themusicsover 
Although he lost his site to retinoblastoma at just eight months, Jeff Healey would grow to become one of the greatest blues guitarists the world had ever seen. He could definitely hold his own alongside such greats as Eric Clapton, 
Bukka White was an influential Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He began making records in 1930, and about a decade later, he recorded for noted folklorist, 
Mark Sallings was a gifted Delta blues harmonica player who was one of the most sought-after Memphis side men throughout his career. Sallings learned to play the harmonica while in his early years of high school, and soon after he graduated, he went to work as a session player at Stax studios. During the ’80s, he worked with country singer, David Lynn Jones with whom he toured and recorded. In the ’90s, Sallings formed his own band, the Famous Unkowns and recorded a couple of his own albums. On February 25, 2009, 56-year-old Mark Sallings died as a result of a car accident.
Snooks Eaglin was a popular New Orleans R&B performer who, due to a set list that drew from upwards of 2500 songs, was sometimes called “the human jukebox.” And to the dismay of his backing band, in most cases he performed without a written set list, preferring to just play what felt right in the moment. Even though he was blind since infancy, Eaglin learned to play the guitar at a very young age. When he was just 11, he won a local radio talent competition and within three years, he left school to make his living as a musician. By the mid ’50s, he was playing in the great Allen Toussaint’s band, the Flamingos. In 1958, Eaglin became the subject of several recordings by musicologist, Dr. Harry Oster. Many of these sides were later released on the Folkways label. Eaglin signed with Imperial Records in 1960 and released a series of records that were more in the tradition of New Orleans R&B than the more blues styled Oster recordings. He continued recording through the ’90s and was a common fixture at the New Orleans Jazzfest for many years. Snooks Eaglin was 73 when he suffered a fatal heart attack on February 18, 2009.