Sound and Vision Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stevie Wonder

Stevland Hardaway Judkins (later Morris) lost his sight soon after birth (1950), and grew up in hardship and without his father. At age 11 however he signed on with Motown. They changed his name to "Little Stevie Wonder", paid for an education at a school for the blind, and allegedly never handed over the millions in earnings Wonder made as a teen. Yet Wonder had access to dozens of instruments at Motown, and he remained a "crown jewel" with Motown most of his career--a trailblazer who influenced the future of music. "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" was among his first #1 hits and Grammy Award winners, but he had over 2 dozen, 30+ top ten hits, Halls of Fame induction and many collaborations with musical greats, as well as profound impact on both social and political problems. Wonder had 9 kids, penning, "Isn't She Lovely?" for an infant daughter. Regards his blindness he often said he was blind so early it's all he knew...there was nothing to say about it.

He did the soundtrack for the movie "Jungle Fever" although he couldn't see the film, and created an album he felt would reflect his experiences as a blind man. About 2009 he looked into a new implant, a "bionic eye" which restored rudimentary sight for some, but lifelong blindness eliminated him as a candidate. An early memory for Wonder was hearing jazz musicians play guitars, and thinking it sounded "warm and buttery".

In 2014 Wonder was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, given for meritorious contributions to the country. Photo: Stevie Wonder tee shirt.

Answer: Country

"I've won everything but Best Female Vocalist" jokes Ronnie Milsap, with 40 top hits and multiple Grammy Awards, plus a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame as of 2014. He had help, from Elvis, Ray Charles and Charley Pride, to name a few, but his rich vocal range and years of music education served him well.

His mother felt punished by God when Ronnie was born blind (1943) so his parents abandoned him, but a school for the blind, if abusive, ignited and then trained his musical gifts. He's had some serious falls and trips onstage, and encountered prejudice, but for him the solution to hardship is "to get enough love" surrounding you, giving you the courage to express your heart. "It was love at first sound" when he met his wife, whom he married in 1965.

His "Smoky Mountain Rain" made the Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Country Songs" list, 2014. Milsap also did "crossover" into pop and gospel, though it was country propelled him into stardom. Photo: Rural countryside scene, for answer country.

Answer: National anthem

Marlana VanHoose (born 1995) made a big splash with sports fans in 2012 when her performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner", the US national anthem, went viral on YouTube. Tiny, blind, with mild cerebral palsy and a love for sports, VanHoose has a power-packed voice and solemn demeanor.

After 2012 she sang at national sports events, on TV, at the inaugural prayer service, and Carnegie Hall. She won Youth Artist and also New Artist of the Year (Artists Music Guild 2012, 2015) and released a first CD "Do Right". Marlana: "I just want people to never give up on their dreams".

She's been playing piano since age two. Photo: National flag, for national anthem played and sung at sports games.

Answer: Andrea Bocelli

Born 1958 in Lajatico, Italy, crossover tenor Andrea Bocelli spent much of his early childhood in a hospital, eventually diagnosed with a congenital glaucoma, then entirely blinded on the football field when he was twelve. At just 9 however he could sing entire operas, and play several instruments. Age 14 he won his 1st singing competition, and from there the world became his oyster.

His awards, duets, international concerts and number one hits are legend. He doesn't want to be thought of as disabled, but, "The most important thing is to be remembered (as) a voice".

In 2017 he invested in MIT robotic research which promised navigation assistance to the blind. Bocelli spends a lot of his life "trying to pretend I can actually see" so as not to embarrass sighted people who are uncomfortable with the blind. Bocelli is an avid horse rider, scuba diver, soccer player and humanitarian.

The bold, handsome Italian has several children, and rarely wears the trademark dark shades. Photo: A cello, for answer Bocelli.

Answer: Gospel

"Blind Boys of Alabama" started singing together as kids in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro, and created a new gospel sound. In the Jim Crow south with a civil rights backdrop, they performed for soldiers, in churches, in jazz, blues and concert halls, but they always stuck close to gospel. Eight decades later they had five Grammy Awards, the Helen Keller Personal Achievement Award, and a place in the Gospel Hall of Fame.

They did a theme song for TVs "The Wire", rocked out an award-winning musical "The Gospel at Colonus", and sang for three US Presidents.

They were active for human, civil and disabled rights. By 2002 only three original members remained, but the group always welcomed new members, sighted and blind. As for handicap, says singer and drummer Ricky Mckinnie, "It's not about what you can't do.

It's about what you do". Blind boys had a full performance schedule in 2017, making it more than 75 years in sound. Photo: Truth, a synonym for answer gospel.

Answer: Rachael Leahcar

Australian singing talent Rachael Leahcar was born 1994 in South Australia. She has a rare degenerative disease of the retina leaving her with very little sight. As a young teen Leahcar (Rachael backwards) shot to the finalist positions in star search, talent search and singing competitions, releasing her first album, "Shooting Star" in 2009.

She donated a portion of sales to a charity for kids, became an ambassador for the Royal Society for the Blind, and sang in charity concerts. She completed training with her guide dog Ella, then featured the dog in their 2015 tour. Unfortunately "retinitis pigmentosa" progresses to total sight loss, but Leahcar released four albums by 2017, and studied to become a Speech Pathologist between tours and albums.

She will lose all her vision, but has already made a fulfilling life in sound. Photo: mirror image for answer Rachael Leahcar, a mirror image name.

Answer: Ray Charles

Horace Charles Robinson (1930-2004), Ray Charles, learned to play piano at age 3, began losing his sight at 4 or 5, and was completely blind by age seven, perhaps due to an eye infection going untreated. He said of his blindness though, "It didn't give me anything. And it didn't take nothing".

He considered hearing loss much worse, donating generously to improve treatment for the deaf. Charles began wearing his famous eye shades at age 18, when promoting his Seattle-based band, and he had special keyboards and chess boards designed to accommodate his blindness. Charles is credited with creation of "soul" music, by new combination of genres.

He was also master of country western, jazz, pop, and rock and roll. The gorgeous melody for "Georgia" was written back in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael, recorded by Charles on a 1960 album.

He actually left Georgia for a school for the blind in Florida, at age seven, but you can easily believe Georgia was his heart and soul, the way he sings it. Photo: sting RAY, for answer Ray Charles.

Answer: Light

In 1963 classical composer Hikari Oe was born to one of Japan's foremost authors, Kenzaburo Oe. Hikari (meaning "light") is visually impaired, autistic, epileptic, and speaks little, yet, noting that their child responded to bird calls, his parents opened his world. Using a record of birds singing, recordings of Mozart and Chopin, and a gifted music teacher (Kumiko Tamura), they awakened Hikari to music, who began to play and compose his own "profound, rich, radiant" sound.

At age 32 Hikari's CD won Japan's highest prize for Classical Japanese music.

His compositions include piano, flute and violin, and are very short, with simple names like "Snow" and "Dream". Meanwhile his father based several novels on life with his son. "A Personal Matter" helped dad win a 1994 Nobel Prize. Photo: light as a feather, for answer light. Also hint "uplifted" in the question.

Answer: Keyboardist

Young Casey Harris has a rare genetic condition which rendered him legally blind at birth. He plays a specially designed keyboard for an indie rock band out of New York, the "X Ambassadors". Harris attended school for the blind, started piano lessons at age 8, and longs to jam with his idol Stevie Wonder. Like Wonder, Harris is an ambassador for disabled musicians, whom he believes encounter both impatience and prejudice from the sighted. Harris says while the blind don't have better hearing, "You pay so much more attention to (sound). You have a whole part of your brain for analyzing sound".

The single hit "Renegades" was nominated for "Top Rock Song" in 2016. They debuted in 2015 with the album "VHS". Photo: game BOARD, for answer keyboardist.

Answer: His guide dog

Jose Feliciano (born 1945 in Puerto Rico) learned to play accordion at age 5, then guitar and cuatro. He had a huge international hit in 1968, age 23, when he covered "Light My Fire" by "The Doors". Jose performed worldwide with many great talents. He sang for popes and for presidents, guested on TV shows, acted in "Fargo", earned multiple music awards, and bridged the barrier between English and Latin music audiences. Yet he had setbacks.

In 1967 both England and Holland refused entry to his guide dog. Jose was so disgusted he boycotted them for years.

In 1968 when he performed a new, stylized version of the US national anthem he was booed, called "unpatriotic" and dropped from radio play for some time. In 2013 he sued his manager, who had allegedly duped the blind man into signing false papers. And in 2016 Sting reacted badly to Jose's rendition of "Every Breath You Take"-- images of Sting's sour look spread across social media. Yet, Jose married a fan, Susan, in 1982 and they had a happy family.

At age 71 he was still writing and performing songs across the planet, as well as being husband, dad and philanthropist. Feliz Navidad! Photo: Dog eyes, for answer seeing eye, or "guide dog'.