Robert Alexander Gardner

Quotes:

"There are two great injustices that can befall a child. One is to punish him for something he didn't do. The other is to let him get away with doing something he knows is wrong."

• Born: March 16, 1897, Oliver Springs, TN
• Died: September 30, 1978
• Active: '20s
• Genres: Country

Biography

This blind musician made his living as a piano tuner, making good use of his talent of perfect pitch. Then he began studying at the Kentucky School for the Blind, where he met multi-instrumentalist Lester MacFarland. The rest was recording history as the two teamed up to start a duo called Mac & Bob, which would go on to record about 200 records, selling something in the neighborhood of one million copies total. Audiences were swayed mostly by the group's music rather than any feelings of sympathy, and often didn't even know the two musicians were sightless. The partners developed a method of "writing" lyrics and musical notation for each other by punching out paper, which they called the "point system." ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide