How have I not heard of her?

 Well, I am reading magazines from the summer, and stumbled across this article:

Composing Melody: The Enigmatic Melody Gardot

A young woman, devastatingly injured, recovers through the power of music to emerge a brilliant singer-songwriter—that’s the legend

It was very well written and covers the life of Melody Gardot, or at least what she can remember of it. You see, she was hit by a jeep while on her bike and suffered brain damage. After countless methods of rehab, a doctor recommended she try piano playing. The rest, apparently, was history. Her memory of before the accident hasn't returned, but she can speak and her short term memory is a bit better. The dark glasses help prevent debilitating seizures which result from bright lights. 

 You can hear her music at her website:http://www.melodygardot.com/