Saturday, October 19, 2019

SmithsonianMag.com: The Tragic Story of America’s First Black Music Star

Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (1849-1908), born blind and enslaved, was a musical prodigy who began performing as early as 6 years old. (Kate Patterson for The Washington Post via Getty Images)


Ted Gioia

October 18, 2019

Thomas Wiggins, an African-American musician marketed as ‘Blind Tom’, had a lucrative career—but saw none of the profits himself

During a tour of Georgia some 40 years ago, jazz star Dizzy Gillespie made an unexpected stop at a grave marker by the side of the road on the site of the old Westmoreland Plantation. In this solitary setting, Gillespie took out his trumpet and played a hymn in honor of Thomas Wiggins, who died in 1908 and was buried at that spot.

Throughout his life, Wiggins was known simply as “Blind Tom.” Music fans today wouldn’t recognize that name, but they all know the tradition that he started in the latter half of the 19th century as the very first African-American music celebrity.

Long before the abolition of slavery in the United States, African-Americans were already gaining a reputation as skilled instrumentalists. Even in the Deep South, they were often preferred over white musicians. But these performances were usually restricted to informal settings, dances and social events, and kept out of the concert halls where “serious” music was played.

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