Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder, born Steveland Morris in 1950 has recorded more than 30 Top 10 hits
and won  21 Grammy Awards. He won an Oscar for Best song and has been inducted
into both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters Halls of fame. He plays piano, keyboards,
harmonica, drums, congas, bass guitar and organ.  Wonder was born prematurely,
receiving excessive oxygen levels which led to retinopathy of prematurity and blindness.
His mother taught her other children to treat him the same as any other child. At age 11,
Wonder signed on to the Motown label as Little Stevie Wonder and recorded his first major
hit, Fingertips at age 13. As an American icon, Wonder was in a featured duet with Bruce
Springsteen on the all-star charity single for African famine relief, We Are The World and
was part of another charity single the following year which raised money for AIDS, That's
what Friends Are For.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Wonder
http://www.steviewonder.net/


Ray Charles


Ray Charles the legendary singer, composer and pianist was born in Georgia in 1930. He
lost his sight due to undiagnosed glaucoma at age seven. After his mother's death he found
himself working in Seattle, Washington and changed his name from Ray Charles Robinson
to Ray Charles to avoid confusion with the great boxer.  Charles' 1955 release of I Got a
Woman was widely credited as being the first true "soul" record.  In addition to winning 12
Grammy Awards, Charles was one of the original inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame as well as the Jazz and Rhythm and Blues Halls of Fame. In 1987, Charles established
the Ray Charles Robinson Foundation to provide ongoing funding in auditory physiology and
hearing implantation. Each implant procedure costs over $40,000 which the Foundation pays
to have done.
http://www.raycharles.com/


Oliver Sacks


Oliver Sack is a neurologist who has written about and interviewed on television patients with
various ailments.  Some of his popular books include:  The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat,
An  Anthropologist from Mars and Awakenings which was also turned into a movie. Awakenings
is about Sack's experiences using the new drug L-Dopa on patients in the 1920's to treat
encephalitis lethargica, known as sleeping sickness. The 1917 to 1928 epidemic left patients
like living statues, speechless and motionless. In March 2006, Sacks was one of 263 doctors
who published an open letter in the medical journal, The Lancet criticizing American military
doctors who administered or oversaw the force feeding of Guantanamo detainees who had
engaged in hunger strikes.
http://oliversacks.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Sacks
The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat
An Anthropologist from Mars
Awakenings


Mark Hadden

Mark Haddon is an English illustrator,  painter, cartoonist and author of children's books.  He
has received awards for his work on television and radio programs and his best selling novel,
The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night. This is the highly popular story told through the
eyes of a teenage boy with Asperger's Syndrome who is determined to solve the mystery of
a dead dog found next door. The book has been been translated into numerous languages and
the film rights have been sold to Warner Brothers.  Haddon  worked with students with disabilities
about 20 years ago, some had autism although the term was rarely used back then. He reported
that this is the first book he has written for both the adult and child readership.  His web site is
an artistic experience.
http://www.markhaddon.com/
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night
 
 Itzhak Perlman

Itzhak Perlman is regarded as one of the greatest and most famous violinists of the the late 20th
century. Born in Israel in 1945, he completed his initial training at the Academy of  Music in Tel
Aviv.  and trained in Israel.  At age 13, Perlman received international recognition for his
performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.  Perlman remained in the United States to study at the
Juilliard School in New York.  He made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 1963. Perlman has not only
recorded and performed classical music, but is also a virtuoso in jazz, klezmer and as an orchestra
condutor.  Perlman has lost use of his legs due to polio.
http://www.sonyclassical.com/artists/perlman/bio.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itzhak_Perlman