11 Inspirational Singers With Dyslexia

People of all ages can have the same aspiration for success. Even with compromises, like Dyslexia, one can achieve their passion. There are plenty of influential, well-known people like CEOs who are dyslexics that have set a good example for the aspirants.  Adding to motivation, we here explore eleven popular singers who were diagnosed with Dyslexia. These individuals followed their interests, managing their challenges.  

Music can create a cosmic difference in the life of people with special needs,  which may imply a passion for singing. Moreover, music can be a  great choice as a career. People like Beethoven showed there are musicians who are Dyslexic. Here, let’s look at the list of Singers.

Dyslexia- their alliance with music

Music is not only a stress buster and a source of entertainment but also great therapy for academic performance too. 

Research by J Macmillan[1] outlined that singing can assist children in learning alphabets and arithmetic tables. Being a great take-in, music can drastically turn pupils into great singers and musicians later.

To motivate you further, we here will look into eleven popular singers you don’t know were dyslexic.

Famous singers with dyslexia

1. Harry Belafonte 

Harry Belafonte is an American singer, composer, and songwriter. He composed albums like Matilda and Mama look Bubu. He was the winner of four Grammys and an Emmy. He reportedly struggled in his school and dropped out at 17. He turned into an advocate for reading compromised students when he realized that he was Dyslexic.  

In an interview, he said, “It did something. It made me feel I was being misread and created a certain feistiness in me”, which shows that such compromises have never constrained him to do what he loved- Music.

2. Tony Bennett

Tony Bennet is a big band with show tunes and a pop singer with jazz. He is the founder of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts. Starting the expedition as a singer at a tender age, he started his career in Stages of War. He has been entertaining his fans for more than five decades. His talent made him win 19 grammy awards. This well-known singer struggles to read lyrics on the scripts. 

He compensates for his compromise by making the task slower, ensuring it is effective. Accordingly, Tony, in an interview said, “I just have to work a lot slower. It comes to a lot slower. But good learning takes a long time”. Bennett believes it takes quality time to grasp a few relevant lessons. 

3. Stewart Copeland

Being a singer, musician, and composer, he founded a rock band named The Police in 1977. Later he made compositions like Wall Street, Good Burger, and Dead like me. He was born in Virginia. However, he moved to Beirut when he started schooling. He coped with his learning struggles with the teaching style in American Community School. 

In an interview with the British Drum icon, he said he was Dyslexic. He also jested, “The school told my parents that even though I was like a C and D average student, that there’s a high probability that the kid does have a brain. Which was music to my parents’ ears.”

4. Cher 

Being a winner of about 21 awards in her career, Cher is a person with multiple talents. She was Dyslexic as well as Dyscalculic too. She expressed her views in her autobiography about her challenges, saying, “I couldn’t read quickly enough to get all my homework done and for me, math was like trying to understand Sanskrit.” 

She also spoke about her struggle with dyslexia in an interview, where she quotes and tells that she found her way through her condition, and made her flaws her strength to become what she is today!

She made her mind to the entertainment industry after dropping out of school. She aids people with learning compromises with honest suggestions and ideas. Her son Chaz also had dyslexia. However, his mother’s experience aided him in competing.

5. Carly Simon

Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer, writer, and author known for her songs like Nobody Does it Better and Let the River Run.  Growing up in New York, she started realising her learning challenges in school. However, she found her solution in the form of the song. 

In an interview, she said, “While they’re just going 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, you’re going 1-2-4-5-7-8-9-3!” Both of her children were also diagnosed by similar compromises. She accepted her hitch and turned into an advocate for similar children and Adults. 

6. Gwen Stefani

Known for her works like Just a Girl and It’s my life, Gwen Renee Stefani is an American Singer, copywriter, and lead vocalist for No Doubt Band.  Her learning struggles in her school were evident but were unnoticed by her. She discovered Dyslexia at the age of 51 and shared about the same in an interview with Apple Music. 

She also elucidated how her family helped her with reading difficulties. In the interview, she also added, “I didn’t know any of this until now, but I think that I didn’t have any confidence in myself at the time, but when I would write a song, or I would get on stage, it just felt so right.” She found her interest in Music, and she is happy about the same. 

7. Joss Stone 

With albums like Mind Body and Soul and You had me, Joss Stone turned into a popular British singer. She left her school at 16 due to her learning challenges. She states, “It wasn’t that I was stupid. I’m just a little bit dyslexic and I wasn’t very academic. I’m more artistic”. She manages to manage her reading skills. 

In an interview with MTV, she said, “With singing, I always forget the lyrics to my songs, even ones that I’ve written myself.” Despite these hitches, she won multiple international awards for her performance and compositions. 

8. Chris Robinson

Dyslexic Chris Robinson grew up in a difficult environment. As a teen, he developed a fascination with singing and music, making him take advantage of opportunities. He founded the acclaimed rock band, The Black Crowes. He is also the singer of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood. The first album from his band Shake Your Money Maker was a success and boasted him into more albums in later years. 

In an interview, he expressed how as a young boy, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, and songwriting was an outlet for him to express himself. He also mentioned how songwriting was the right path for him and the creative energy that came with the condition. Chris is the perfect example of how one should turn their constraints into powers and become successful with it.

9. Florence Welch

Welch is an English singer, lead vocalist, and songwriter. Found to be Dyslexic in primary school, Florence Scored good grades in her secondary school. She loved doodling rather than schoolwork despite being not a logical thinker. She is known for albums like High as hope and Ceremonials

In a chat show with The Guardian, she said, “I was a short, chubby kid, very quiet, and I had dyslexia, which made me feel different than everyone else, As I got older I experimented with my hair and types of clothes, from Spice Girls to Little House On The Prairie styles.” She believes that having the right choice can bring success. 

10. Paloma Faith

Born in July 1981, Paloma Faith is known for her albums Stone Cold Sober, New Yorks, and Upside down. Paloma took training in ballet class and then became a dancer in a LoveDough. However, professionally he started her singing career in 2007 when she mimicked Soul and Jazz singers. 

She stated that she had dyslexia in an interview with Independent. She said,” I’m not that good with numbers and I’m numerically dyslexic. When I play live I’m very close to it. I see people responding and knowing the lyrics to my songs.”

11. Jewel

Winner of four Grammys, Jewel Kilcher is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and author. Her first song was Saint Louis Blues.  Professionally, she became well-known after her album Beginnings and Pieces of You. 

After a few albums in her journey, Jewel shared her experience about poverty, homelessness, and her struggles with anxiety and Dyslexia. She said “I had a very difficult time learning to read when I was young — I was undiagnosed with dyslexia”

Concluding thoughts

Coming out of baseless perception, every aspirant should comprehend Dyslexia to be one of their strengths. Weighing down the scenario from various dimensions can make them realize strengths and interests. Further, various support groups are always ready to support these people for an ameliorated lifestyle. With their abilities like creativity, analyzing, and visualizing, an individual can make a strong case for moving forward. The success stories above plainly demonstrate the outcomes of such expeditions. 

References

  1. Music and dyslexia – and how Suzuki helps. (2018). Jenny Macmillan.

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