The Jeff Healey Band

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Healey grew up in the west end of the city. He was adopted as a child; his adoptive father was a firefighter. When he was almost a year old, Healey lost his sight to retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer. His eyes had to be surgically removed and he was fitted with ocular prostheses. Healey began playing guitar at the age of three, developing his unique style of playing the instrument flat on his lap. At the age of nine, his musical talents were showcased during an interview on TVOntario's children's show Cucumber. When he was 15, Healey formed the band Blue Direction, a quartet that mainly played bar-band covers and featured bassist Jeremy Littler, drummer Graydon Chapman and his classmate Rob Quail on second guitar.