John William "Blind" Boone (May 17, 1864 – October 4, 1927) was an American
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
and composer of
ragtime
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...
music.
Early life
Boone was born in a Federal militia camp near
Miami, Missouri
Miami is a city in Saline County, Missouri, United States. The population was 175 at the 2010 census.
History
Miami was originally called Greenville, under which name it was platted in 1838. A post office called Miami has been in operation since ...
, May 17, 1864, to a contraband slave, Rachel, who used the surname, Boone, on the 1870 Federal Census. On John W. Boone's 1927 Missouri Death Record, Rachel's maiden name is said to be Carpenter. His father was a bugler in the 7th Missouri State Militia Cavalry (Union). At six months Boone fell ill to "brain fever" and to release the swelling of the brain a radical surgical procedure was performed, removing both of his eyes. This is how he became "blind" Boone. He grew up in
Warrensburg, Missouri
Warrensburg is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 20,313 at the 2020 census. The Warrensburg Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Johnson County. The city is a college town as it is ...
, where Camp Grover was the headquarters of the 7th MSM at the end of the Civil War.
Boone's mother, Rachel Boone Hendricks (when she married Harrison Hendricks in 1871, she used the Boone surname), worried that her son would find life too difficult without some sort of education. Because of this, his hometown of Warrensburg decided to make sure that Boone received an education and paid for him to attend the
Missouri School for the Blind
The Missouri School for the Blind (MSB) is a school for the blind and visually impaired in St. Louis, Missouri, operated by the State of Missouri. It has served the state of Missouri from the Greater St. Louis area for more than 150 years as a ...
where he played the piano for first time. After growing bored with his experience there (they tried to teach him to make brooms), Boone's habitual rule breaking (sneaking off at night to listen to piano music at the local barrooms) got him expelled. He returned to Warrensburg where he began to wander, playing with local musicians. He was actually kidnapped for a time by a gambler and sometime showman, Mark Cromwell, until his step-father, Harrison Hendricks caught up with them in Mexico, Missouri. In 1879, Boone was "discovered" by
Columbia, Missouri contractor, John B. Lange, Jr., who put Boone on the road, as Blind John. Only meager financial success was attained until Boone was boarded for two months at the home of George Sampson in Iowa. Mrs. Sampson was an accomplished pianist herself and taught Boone how to properly play the great European masters. It is said she taught him not only their minds, but their hearts as well. Upon his return to Iowa, Lange found his young protege had acquired much new skill, and with the addition of a vocalist, began billing as the Blind Boone Concert Company. The Company worked hard, traveling from town to town on a whistle-stop like tour. They began to acquire fame and fortune, returning to Columbia in 1887 with a large sum of money to deposit in their bank account. By the new century, they are among the most popular acts in the country, playing 300-plus dates annually. John Lange died in Kansas City in 1916. In 1889, Boone had married John Lange's daughter, Eugenia Lange. Boone continued on, touring the eastern US in 1919, spending an entire month in New York city. Upon announcing his retirement from touring in 1924, Boone was described by a Kansas City newspaper as having, "combined talent with hard work to make life worth living." Due to financial difficulties brought on by a less than adequate manager, Boone continued to play concerts until the spring of 1927. He died of acute dilation of the heart on October 4, 1927, in Warrensburg. He was buried at the
Columbia Cemetery.
"Blind Boone, His Early Life and Achievements," Mrs. Melissa Fuell-Cuther, B.S.D., Evangel Pub. Society, Robbins, Tennessee, 1918.
Professional career
![Blind Boone Concert Company advertisement - large (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Blind_Boone_Concert_Company_advertisement_-_large_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Boone played thousands of concerts in the United States and Canada. After becoming one of the first black artists recorded by the QRS piano roll company in 1912, he played eleven selections while a machine punched the notes on the roll. Boone's ability to play many notes rapidly made it difficult to record him accurately. His best-known composition, “The Marshfield Tornado”, was never recorded or written down because it was too complex.
[ Between January 18, 1880 (his first concert) and 1913 John William Boone had given 7,200 concerts, traveled 144,000 miles (sometimes traveling 20 miles a day) slept in around 7,000 beds, and given $180,000 to charities, churches, halls, opera houses, etc. The original Blind Boone Concert Company consisted of Boone, John Lange, Stella May, Ruth Lange, and Eugenia Boone.
]
Personal life
Boone married Eugenia Lange in 1889. Lange traveled with Boone and would read to him and help him learn geography. "With his excellent memory, he recalled all the railroad routes he had taken when young and the many places he had traveled".
Due to Boone's disability, he identified colors by feel. He called this "seeing with my mind".
Legacy
The home of Blind Boone still exists in Columbia, Missouri. In 2000, the City of Columbia purchased the home and it is currently undergoing restoration. The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.
Boone's 1891 custom-made Chickering piano has been completely refurbished and was gifted to the Boone County Historical Society’s Museum. The 9 ft., oak grand piano is curated by the historical society and is on display to the public during the museum's open hours. The piano is also brought to life several times each year by being the featured attraction of a concert series held in the gallery where the piano resides.
There is also a park in Warrensburg, MO called "Blind Boone Park," which was made in the 1950s.
The John William Boone Heritage Foundation was founded to preserve the history of Blind Boone and to elaborate the important role Missouri played in the development of Ragtime and early Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
music.
Biographies
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See also
* John W. Boone House - The Blind Boone home in Columbia, Missouri
*List of ragtime composers
A list of ragtime composers, including a famous or characteristic composition.
Pre-1940
*Felix Arndt (1889–1918), "Nola" (1916)
*May Aufderheide (1888–1972), "Dusty Rag" (1908)
* Roy Bargy (1894–1974), "Pianoflage" (1922)
* Harry Belding (1 ...
* Scott Joplin - Ragtime composer and pianist
References
External links
John William Boone Heritage Foundation
* ttps://archive.today/20130121033934/http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2007/08/19/historical-quest/ Blind Boone home restoration storybr>Blind Boone: The Screenplay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boone, John William
1864 births
1927 deaths
Ragtime composers
Composers from Columbia, Missouri
Musicians from Columbia, Missouri
Burials at Columbia Cemetery (Columbia, Missouri)
African Americans in Columbia, Missouri
African-American pianists
People from Saline County, Missouri
Blind musicians
19th-century American pianists
American male pianists
19th-century American male musicians
20th-century African-American people