'm looking for the blind singers"--My friend called out "I haven't seen em", and everyone but the organizer laughed uproariously.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Mark Ross
Date: 20 Apr 06 - 02:12 PM

KENNY HALL
REVEREND DAN SMITH


MARK ROSS

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Kaleea
Date: 20 Apr 06 - 02:20 PM

I went to Music school with a pal is was considered "legally blind" as is his wife. We had tons of fun with the pranks they used on "normal" people. One of our favorites went something like this:

    Kaleea & pal Bill (with dark sunglasses & white cane) & his wife at a fast food joint, Kaleea orders, then Bill advances to the kid taking orders at the register--
kid: willthatbeforhereortogo?
Bill appears to study menu.
kid: willthatbeforhereortogo?
Bill:   "                "
Kaleea: Bill, do you want to eat here or take it with you in a bag?
   
   Bill studies menu on wall for a few moments.

Bill:   I'll eat it here, thank you.

kid: okhowkinIserveUtoday.
Bill: "         ."

kid looks to Kaleea
Kaleea:    BILL,          WHAT         WOULD      YOU

         LIKE          TO       EAT       FOR
            
                LUNCH       TO-         DAY?

Bill: (studies menu awhile longer)
       I'll have the #1 with cheese.

kid:    WHAT   WOULD    YOU    LIKE    TO
            DRINK    SIR?

    etc.
   Wife steps up to register & same thing ensues but louder & slower.



My fav was something like this:

   Bill sitting around with a bunch of other kids & a couple of profs in the lobby of Music Building. He's holding his Sax. I ask, "Bill, did you learn that new piece your teacher gave you this morning?"
Bill says, "No I haven't even looked at it yet. Hey, will ya help me with it?"
   Bill hands me a book such as an English textbook in braile, I open it & begin to feel the braile bumps.
Bill: What key is it in?

   Kaleea stares at wall, feels bumps & says: Looks like Ab.
    Bill: toots out a quick Ab scale & says, OK, hum it to me, will ya?
   K: feeling a couple of lines of the bumps, then humming some old tune the kids have never heard in Ab: hum, hum, hm hm hm hm, etc.
Bill takes Sax to mouth: Doodlee Doo Wop Ba Dah Dah   etc.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: fat B****rd
Date: 20 Apr 06 - 03:03 PM

......and from the world of Jazz: George Shearing, Art Tatum and Lenny Tristano.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 20 Apr 06 - 03:38 PM

UK ???

Lennie Peters



of "Peters and Lee"



http://www.nostalgiacentral.com/music/petersandlee.htm


.. well you asked !

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 20 Apr 06 - 05:18 PM

In Kent, Clive Lever, singer, keyboards player and songwriter - see threads on the recordings of Guide Cats for the Blind - also Dave Reay of Galliard.

And of course, Frankie Armstrong, whose sight eventually improved.


Kitty

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 20 Apr 06 - 05:31 PM

Also, the wonderful keyboards player who provided the music for the rehearsals and performance of Pete Woods' Nelson Trafalgar show at Whitby last year. She was brilliant, and I'm really, really sorry that I can't remember her name.

Kitty

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Chris C
Date: 20 Apr 06 - 05:58 PM

Also terrific:
Paul Pena, Diane Schuur

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Azizi
Date: 21 Apr 06 - 08:13 AM

Mr. Happy, you mentioned Blind Boy Fuller, but I don't see Sonny Terry on this list.

See this excerpt from an online biography:

"Sonny Terry, the best-known harmonica player from the Southeast, was born Saunders Terrell in 1911 in Greensboro, North Carolina. His father played jigs and reels on harmonica, and taught the instrument to Sonny, who had also been singing at church tent meetings. When two separate accidents blinded him in his youth, the harmonica was his only solace. "In them days I just as soon died-except for my harmonica. It was like a friend who didn't give a damn if I could see or not," he said.

He first heard the blues in Shelby, N.C., and after learning the style, began going to Raleigh and Durham to play for the hat on street corners. In 1934 he started playing with guitarist Blind Boy Fuller and also Gary Davis and moved to Durham soon thereafter."

-snip-

http://www.celticguitarmusic.com/harmsterry.htm

Btw, Mr. Ted, when someone at my former place of employment would ask the receptionist who is blind, whether a person was at work that day or not, invariably she would say "I don't know-I haven't seen her {or him}. One time I asked her about it and she said it was no big deal and that having people say to her "Have you seen [a co-worker]?" didn't bother her at all.

But, even though she said that I still tried to be very careful not to ask her "Have you seen {so and so}?

Best wishes,

Azizi

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Ross
Date: 21 Apr 06 - 08:51 AM

I'm a bland singer

That's what my blurred vision read the link as

Does it count?

Now I've looked at the dictionary - I'm not sure

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 21 Apr 06 - 11:40 AM

Did I miss it, or did nobody include Doc Watson? How about Blind Gary Davis?

1920s: (Excuse if any of these were mentioned above)
Ernest Thompson NC
Riley Puckett (GA)
G.B. Grayson (TN)
Blind Alfred Reed (WVA)
Blind Roosevelt Graves
Blind Willie McTell
Blind Mack
Blind Pete (Library of Congress field recordings)

There were two Blind Blakes: the great Arthur Phelps, the Chicago bluesman and guitar innovator, and Blind Blake, Blake Alphonso Higgs of Nassau, probably the best calypso singer ever to come out of the Bahamas.

I know there are a bunch more and I'm blocking...a blues piano player I can't think of...etc. etc.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 21 Apr 06 - 11:42 AM

Yes, I see I have some duplicates. Haste! Bob

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Teribus
Date: 22 Apr 06 - 01:04 AM

Always remembered Hamish Imlach's introduction of a song by Blind Blake:

"This song was written by a guy called Blind Blake. His real name was Arthur Phelps, who was blind, blake was a knickname, meaning a 'hardman'. Now I've always sort of wondered about how he could have been blind and a hardman at the same time unless of course he beat up people that he bumped into."

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: GUEST,Joseph Scott
Date: 20 Nov 18 - 12:46 AM

Mac and Bob
Arizona Dranes
Andrew Jenkins
Joe Reynolds
Joe Taggart
David Miller
Alcide Gaspard
Brooks and Puckett
George Reneau
Mack Woolbright
Dick Burnett
J.W. Day
Charlie Oaks
Mamie Forehand
Didier Hebert
Willie Davis
Ed Haley

many others

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 20 Nov 18 - 03:32 AM

MARY DELANEY
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 20 Nov 18 - 04:10 AM

Mary Delaney - Blind Traveller Ballad singer, b. Cashel, Tipperary, recorded in London
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 20 Nov 18 - 04:10 AM

Mary Delaney - Blind Traveller Ballad singer, b. Cashel, Tipperary, recorded in London
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 20 Nov 18 - 05:00 AM

JOSIE McDERMOTT
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 22 Nov 18 - 04:13 AM

A musical vision : The Blind Tradition (sorry, facebook link)



There is ofcourse a whole list of blind uilleann pipers and harpers from previous centuries.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 22 Nov 18 - 11:09 AM

I once got into a conversation with Frankie Armstrong without realizing she was blind. Things went a bit weird before I realized. She never mentioned it in public at the time, and the way she behaved didn't give any hints.

In Turkish folk music, Asik Veysel was by a long way THE dominant figure for most of his life, and still remains the greatest influence since the invention of recording. He went blind as a child.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 22 Nov 18 - 11:44 AM

A friend in Edinburgh has been blind from birth, and plays piano accordion in one of our wee amateur groups. If we are learning any new tunes, I usually do a short recording of just the melody, which he finds easier than trying to learn from a multi-instrument commercial recording. He is usually spot on with any chords. He stores my recordings all on his computer in mp3 format.
I usually give him a lift to practices: once, I overshot a set of traffic lights, and said "Oh, I think I've gone the wrong way" - he then gave me perfect directions back to his own house: he may be blind but his spatial awareness is second to none!

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 25 Nov 18 - 08:29 AM

Looking at a book of Tudor music yesterday and it says there was a blind harpist at the court of Henry VIII.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 25 Nov 18 - 09:14 AM

Another great Middle Eastern one: the Persian clarinetist Mohammed Shir Khodaei (spelt several different ways in English). He died (very old) a few years ago - he left several recordings and there are YouTube videos.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Mooh
Date: 25 Nov 18 - 10:33 AM

Jeff Healey, Canadian guitarist, singer, trumpeter, radio personality, actor in the movie Roadhouse, had both a rock trio and a jazz band. I was at his last gig when he came to town with The Jazz Wizards. He died of cancer shortly thereafter.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 27 Nov 18 - 04:21 AM

Two great blind folk fiddlers from the same village in Transylvania: Janos Zerkula and Viktor Timar. Zerkula died in 2008, a few months before I first went there - I've seen Timar in action and he was terrific. There is a lot of video of Zerkula on the web, often accompanied by his wife on the gardon (string drum).

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 27 Nov 18 - 04:32 AM

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, "the most commercially successful Aboriginal Australian musician at the time of his death [in 2017]." Blind from birth.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 27 Nov 18 - 10:13 AM

The Istanbul municipality has a nice training scheme for blind musicians - they organize into bands of professional buskers (not all the same, one I've seen was led by a Black Sea bagpiper and did music from there). They are well equipped and proficient.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 27 Nov 18 - 10:49 AM

The Musical Vision scheme I linked above is something similar in Ireland: it helps blind musicians into traditional music. Teachers include Catherine McEvoy and Mary MacNamara, who stress the musicians in the scheme are first and foremost traditional musicians and their visual impairment is only secondary to that. It's a good initiative, I heard several of the musicians who came out of it and they are lovely players. The CD they produced is well worth it too, if you're into Irish music.

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: GUEST,Peter Laban
Date: 27 Nov 18 - 10:57 AM

Forgot to add this video to post above, one of the young musicians to come through the tuition of the Musical vision project and the teaching at Na Piobairi Uilleann is young uilleann piper Amy Campbell. In the video she's playing with pipers Gay McKeon and Emmett Gill at the Kennedy Centre.


Gay McKeon, Amy Campbell, Emmett Gill at Kennedy centre

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: RTim
Date: 27 Nov 18 - 02:40 PM

Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton

Tim Radford

Subject: RE: Blind musicians & singers:Who/Where?
From: GUEST,mak
Date: 27 Nov 18 - 06:12 PM

Blind Melon Chittlin
Blind boy Grunt