Joey Stuckey: A Blind Musician With An Insightful Vision

Joey Stuckey is an award-winning blind guitarist, songwriter, singer, composer, producer, radio and television personality, music columnist, educator and sound engineer. He is also the official music ambassador for his home town of Macon Georgia.<br /> <br />Joey's guitar style is reminiscent of rocker Jeff Beck and jazzer Wes Montgomery, while his vocal influences range from Mel Torme to Gregg Allman.<br /> <br />As an infant, Joey lost his sight and sense of smell as the result of a brain tumor and was introduced to music from an early age. His mother enjoyed opera, while his dad enjoyed country music. When he was 13, Stuckey developed pneumonia and eventually had to be home schooled for an entire year.<br /> <br />"I lived for my shows on Saturdays," says Joey. "I was a huge fan of public radio and on Saturdays, I listened to a show called, 'After Space.' It was DJ'd and produced by a guy called Rob Thomas (who eventually became a good friend and is still a great friend today). He would play radio shows like, 'The Lone Ranger,' 'The Shadow,' and other classic shows. I was so enamored with these stories - the sound effects and narration broadcast in a format accessible for the blind were just amazing." The show was produced so eloquently, Joey decided that sound production was what he wanted to do with his life.<br /> <br />What began as a simple statement turned into a life-long passion. After that evolutionary period in his life, Joey bought all kinds of sound equipment and was soon recording sessions in his house with various garage bands. He was amazed at the writing ability from the many musicians he came across. "I realized, at that point, that there were things I wanted to share with the world," says Stuckey. "And I knew that the medium for that was music."<br /> <br />Without missing a beat, Joey graduated from high school at the age of 14 and at 17, began his musical career by taking classical guitar lessons from noted music professor Terry Cantwell. Joey went on to attend Mercer University. He further