Mojo Myles

Rising Blues Star

Following in the footsteps of blues legends B.B. King and John Lee Hooker, teen guitarist Myles Mancuso loves the "blues." Myles is an outstanding performer and also a person who stutters - just like King and Hooker. He has shared some personal insights with the Stuttering Foundation not only about his music but also about how he deals with stuttering.

Q. How did you get started in the music business?

A. I got started when I was nine years old when I played on stage with Levon Helm from "The Band" in Woodstock. Then shortly after that I played at a few shows in NYC that were promoted by Sid Bernstien, he is the promoter that brought the Beatles to America.

Q. What instruments do you play, and how do you classify your music?

A. I play the guitar, piano, bass, sax and drums. Even though my music has "bluesy" elements, I still consider it to be classified as a mix soul, funk and R&B.

Q. What was your reaction to the B.B. King and John Lee Hooker feature in the last SFA newsletter issue?

A. It surprised me because I never knew that BB King and John Lee Hooker were stutterers. I've noticed when they talk - they control it so well. I really respect them for their music and effort to overcome their stuttering.

Q. Do you think about your stutter when you are on stage?

A. When I'm on stage all of my problems seems to disappear because I'm so comfortable in front of an audience that I usually don't stutter.

Q. Have you sought therapy to help with stuttering?

A. Yes, I went through speech therapy most of my elementary years and the first part of my middle school years. I feel the techniques my speech therapist gave me have helped a lot through the years.

Q. How do friends or family members treat you in regards to your speech?

A. I try to talk as smooth as I can around my friends and so a lot of them don't notice my stuttering. My family treats me like I speak normally.

Q. Do you think stuttering holds you back in anyway?

A. My stuttering does not hold me back because I've learned that even if I do stutter and people do make fun of me - no one can change who I am inside.

Q. You have met many famous people. Is there a person who stands out as particularly meaningful to you?

A. Tab Benoit stands out most to me - not only because of his great guitar playing and song writing, but because of his passion for saving the Louisiana Wetlands. I have a lot of respect for someone who devotes their life to a certain cause.

Q. Do you plan to stay in the entertainment field as a life-long career?

A. Yes, I plan to play music and be a producer or composer like Quincy Jones. I'm starting to look at music colleges because I'm going into High School this fall.

For show dates, more articles, pictures and other information, visit www.mylesmancuso.com.

CELEBRITY FOCUS

John Stossel

John Stossel is one of the most recognized and articulate reporters today. However, he once considered giving up his broadcasting career because of his stuttering.

“Fear of stuttering can easily become worse than the stuttering itself,” observed Stossel. “The idea that I’m on television and making speeches is still a shock to me sometimes.”

James Earl Jones

Actor James Earl Jones, a Broadway, television and movie star, is well-known for his voice as Darth Vader in Star Wars and his book Voices and Silences. Jones has spoken some of the most memorable lines in the history of American film, but the man known for his voice was once afflicted with a severe stutter.

Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor has been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter for many years, but probably few people know all of the unique accomplishments of this former hockey great who was born on December 4, 1955, in Levack, Ontario.

Jack Paar

While Jack Paar is among the most prominent of the entertainers on the Stuttering Foundation’s list of Famous People Who Stutter, he deserves special recognition as he was among the first to openly address his stuttering in public. As host of The Tonight Show from 1957-1962, he spoke of his difficulties as a stuttering child and teenager, giving hope to young people.

Lewis Carroll

The recent Disney version of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland, garnered a great deal of media hype. Even though the mainstream media has not made mention that Carroll was a person who stuttered, his family history gives credence to the discovery of the genetic link to stuttering. Carroll was born to parents who were first cousins; almost all of their eleven children, three girls and seven boys, struggled with stuttering past childhood.