And the blind shall lead the way

arryl Rhoades was born June 7, 1950. He is one of six children, the 3rd born and the last of the boys. Born with cataracts over each of his eyes, he’s lived his entire life partially blind. He grew up in a Christian home. His father was retired military, with hardly any formal education, but was incredibly street savvy and had “a heart of gold” Rhoades recollected. His mother was a loving woman, who spent the majority of her time at home taking care of the kids, but did do some work in the school system. A loner, Darryl recalls making up games to play by himself when he was a child. “I played sports with other kids too, but I really liked having fun on my own.” He’d even hunt crawfish on his own and then sell them by the lake.

When Darryl was 12, his father received a government contract for a job, causing the family to move south to Atlanta. Their location may have changed but Darryl’s dream hadn't. He recalled always “wanting to be on stage”. Whenever possible he would get up and sing in front of the class completely oblivious to the notion that he might not be a good singer. For Darryl, it didn't matter. "I believe every entertainer has that ‘hey look at me mom’ in them. I remember performing in front of adults with this old stuffed bunny I had and doing funny things to it with a mic stand, fill in the blank, and seeing people's reaction to it was like, man I've got to do more of this.” Already a crafty mind, Darryl went all the way through high school without reading a book, finishing with A’s and B’s.

At the age of 16, Darryl’s eyes became noticeably irritated by light so he began to wear sunglasses almost all the time. This didn't slow him up a bit as he bought a drum set and began learning to play at the age of 17. A fan of Frank Zappa, he found himself listening to Progressive AM radio for years because they were known for playing weird songs. In 1975, he and his friends decided to form their group “The Hahavishnu Orchestra”, which was a play on the already existing group title Mahavishnu Orchestra. They wrote a song called "Leprosy Queen" about a guy in love with a woman who's literally falling apart. They took the song to the station as a joke and to their surprise it was played. Listeners began calling in, requesting it be played even more. "Hey, my mother hates that song. Will you play it for me?" The group quickly followed with "Suicide", a song about a deadly dance, that caught so much heat it was played on “Dr. Demento”, a radio show known for it's interesting choice in music. "My parents never held me back..” Darryl said. “They were like, ‘if it makes you happy, go ahead and do it.’ I don't think they ever saw me perform but maybe it's for the best because they might not have understood what I do."

Soon after The Hahavishnu Orchestra began to tour nearby venues. Their shows were unlike anything seen before. Female and male background singers, all dressed as women (facial hair was optional), a horn section of pimps, a guitarist dressed as a Rastafarian and a lead singer who would come out in anything from a James Brown outfit to a Santa Clause suit. They were “The Muppet Show's” Electric Mayhem personified. While others their age were wearing suits, ties, and/or dresses as a requirement for work, the Hahavishnu Orchestra wore exactly what they wanted to create the proper atmosphere.

"We were like kids dressing up. If you really did what was really in your heart to do, you really never have to deal with age and all that other stuff." They were clearly on to something because they quickly began selling out shows.