Django Reinhardt was a musician

from childhood. Growing up in Gypsy

camps outside of Paris, he was given

his first instrument, a guitjo (a cross

between a banjo and a guitar) when

he was 12 years old. He went on to

learn fiddle and guitar. By age 13, he

was working as a backing musician

in a popular bal-musette band in

Paris.In November of 1928, Django

Reinhardt came to his caravan after

playing a gig. As the story goes, his

young wife was a paper flower

maker and their caravan was

therefore full of flammable material. Django knocked down a candle and the caravan rapidly went up in flames. Though both Django and his wife made it out, he was severely burned. His left hand (the fingering/fretting hand on a string instrument) was maimed, with only two fingers retaining complete mobility.Instead of giving up music due to his injury, Django simply re-invented his guitar playing, finding new ways to play chords and runs with his two working fingers. In 1934, Django was invited to join a band called The Quintet of the Hot Club of France. The band played American big band music using traditional Gypsy instrumentation. The Quintet was the first collaboration between Django and legendary violinist Stephane Grappelli.The Hot Club Quintet was touring England in 1939 when World War II officially broke out. Grappelli remained in England while Django returned to France - a risky move, as the Nazis were already heavily persecuting Gypsies at that time. However, probably because he was a beloved musician and a public figure, Django was not put into a concentration camp and made it through the war.By the time WWII was over, Django Reinhardt had become famous on both sides of the Atlantic. Stephane Grappelli returned to France, and they recorded a number of international hit records with the Hot Club. Django also toured the United States with Duke Ellington. In 1951, at age 41, Django retired. He died in 1953 of a stroke.Django Reinhardt's playing was so virtuosic that he is considered by many professional musicians to be one of the best guitar players of all time. He has influenced musicians in all genres, and has become a near-mythological figure in modern music history.