Recording Artists with Disabilities - Rock and heavy metal artists
Heavy Metal
Disability: Lost an arm - rearranged his drum kit to compensate (source: Disability Now article)
Drummer in Def Leppard
Def Leppard website:
Alice Cooper
Disability: asthma (source: Voices from the Present)
Numerous hits in 1970s and 1980s, including "Poison"
Tony Iommi
Disability: Lost 2 fingers - created 2 plastic "fingers" designed for playing guitar. (source: Classic Rock Revisited interview)
Guitar player in Black Sabbath
Meatloaf
Disability: diabetes (source: Disease lists (sic))
Heavy metal recording artist, had several hit singles including "Don't Be Sad (Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad)", "Bat Out Of Hell", "You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth", "Dead Ringer For Love", and "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)"
Bret Michaels
Disability: diabetes type 1 (IDDM) since age 6 (source: USA Today article)
Lead singer in the rock band Poison, whose hits include "Nothing But A Good Time"
Ozzy Osbourne
Disability: dyslexia (source: wikipedia article about him)
Was singer in Black Sabbath.
Also had several solo hits, including "Bark At The Moon"
and "So Tired"
Ozzy and his family have also appeared in a fly-on-the-wall TV series about them
Axl Rose
Disability: bipolar (source: Mental Health Today website)
Singer in Guns 'n' Roses, who had several hits in the late 1980s and early 1990's - including "Welcome To The Jungle" and "Sweet Child Of Mine"
Rock
Ian Curtis
Disability: epilepsy (source: cluas.com feature)
Singer with Joy Division, whose hits included Love Will Tear Us Apart
Websites:
Noel Gallagher
Member of Britpop band Oasis, who had a number of hits in the 1990s, including Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger
Websites:
Richard Jobson
Disability: epilepsy (source: Sunday Herald Online article)
Singer with The Skids, who had a few hits in the early 1980's including Into The Valley and Working For The Yankee Dollar
Websites:
Elton John
Disability: Epilepsy (source: Disease lists (sic))
Has had several hits, from the 1970s into the 21st century, including "Your Song"
Websites:
John Lennon
Disability: learning disability (source: Tampa Mayor's Alliance For Persons With Disabilities)
Member of The Beatles, went on to have several solo hits including Power To The People and Give Peace A Chance
John Mellencamp
Disability: spina bifida since birth (source: VH1 biography of John Mellencamp)
Hits include "Jack & Diane" (under the name of John Cougar Mellencamp)
Freddie Mercury
Continued recording and performing for many months after being diagnosed as having AIDS.
Lead singer of Queen.
Neil Young
Disabilities:
1970s progressive rock musician
Was part of band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young , who had a hit with Woodstock
Websites:
Rock 'n' Roll
Billy Fury
Disability: heart condition, resulting from rheumatic fever as a child
Had a number of hits from the late 1950s to the mid 1960s. His hits include Maybe Tomorrow and Halfway To Paradise. Died in 1983, aged 42.
Elvis Presley
Disability : diabetes (source: Disease lists (sic))
Had many hits from the 1950s onwards. Although he died in 1977, he continues to have hits to the present day.
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