Five Musicians With Missing and Damaged Fingers
Becoming a professional musician is difficult under any circumstances, but the following musicians beat those odds without a full set of digits.
1. Jerome John Garcia
(August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995)
Better known as Jerry to legions of Deadheads, Garcia, an avid folk and bluegrass enthusiast, was best known for his singing, songwriting, and lead guitar playing with the Grateful Dead for three decades.
When Garcia was four years old, he and his family were vacationing in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Central California. A young Garcia was tasked with steadying wood, while his older brother Tiff chopped. Garcia inadvertently placed his hand in the path of the falling axe. As a result Garcia lost two-thirds of his right middle finger.
Garcia’s accident didn’t discourage him. As a child he would brag about the missing digit to children in his neighborhood. He would go on to become one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead and play in numerous side projects including Legion of Mary, Old and in the Way, and the Jerry Garcia Band.
2. Jean “Django” Reinhardt
(January 23, 1910 – May 16, 1953)
Django Reinhardt was a virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who began his career in France at the age of 13. Music critic Thom Jurek calls Reinhardt’s jazz group Quintette du Hot Club de France, “one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz.”
When Reinhardt was 18, he and his wife Florine “Bella” Mayer were extremely poor. To supplement their income, Bella made imitation flowers out of celluloid and paper. One night after a performance, Django came home and knocked over a candle in the their caravan that was full of the highly flammable material. He received serious burns over half his body and the third and fourth fingers of his left hand were so badly burned that doctors believed he would never play guitar again.
After the injury, Reinhardt developed a new technique to compensate for his paralyzed fingers. He would go on to become an international jazz superstar and inspire generations of guitar players. Many guitar players have cited Reinhardt as an influence including Jeff Beck, who has described Reinhardt as “by far the most astonishing guitar player ever” and “quite superhuman.”
3. Malcolm John “Mac” Rebennack, Jr.
(November 21, 1940 -)
Known by his stage name, Dr. John, Rebennack is a Grammy-award winning pianist, singer, and songwriter; and purveyor of all things New Orleans.