Being Paralysed didn’t stop Jason Becker Composing A New Album
Who Is Jason Becker?
Jason Becker was born in 1969 in Richmond, California. He found fame at a young age for being an extremely talented guitarist, songwriter and composer.
At only 20 years old, Jason joined ex Van Halen front man David Lee Roth’s band and played on his 1991 solo album entitled A Little Ain’t Enough. Jason was applauded for his efforts so much that Guitar Magazine awarded him the sought after “Best New Guitarist Award”.
Being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Jason’s career was going from height to height but at the same time that he began to experience a slight limp in his left leg. Jason went to get it checked out and after multiple tests he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). A debilitating, paralysing disease. The same condition that the late Stephen Hawking suffered from.
Jason persisted on with his guitar playing but once the effects of ALS got worse he lost the ability to play the guitar, walk and even speak. Eventually Jason was only able to move his eyes and his chin.
His doctors only gave him 5 years to live.
Jason learned to communicate with his eyes
Having lost his ability to speak, Gary Becker (Jason’s Father) developed an intuitive language system using Jason’s eye movement that would allow Jason to communicate effectively.
Once Jason was able to express himself again It wasn’t long before he resumed writing music.
His 1996 Album Perspective
Jason went on to release an album in 1996 entitled Perspective. This was a mix of new songs he had composed since suffering from his condition and other songs that were recorded before his condition worsened. Many people thought this would be the last album of Jason’s. And for over 20 years, this was the case.
His new album Triumphant Hearts
In 2016 though Jason announced he would release a brand new album. A total of $115,000 was raised by a Pledgemusic and Indiegogo campaign to help cover the costs of production and on the 7th of December 2018 Triumphant Hearts was released to critical acclaim.
Jason finished 2019 with even more accolades as Triumphant Hearts ranked number 4 in Guitar World’s recent “20 Best Guitar Albums Of The Decade”. What an achievement!
Jason’s latest album is a testament to the human spirit and should serve as inspiration to everyone to go after their goals. Despite his disability, he has continued to write and compose exceptional music. Even though Jason was only given 5 years to live back in 1991, his medical condition has remained stable since 1997.
Listen to the new album on Spotify below…
