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The Ballad of Blind Tom, Slave Pianist
The true story of a black musical savant in the era of slavery.
Born into slavery in Georgia, Tom Wiggins died an international celebrity in New York in 1908. His life was one of the most bizarre and moving episodes in American history. Born blind and autistic-and so unable to work with other slaves-Tom was left to his own devices. He was mesmerized by the music of the fa...more
Born into slavery in Georgia, Tom Wiggins died an international celebrity in New York in 1908. His life was one of the most bizarre and moving episodes in American history. Born blind and autistic-and so unable to work with other slaves-Tom was left to his own devices. He was mesmerized by the music of the fa...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
February 5th 2009
by Overlook Hardcover
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Jesse Houle
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NPR's Cover to Cover
I am rarely very intrigued by biographies because most of them are written about famous people I feel we already know much more about than anyone ever has to. I generally hold to the idea that it's far more valuable to spend my time getting to know and understand people I meet in real life, than trying to know and understand (especially through someone else's eyes) the life of someone I have never and will never meet. I suppose I (sub)consciously become more interested, however, in the lives of ...more
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Thomas Wiggins was born blind, autistic and a slave. Purchased, out of pity, by 'General' James Bethune, 'Blind Tom' demonstrated a savant's talent for mimicking sounds. In a second act of relative kindness, Bethune let Tom play with the family's piano. He soon demonstrated an ability to play complicated compositions after a single hearing, note for note. This 'photographic memory' and gift of mime also allowed Tom to repeat speeches and conversations. And he could compose songs based on th...more
The topic is fascinating here: America's first African American musical celebrity, an autistic slave pianist who was exploited mercilessly by whites in decades of exhibition. O'Connell's research is shoddy at times, though. Specifically, she is a bit lazy in setting up various contexts, using, at best, one secondary source for each discussion behind her primary research.
Overlook
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As I had never before heard anything about Blind Tom, I am eagerly anticipating reading his remarkable story.
I love music biographies, so this was right up my alley. Wish there were more people like Blind Tom.
If your interested in music, Americana and beautiful minds, then this is a fantastic read.
Melina
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![The Ballad Of Blind Tom: [Slave Pianist: America's Lost Musical Genius]](http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327948194s/6885788.jpg)
