Musicians with Disabilities - Disability History Month

Musicians with Disabilities - Disability History Month

Disability History Month runs from the 22nd of November to the 22nd of December every year. The annual event gives commemoration to the achievements of disabled people and the struggle for rights they have fought for now and in the past. There are many amazing musicians with disabilities who have persevered despite their setbacks. During Disability History Month we should take a moment to celebrate some of these great Musicians with Disabilities:

Stevie Wonder - The one-man band, Stevie Wonder, was one of the most successful songwriters of the second half of the 20th Century. Wonder was famous for his funky and jazzy music, but also his blindness. He became blind shortly after birth but this never stopped him from creating timeless hits such as Superstition.

Jason Becker - The famous guitarist was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in his mid-twenties, his body deteriorated for 25 years. To this day he still performs despite not being able to use his hands, he instead plays with his arms and mouth.

Vic Chestnutt - injuries from a car accident in 1983 left him partially paralyzed; he used a wheelchair and had limited use of his hands. Although, this did not stop him from creating successful songs during the last 1990s.

Gwen Dickey - Gwen Dickey is an American singer best known as the front-woman of the R&B band Rose Royce, most famous for the hit song Car Wash. n 2010 Gwen suffered from a spinal cord injury, leaving her reliant on a wheelchair. As of 2018, she still performs concerts while seated on stage.

Fetty Wap - Fetty Wap, Willie Junior Naxwell, was the rapper that shocked 2015 with the hit song Trap Queen. Fetty Wap was born with glaucoma in both eyes, revealed in a 2015 interview that doctors were unable to save his left eye.

Monika Kuszyńska - In 2006 Monika was partially paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident, leading to her using a wheelchair. The polish singer represented Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "In the Name of Love" and was previously the lead singer of the Polish pop-rock band Varius Manx.

These Musicians with Disabilities are truly inspirational! Here at Melody Melon, we encourage you to look into Disabled History Month and pay respects to the achievements and struggles of disabled people over history.