In the long history of world music, there have been many outstanding blind musicians.

As the old saying goes, when God closes a door on you, he will often open a window for you. Although these blind people cannot see the world with their eyes, the world they see is far wider than that of able-bodied people. They are not only geniuses, but they also work hard to realize their dreams that ordinary people cannot imagine. They used their music to prove that as long as people have thoughts and wills, they can have boundless vision even if their eyes cannot see. Here are ten outstanding blind musicians (in no particular order).

1. Ray Charles

Hit The Road Jack - Ray Charles

Ray Charles (September 23, 1930 - 2004 June 10), is an American composer, singer, and jazz pianist. He began playing the piano at the age of 3 and became blind due to glaucoma at the age of 7, but he did not stop his exploration of music. He combined blues, gospel music and rhythm and blues styles, pioneering "soul music" and is respected as the "father of soul music". He was one of the first people to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and "Rolling Stone" ranked him second among the "100 Greatest Singers". Frank Sinatra called him "the only genius in music."

2. Doc Watson

Deep River Blues - Doc Watson

Doug Watson (March 3, 1923 -May 29, 2012), is a famous American acoustic guitarist, banjo player, and singer. He lost his sight due to a sudden serious illness before his first birthday. Doug's playing styles span many genres, including bluegrass, blues, folk, country and gospel. He has won 7 Grammy Awards in his lifetime, and also won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Doug's picking and fingerstyle playing skills had a profound impact on later generations, and he was one of the earliest founders of American fingerstyle. The world's most acclaimed fingerstyle player, Tommy Emmanuel, pays tribute to the pioneer by performing medleys of Doug Watson's songs at many performances, including this one. The song "Deep River Blues".

3. Stevie Wonder

I Just Called to Say I Love You - Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder (May 13, 1950 -), is an American singer, musician, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was born prematurely and was put into an incubator right after birth. Due to the excessive oxygen supply inside, he bid farewell to the light forever. He has won 5 Grammy Awards, 30 U.S. Top 10 songs, and sold 100 million records worldwide. Steve is one of the most important representatives of Motown Records. He is good at playing a variety of musical instruments, such as electronic keyboard, piano, harmonica, drums, guitar, etc. His singing skills are also absolutely top-notch in the entire history of European and American music circles. He is a singer. An all-round entertainer with excellent music skills, he is recognized as one of the most influential musicians in the world's pop music scene.

4. Andrea Bocelli

Time to Say Goodbye (Con te partirò) - Sarah Brightman / Andrea Bocelli

Andre Bocelli (September 22, 1958 -) is an Italian singer. Bocelli was diagnosed with glaucoma shortly after birth. In 1970, when Bocelli was 12 years old, he had an accident during a football match, resulting in total blindness.

From a young age, Bocelli was fascinated by the narrative techniques of opera and the passion it conveyed through radio broadcasts, and it was not until much later that he had the opportunity to pursue his persistent musical ambitions. Later, Bocelli was mentored by Luciano Pavarotti, who was in his most glorious period, and was hailed as Pavarotti's successor. In 1996, "Time to Say Goodbye / Con te partirò" (Time to Say Goodbye / Con te partirò), a duet by Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, became a hit in the international music scene. The solo version topped the French singles chart, and the chorus version even topped the list. It dominated the German singles chart for 14 weeks and sold nearly 3 million copies. It set a best-selling record that no one can match to this day.

5. Art Tatum

Yesterdays (Live) - Art Tatum

Art Tatum (1909-10 November 13 - November 5, 1956), was an American pianist and jazz master. Tatum is recognized as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time and deeply influenced future generations of jazz pianists. He is renowned for his mastery of technique and has set new standards in jazz piano technique. Critic Scott Yeno believes that Tatum's quick reflexes and boundless imagination allowed him to constantly generate fresh and even futuristic ideas, putting him ahead of his contemporaries; his recordings are still available to this day. Scare the modern pianist.

6. José Feliciano

Feliz Navidad - José Feliciano

José Feliciano (September 1945 September 10th -), is a singer, composer and guitarist. Originally from the small Caribbean country of Puerto Rico, he was blind from glaucoma at birth but never gave up on music. He later became known for his covers of The Doors' English-language song "Light My Fire" and the Spanish-language Christmas single "Feliz Navidad." Feliciano's music style spans many genres, including Latin style, jazz, blues, folk, flamenco, classical guitar, rock, soul music, etc., and is considered to be the most representative guitar performance in the mid-20th century. One of the homes.

7. Ronnie Milsap

Lost in the Fifties Tonight - Ronnie Milsap

Ronnie Milsap (1943 January 16th -), is a country singer and pianist from the United States. He suffered from a congenital disease and lost his sight at birth. His mother abandoned him and he was raised by his grandparents. Ronnie entered a school for the blind at the age of 5. At the age of 7, he began to be exposed to classical music and learned to play piano, violin and guitar. After high school, he turned down a scholarship to Emory University, choosing instead to pursue his music career. He is famous for songs such as "No Getting Over Me" and "Lost in the Fifties Tonight". He has had 40 number one singles on the US Billboard Country Music Chart.

8. Nobuyuki Tsujii (つじいのぶゆき)

モーツァルト：きらきら星変综合（フランスの歌?ああ?ママに言うわ?による12の変 sonata long tune K.265)

Nobuyuki Tsujii (September 13, 1988 -) is a young Japanese pianist and composer. He began learning piano at the age of four, and when he was only 20 years old, he outperformed the crowd in the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition held in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, and shared the first prize with young pianist Zhang Haochen. This is the first time in the 47-year history of this award that an Asian contestant has won the first prize, and it is also the second time that two people have shared the first prize in this award. Tsujii became the first blind musician to receive this honor.

9. Blind Man Bing (Hua Yanjun)

Two Springs Reflect the Moon (A Bing’s original version) - Blind Man Bing

Blind Man Bing (1893) August 17 - December 4, 1950), formerly known as Hua Yanjun, was born in Wuxi City. He was a Chinese folk musician, erhu and pipa player. He became blind due to syphilis at the age of 21. Abing studied Taoist music assiduously, strived for excellence, and extensively absorbed folk music tunes. He composed and performed more than 270 folk music throughout his life. His father, Hua Qinghe, was the head Taoist priest of Lei Zun Hall, Sanqing Hall Taoist Temple in Wuxi City, and was good at Taoist music. A Bing started working as a Taoist priest in Lei Zun Hall with his father when he was 8 years old. He learned drums, flutes, erhu, and pipa from his father. By the age of 12, he was able to play a variety of musical instruments and often participated in activities such as worshiping, chanting sutras, and playing music. He was famous at the age of 18. Abing's surviving works include six erhu pieces, "The Moon Reflects on Two Springs", "Listening to the Pines", "Cold Spring Wind" and pipa pieces, "Big Waves Washing the Sand", "Dragon Boat", and "Zhaojun Leaving the Fortress", which are among the most influential in Chinese history. One of the famous erhu players. This original recording was recorded on a wire recorder in 1950, before Abing's death. A Bing was seriously ill at this time, often vomiting blood, and had not played the piano for several years. The erhu in the recording was still borrowed, because the recording staff who collected the music at the time did not have enough recording wire, so only a small part was recorded, including this The first classic work "Two Springs Reflect the Moon".

10. Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell

Blind Willie Johnson

Blind Willie McTell

You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond - Blind Willie Johnson

I Got to Cross the River Jordan - Blind Willie McTell

Both Blind Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 - September 18, 1945) and Blind Willie McTell (May 5, 1898 - August 19, 1959) American blues singer and guitarist of the first half of the last century. The reason why these two singers are mentioned together is because their names are very similar, their styles are similar, and they are also friends with each other. Unlike McTell, who was born blind, Willie Johnson's blindness was caused by his stepmother. When Johnson's father committed domestic violence against his stepmother, his stepmother became angry and used corrosive rape. The alkaline solution fought back, and the alkaline water splashed into the face of the unlucky little Johnson, who was only seven years old at the time, causing him to be completely blind. . The two's superb blues guitar playing and singing had a profound impact on later generations of musicians. Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan once wrote a song specifically to commemorate McTell. In the song Sings: "I understand that no one can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell anymore." In addition to the two of them, there are also many famous blind blues musicians such as Blind Blake and Blind Lemon Jefferson.

Finally, I will give you Bob Dylan's song "Blind Willie McTell" in memory of Blind Willie McTell to conclude.

Blind Willie McTell - Bob Dylan

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