Thanks, weelittledrummer, for mentioning Ray Charles. At first, I thought only of the many blind guitar-playing bluesmen from those early days, but Brother Ray is so very very great, quite obviously a blues singer, and really more accessible to my ears than any of those old timers.

Let me also mention the very wonderful Snooks Eaglin, one of the world's most phenomenal guitar fingerpickers, blind or otherwise, over the last half-century and more. He has to be close to eighty years old by now, and is still delighting listeners and dancers in New Orleans on a regular basis.

His earliest recordings, from the 1950s (one entitled "New Orleans Folk Singer"), demonstate his absolute mastery of the acoustic guitar within the context of very traditional folk-blues forms. At the same time; he was also working as an electric-guitar session player at Cosimo Matassa's legendary J&M Studios, where rock 'n' roll was (arguably) born.

These days, he plays electric blues/R&B/soul fronting a trio (with bass & drums), or sometimes a quartet (with keybord added, usually a B-3 organ). And, as always, he sings like nobody's business.

He has recorded countless albums, and I wouldn't know where to start making recommendations ~ except to say that the more recent the recording, the better it's likely to be. His skills have not diminished at all, and as time has gone by, he's been able to enjoy better and better producers and to attract the very greatest available sidemen.

Aside from his astounding musicianship, he projects the warmest and most good-humored stage presence imaginable. If you visit New Orleans, don't miss a chance to catch his act. He always appears at Jazz Festival, and plays on a fairly regular basis year-round at the Mid-City Lanes Rock 'n' Bowl, which always makes for a really fun evening.