The
Ballad of Blind Tom, Slave Pianist: America's Lost Musical Genius
Deirdre O’Connell
Overlook Press (2009)
Jan 16, 2017
In September the nation celebrated the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.
Designed
by architect David Adjaye, the building pays homage to the intricate
ironwork crafted by enslaved African Americans in Louisiana, South
Carolina, and elsewhere.
Inside its walls visitors journey from
the horror of slavery to the inspiration of modern day heroes. Many
prominent Black Americans are featured inside. But you'll also find
stories of the hidden history America, stories of those who are often
forgotten, like Blind Tom Wiggins Greene.
"Tom Wiggins was a
piano, musical prodigy", said Dwandalyn Reece, Curator of Music and
Performing Arts at the National Museum of African American History and
Culture.
Born in 1856 in Columbus, Georgia, Thomas Wiggins was a slave, born blind with mental challenges.
"He might have been autistic", said Reece.
The
world came to know him as Blind Tom and he composed more than a
thousand compositions. But he almost never played a single note. His
owners thought his disabilities made him useless and wanted him killed.
"He was unable to work in the fields or do any kind of hard labor,” Reece said.
But
his mother pleaded with Colonel James Bethune, to buy her entire family
to spare Blind Tom's life. The colonel agreed and it turned out to be
an act of compassion that would earn the Bethune family a fortune.
Blind Tom had an encyclopedic memory and could mimic sounds.
"He
could master anything. Languages, sounds of animals. What Tom Wiggins
was able to do was incorporate the sounds and everything he has heard
and experience and put it in his own compositions," said Reece.
At
the age of 3, while playing in the slave master's house, Tom found a
piano and played his first piece. By the age of 5 he was performing for
audiences around the world.
Comment by email:
Comment by email:
Hi Bill, Must mean Black History month is approaching! Thanks for all your support. Best, Deirdre [Deirdre O'Connell]
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